Overview
Winn Allen is a litigation partner in Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s Washington, D.C., office. He has extensive experience litigating complex commercial cases in a broad array of subject areas, including antitrust, products liability, class-action defense, defamation, consumer fraud and contractual disputes. Winn has handled numerous, high-profile litigation matters for clients such as Meta, UnitedHealth Group, Carrier, Fox Corporation, Caterpillar, Accenture, Honeywell and Wyndham Hotels.
Winn has received broad recognition for the quality of his advocacy. The American Lawyer has recognized Winn as “Litigator of the Week” on four separate occasions for significant victories on behalf of UnitedHealth, Honeywell, Meta and the State of Georgia. In 2020, The National Law Journal recognized Winn as a “D.C. Rising Star.” The National Law Journal has named him a “Litigation Trailblazer,” Benchmark Litigation has repeatedly recognized him for his commercial litigation work, and in 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States appointed Winn to brief and argue a case before the Court.
Before joining Kirkland, Winn served as a law clerk to Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. of the Supreme Court of the United States and Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Experience
Representative Matters
Complex Litigation
- Smartmatic v. Fox Corporation, et al. — Lead counsel representing Fox Corporation and Fox News, and certain of its on-air commentators, in a defamation lawsuit concerning Fox’s coverage of the 2020 Presidential Election.
- United States v. UnitedHealth Group — Trial counsel in antitrust action brought by DOJ to enjoin United’s acquisition of Change Healthcare. Obtained complete victory for United after trial court rejected DOJ’s claims, a result profiled in The American Lawyer.
- Confidential Matter — Co-lead trial counsel in confidential antitrust matter.
- Dangaard v. Meta — Lead counsel for Meta in putative class action alleging unfair trade practices and fraudulent conduct. Obtained summary judgment for Meta on all claims.
- INEOS v. BASF — Defeated preliminary injunction and won voluntary dismissal of lawsuit brought by INEOS seeking to enjoin the sale of BASF’s polyolefin catalysts business to W.R. Grace.
- Windy City Investments v. TIAA — Lead counsel for Madison Dearborn Partners in litigation against TIAA stemming from the 2014 sale of Nuveen Investments, Inc.
- Cabrera v. Black & Veatch et al. — Defense counsel in case brought under the Anti-Terrorism Act stemming from contracting work in Afghanistan.
- State of Washington v. Meta — Lead counsel for Meta in lawsuit brought by the Washington Attorney General concerning digital advertising.
- Florida v. Georgia — Trial counsel for the State of Georgia in a rare “original jurisdiction” dispute with Florida pending in the Supreme Court of the United States. Winn’s work for the state of Georgia has been profiled in The American Lawyer.
- FTC v. Wyndham — Counsel for Wyndham in lawsuit brought by the FTC alleging that data-security practices constituted unfair trade practices under Section 5 of the FTC Act.
- LightSquared v. Deere & Company, et al. — Counsel for LightSquared in suit alleging tort and contract claims against several GPS manufacturers including Garmin, Deere and Trimble. The case involved allegations of wrongful conduct surrounding the development and launch of a nationwide wireless broadband network.
- Godwin v. Facebook — Counsel for Facebook in negligence action asserting failure-to-warn and wrongful-death claims. Obtained complete dismissal and affirmance on appeal.
- Force v. Facebook; Cohen v. Facebook — Won dismissal for Facebook of two related actions brought by Israeli citizens seeking damages under the Anti-Terrorism Act. This result was profiled in The American Lawyer.
- Alabama & NWF v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Counsel for the State of Georgia in two lawsuits challenging the Army Corps’ water-management operations in Georgia. Obtained summary judgment for the state.
Class Actions
- Kaplan v. Carrier — Lead counsel for Carrier in putative nationwide class action relating to product-liability issues.
- Taylor v. Carrier — Lead counsel for Carrier in putative nationwide class action relating to product-liability issues.
- In re Marriott Data Security Litigation — Counsel for Accenture in litigation stemming from the Marriott data breach.
- Onn v. Carrier — Lead counsel for Carrier in putative nationwide class action relating to product-liability issues. Successfully obtained dismissal at the pleading stage.
- Luca v. Wyndham — Lead counsel for Wyndham in nationwide class action challenging hotel billing practices.
- Oddo v. United Technologies Corporation — Lead counsel for leading manufacturer of home air conditioners in putative class action alleging product defects. Successfully defeated class certification, a result that was profiled in The American Lawyer.
