Rakesh Kilaru

Practice Areas

Rakesh specializes in delivering favorable results to clients at every stage of litigation in matters ranging from antitrust to product liability to consumer class actions.

Most recently, Rakesh was second-chair trial counsel for Microsoft in its successful defense against the FTC’s challenge to the $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision. Rakesh directed the legal and expert strategy and handled several witnesses at trial, including Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, and both of Microsoft’s economic experts. Rakesh then served as lead counsel for Microsoft in the FTC’s appeal in the Ninth Circuit.

Rakesh also has helped deliver high-profile trial victories for Bayer and the NCAA; obtained significant summary judgment victories for Bayer and Georgia-Pacific; and secured full dismissal of a groundbreaking enforcement action by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau before any discovery was taken.

In recognition of his diverse practice, Rakesh has been named a “Rising Star” by the National Law Journal and by Law360 for Sports and Betting. He was chosen as one of Bloomberg Law’s “40 Under 40,” and Benchmark Litigation has identified Rakesh as a “Future Star” and selected him to its “40 & Under Hotlist” four years in a row. He has also appeared on Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Lawyers in America” and “500 Leading Litigators in America” lists for the last two consecutive years.

Career

Before joining the firm, Rakesh was a Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel in the Office of White House Counsel, where he provided legal advice and strategic counseling to the Obama Administration on its domestic policy agenda. He also helped to develop and implement the government’s litigation strategy in cases arising under the Affordable Care Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. He is regularly consulted and quoted by the media as an expert on executive branch legal issues.

Rakesh began his career clerking for Justice Elena Kagan on the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Professional Memberships

Rakesh is active in the legal community. He sits on the Boards of the Legal Aid Society for the District of Columbia and the Second Look Project, and is an editor of the Green Bag. He also serves on the Nominations Committee of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association-DC, and previously served as a Director of APABA-DC’s Education Fund.