Sheppard Mullin Duo Named to Bloomberg Law's Inaugural "Unrivaled Litigators" List
Houston Office Managing Partner John Keville and IP Associate Chante Westmoreland were recognized by Bloomberg Law in its inaugural “2025 Unrivaled” list. According to Bloomberg, the award “celebrates litigators at law firms and elsewhere who lead the legal industry in high-stakes trials and settlements on impactful matters for clients.”
The duo led the Sheppard Mullin team to a landmark victory, securing a $71 million jury trial verdict for the creators of OMG Girlz, rapper Clifford “T.I.” Harris and his wife, singer-songwriter Tameka “Tiny” Harris, in high-profile IP litigation with toy manufacturer MGA Entertainment. Their creative and strategic approach—narrowing the case to clear, credible claims and dismantling key defense expert testimony—was vital to the outcome.
“Heading into the third trial, we took a different approach, narrowing the case and leaving behind significant potential damages to focus on the instances of misappropriation and infringement for which we could show a 1-to-1 correlation and unmistakable resemblance of seven dolls to the OMG Girlz,” Keville said. “Having been through one trial, we knew the OMG Girlz would be credible witnesses—we just had to prepare them for the defense’s strategy of demeaning them and their fans.”
In speaking to the major keys to winning over a jury or judge, Westmoreland said, “Authenticity is key. Your role is to clearly convey your client’s story to story to a group of people who have no personal investment. Juries, like all humans, read inauthenticity or pandering quickly.”
Keville, a partner in Sheppard Mullin’s Intellectual Property practice, is an accomplished first-chair trial lawyer. In the last five years, he has won several trials for his clients, including three jury verdicts affirming patent validity and willful infringement, twice receiving mentions in The American Lawyer’s Litigator of the Week column.
Westmoreland is a rising star litigator and trademark lawyer, also in the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group. She is the current president of the Asian American Bar Association of Houston and serves in leadership roles across the firm, including as a co-chair of the firmwide Associates Forum and a member of the recruiting and summer associate committees for the growing Houston office.
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