- Watkins v. Honeywell — As lead counsel for Honeywell, defeated preliminary injunction and won dismissal in a putative class action. This result was profiled in The American Lawyer.
- Amar Shakti Enterprises v. Wyndham — Counsel for Wyndham in nationwide class action brought by hotel franchisees concerning alleged breach of contract and unfair trade practices.
- Fletcher v. Honeywell — Lead trial counsel for Honeywell in class-action dispute alleging breach of collective bargaining agreements.
- United Auto Workers v. Honeywell — Successfully obtained summary judgment for Honeywell in class action concerning health care benefits.
Appellate Matters
- Holguin-Hernandez v. United States — Appointed by the Supreme Court to brief and argue this case in defense of the judgment below.
- Cormier v. Carrier Corporation — Lead appellate counsel for Carrier in product-liability action.
- Watkins v. Honeywell — Lead appellate counsel for Honeywell in case concerning alleged breaches of collective bargaining agreements. Obtained unanimous victory before the Sixth Circuit.
- ECIMOS v. Carrier Corporation — Lead appellate counsel for Carrier in case concerning copyright and breach-of-contract issues.
- Sikhs for Justice v. Facebook — Lead appellate counsel for Facebook in lawsuit alleging violations of Title II of the Civil Rights Act. Obtained unanimous victory.
- Fletcher v. Honeywell — Lead appellate counsel for Honeywell in case concerning alleged breaches of collective bargaining agreements. Obtained unanimous victory and reversal of trial verdict.
- Pacheco v. Honeywell — Lead appellate counsel for Honeywell in Eighth Circuit appeal concerning retiree healthcare benefits. Obtained unanimous victory and reversal of trial court injunction.
- NetChoice v. Florida — Appellate counsel for associations challenging Florida social-media statute.
- M&G Polymers v. Tackett — Submitted briefs and oral argument as counsel for amicus the ERISA Industry Committee in Sixth Circuit remand from Supreme Court decision.
Clerk & Government Experience
Law ClerkHonorable Samuel A. Alito, Jr.Supreme Court of the United States
Law ClerkHonorable Jeffrey S. SuttonUnited States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Pro Bono
Beer v. United States — Counsel for six federal judges who brought suit against the United States alleging that Congress’s withholding of future salary adjustments mandated by law violated the Compensation Clause of Article III. Achieved 10-2 victory before the en banc Federal Circuit.
Teleguz v. Pearson — Trial counsel for death row inmate in case where the Court held a three-day evidentiary hearing on the question of actual innocence. Sentence commuted by the Governor.
United States v. Bell — Appellate counsel for federal inmate challenging his conviction and sentence in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Obtained reversal of sentence that resulted in 7-year reduction in prison term.
United States v. Pasha — Appellate counsel for client challenging conspiracy conviction in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Obtained complete reversal of conviction. The indictment was dismissed on remand
More
Thought Leadership
Press Mentions
Quoted in “Kirkland Associates Steer Win In Ex-State Dept. Worker Suit,” Law360, April 15, 2022
Quoted in “Litigators of the Week: The Kirkland Team Who Helped UnitedHealth Beat Back DOJ’s Antitrust Challenge to a Health-Tech Deal,” ALM, September 23, 2022
Recognition
Recognized in Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Litigators,” 2024–2025
Recognized in Benchmark Litigation as a “Future Star” for Appellate and General Commercial, 2019–2025
Recognized in The Legal 500 U.S. for Antitrust: Merger Control, 2024
Recognized by Law360 as a “Rising Star,” 2023
Recognized in Benchmark Litigation’s “40 & Under Hot List,” 2016–2024
Recognized by The National Law Journal as a “D.C. Rising Star,” 2020
Recognized by The American Lawyer as “Litigator of the Week,” 2019
Recognized in The National Law Journal’s “Litigation Trailblazers” list, 2018
Recognized twice by The American Lawyer as “Litigator of the Week,” 2017
Recognized in The Legal 500 U.S. for Commercial Litigation, 2015
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- 2010Georgia
- 2011District of Columbia
Education
- University of Virginia School of LawJ.D.2008
Faculty Award for Academic Excellence (Highest GPA in Graduating Class)
Jackson Walker LLP Award
Order of the Coif
Virginia Law Review, Articles Editor
- Georgetown UniversityB.A.magna cum laude2005