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Practice Area
Brands across key sectors turn to Winston litigators to defend their reputations in advertising class actions, competitor disputes, and investigations. With litigators based in the U.S.’s busiest jurisdictions—including courts in California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas—we have deep experience and prowess in handling some of the most high-profile and business-essential advertising cases in recent history. These disputes have involved false advertising; unfair competition, unfair business practices, and unjust enrichment; copyright, trade name, and service mark infringement; consumer-protection claims; and violations of the Lanham Act.
Practice Area
Class Actions & Group Litigation
Winston has developed a consistent record of success handling class action cases in state and federal courts. The practice is anchored by seasoned class action lawyers, many of whom have been recognized by Chambers USA and other ranking organizations as being top practitioners in their field. Our clients rely on us to steer them through class action matters by drawing on the firm’s significant experience in resolving complex litigation using creative and aggressive arguments, across a broad range of class, collective, coordinated, and mass actions, as well multidistrict litigation. We also have succeeded at trial in several class actions—a rare occurrence.
Practice Area
Winston takes a strategic approach to privacy and data security, integrating our extensive capabilities across practices to provide our clients with cutting-edge privacy and data security counseling, crisis management, security incident investigation and notification management, defense of data security class action litigation and regulatory inquiries, and international data protection. Our Global Privacy & Data Security Practice features a core team of privacy professionals and is bolstered by more than 40 attorneys from a variety of other disciplines firmwide. Our team combines compliance counselors, transactional lawyers, former government regulators and federal prosecutors, seasoned investigators, and experienced litigators. Few firms can rival our in-depth, sophisticated, and integrated experience in this area.
Experience 10 results
Experience
|January 16, 2025
Winston Wins Dismissal of False Advertising Claims Against Birdseed Manufacturer
Plaintiffs filed suit in the Northern District of California, claiming a publicly traded market leader in the pet and garden industries misled consumers with its "Wild Bird Seed" and "Wild Bird Feed" products because they contained milo, which wild birds supposedly dislike. Winston argued the products had ingredients birds eat, birds can eat milo, and plaintiffs got what they paid for. On January 16, 2025, the court dismissed the class action, allowing an amendment, but plaintiffs voluntarily dropped it instead.
Experience
|June 13, 2023
The J.M. Smucker Company Beats False Advertising Class Action
Winston’s advertising litigation team defended The J.M. Smucker Company in a putative false advertising class action filed in the Central District of California concerning the Nutrish brand, alleging false and misleading marketing tactics. The plaintiff alleged that Nutrish Zero Grain products are not “wholesome” and “safe” because of the products’ lack of taurine fortification, an essential amino acid that may help dogs avoid canine dilatated cardiomyopathy. Winston successfully moved to dismiss the case.
Experience
|December 10, 2020
Snack Company Dismissed from PHVO Ingredient Class Action
A California Winston team successfully represented Pop Secret Popcorn in a putative consumer fraud, false advertising, and product liability class action wherein the plaintiff alleges a claim under the unfair competition prong of California’s Unfair Competition Law, breach of implied warranty of merchantability, and public nuisance related to the inclusion of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (PHVO) in certain snack products. Significantly, this case is among the first filed after the FDA’s determination that trans-fats were no longer Generally Recognized as Safe and its impact on civil claims. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed the lower court’s decision and upheld the dismissal, securing a decisive victory for our client.
Insights & News 466 results
Press Release
|November 24, 2025
|5 Min Read
Winston & Strawn Names 18 New Partners Globally
Chicago – November 24, 2025 – Winston & Strawn LLP is pleased to announce that 18 of the firm’s lawyers have been elevated to partner.
Competition Corner
|November 11, 2025
|6 Min Read
Google’s $2.3 Million Mistake: How a Bench-Trial Play Became a Preclusion Problem
While Google’s strategy eliminated the short-term risk of a potentially volatile jury, it exposed the company to a devastating, long-term issue preclusion risk. This article explains why Google’s bench-trial gamble backfired, and what antitrust defendants can learn from it.
Seminar/CLE
|September 18, 2025
Winston Hosts New York Financial Services Symposium 2025
Winston’s Financial Services Industry Group was pleased to host our New York Financial Services Symposium. The event included a half-day of programming led by top industry thought leaders. Find key takeaways from each panel discussion below.
Other Results 30 results
Law Glossary
What Is Advertising Litigation?
Advertising litigation is defined as the legal area that covers false or deceptive advertising cases. Lawsuits may be brought by government agencies or corporate competitors based on the Lanham Act—a law that specifically deals with false advertising. The Act outlines how an advertisement can be deemed false. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the ability to file lawsuits to halt deceptive advertising claims. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration may also pursue advertising litigation against violators of government regulations. Companies may be called on to substantiate their advertising claims, whether these are made in print or online.
Site Content
What Is the National Advertising Division (NAD)?
As part of the independent, non-profit BBB National Programs, the National Advertising Division (NAD) independently evaluates the truth and accuracy of national advertising. It also works to increase the public’s confidence in advertising. NAD assesses a broad scope of ad claims, including those related to product performance, surveys, pricing, and guarantees. NAD responsibilities include:
Law Glossary
What Is Consumer Marketing Law?
Consumer marketing law is a broad legal segment dealing with federal and state statutes, along with government regulations, established to ensure that marketing and advertising are truthful. Federal law states that no form of advertising, including online advertising, can be deceptive. Marketing claims must also be evidence-based.