Seven S&C partners were named to Benchmark Litigation’s 2026 “40 & Under” list: Benjamin Beller, Jacob Croke, Samantha Hynes, Julia Malkina, Nicholas Menillo, Beth Newton and Lenny Traps. The list recognizes the most impressive young litigation lawyers in the United States and Canada in their respective fields.
Ben is a partner in S&C’s Restructuring and Capital Solutions Practice. He represents borrowers, lenders, strategic investors and commercial counterparties in both Chapter 11 cases and out-of-court restructurings, liability management transactions and other special situations. He is currently representing major stakeholders in a range of high-profile restructurings, including those of FTX Trading and its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases, Oaktree Capital, Deerfield Management and Canyon Partners in a number of situations. Ben also regularly litigates in bankruptcy court, and in particular has successfully defended a number of liability management transactions against litigation.
Jacob Croke is Co-Head of Sullivan & Cromwell’s Corporate Governance Litigation Practice. His practice focuses on advising major companies and boards of directors on their most high-profile and sensitive litigations, regulatory proceedings, internal investigations and corporate transactions. Jake is playing a key leadership role representing FTX and its affiliated debtors in their bankruptcy proceedings, including in conducting a comprehensive internal investigation, litigating dozens of actions, and identifying and recovering billions of dollars for creditors. Jake also represented Tiffany & Co. in its Delaware Court of Chancery litigation against LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, resulting in LVMH agreeing to complete its $16 billion acquisition of Tiffany, as well as companies including Lordstown Motors and Hyzon Motors in responding to short seller allegations and related litigations and regulatory inquiries.
Samantha is a partner in S&C’s Antitrust Group. Her practice focuses on antitrust matters, including civil litigation and merger reviews at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, and includes commercial litigation matters. The clients she has represented span a variety of industries, such as airlines, automobiles, financial services, food and grocery, industrial gases, oil and gas exploration and production, paper and print services, and pharmaceuticals. She has played a key role in obtaining antitrust clearance on some of the biggest M&A deals of recent years, including representing Seagen in its $43 billion acquisition by Pfizer and Amgen in its $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics.
Co-Head of S&C’s Securities Litigation Practice, Julia represented Goldman Sachs in obtaining a major victory from the Second Circuit and the Supreme Court in a $13 billion securities case, with the Second Circuit reversing class certification after 13 years of litigation and establishing important guardrails to the “inflation-maintenance” theory of securities fraud. Most recently, Julia represented Rocket Companies’ majority shareholder, Rock Holdings, in a complete victory as trial counsel in the first-ever trial before the Delaware Chancery Court in a shareholder derivative action bringing a Brophy breach-of-fiduciary-duty through insider-trading claim; Rock Holdings and its founder and former CEO in obtaining the first-ever victory on price impact in the Sixth Circuit after the district court denied class certification in a securities-fraud and insider-trading action; and Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC in obtaining the dismissal of multiple actions brought in connection with the bank’s over-issuance of $17.7 billion of securities from its SEC-registered shelves.
Nick Menillo is a Co-Head of the Firm’s Insurance Group. His practice includes representing clients in securities, antitrust, intellectual property, contract, bankruptcy and government investigations matters. Nick represented Amgen in its $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics, FirstEnergy Corp. on their securities class action and Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche in resolving unprecedented cases seeking billions of dollars in penalties for the automakers’ factory installation and post-sale software updates to certain emissions “defeat devices.” This year, Nick was named “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer for obtaining a stay on a mandamus petition for FirstEnergy in a closely watched case with significant implications for corporate internal investigations conducted by law firms.
Beth Newton is a partner in S&C’s Litigation Group and Co-Head of the Firm’s Women’s Initiative Committee. Her practice comprises complex commercial litigation, regulatory and enforcement matters and internal investigations. Beth has represented global financial institutions and other leading companies in litigation involving mergers and acquisitions, securities claims, bank regulatory matters, contract disputes, and the structuring of partnerships and other business organizations. Beth’s recent representations include clients in commercial and shareholder disputes arising out of joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions; FirstEnergy Corp., one of the nation’s largest electricity distributors, in securities litigation and enforcement matters related to corruption allegations; and multiple financial institutions in regulatory matters and investigations.
Lenny is a partner in S&C’s Securities Litigation Practice. He litigates a wide range of complex commercial matters, including securities, shareholder derivative, M&A, antitrust, contract and product liability cases in federal and state court and in arbitration. He has represented clients including AT&T, Boeing, Citigroup, Discover and Wells Fargo in major securities and derivative litigation.