| Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation |
Our seasoned appellate lawyers have argued more than 130 cases before the Supreme Court, including leading cases in areas such as antitrust, banking law, bankruptcy, communications, constitutional law, employment, energy regulation, federal preemption, patent, securities regulation and tax. We regularly handle matters in federal and state appellate courts throughout the United States, and have represented clients in over 35 patent and other cases in the Federal Circuit in the last two years. In 2011 alone, 29 different WilmerHale lawyers made a total of 47 oral arguments in state and federal courts, including six arguments by three different lawyers in the Supreme Court. Combining our trial and appellate strengths allows us to shape litigation strategy from the outset to maximize the likelihood of ultimate success. Clients also retain us to advise them on complex and often unsettled legal issues, no matter what the particular forum or context.
WilmerHale’s appellate practice group, with members in Washington DC, New York, Boston and Los Angeles, has been honored by Chambers USA every year since 2005. Chambers called our team a "bench of talent that is 'impressive beyond belief'" and cited our "built-in ability and knowledge to tackle appeals both before the state, federal and Supreme courts." According to The National Law Journal’s (NLJ) “Supreme Court Scorecard,” in the 2010 term WilmerHale had more Supreme Court wins than any other law firm, and achieved the highest win percentage of firms arguing multiple cases. The NLJ further recognized the group in 2011, naming WilmerHale to the Appellate Hot List for the fourth consecutive year. The group has also been recognized as a leader in appellate advocacy by U.S. News/Best Lawyers, Benchmark and Law360, which recently named WilmerHale an “Appellate Group of the Year” for 2011.
Recent practice highlights include:
- Presented oral argument in four cases during the Supreme Court's 2011 Term. In Judulang v. Holder, partner Mark Fleming successfully challenged the Board of Immigration Appeals policy restricting the availability of relief from deportation; in a unanimous opinion, the Court ruled in favor of our client and nullified the Board's policy as arbitrary and capricious. In December, 2011, Partners Paul Wolfson and Seth Waxman argued cases on consecutive days in Messerschmidt v. Millender and Martel v. Clair. Finally, on January 12, 2012, Seth Waxman argued in the closely watched FCC v. Fox Television, et al., which concerns the FCC's indecency rules for broadcast television.
- Presented oral argument in five cases in the Court's 2010 Term, including achieving notable victories in two closely-watched patent cases before the Supreme Court. In Microsoft Corp. v. i4i Limited Partnership, the Court ruled that an alleged patent infringer’s invalidity defense must be proved by clear and convincing evidence. This outcome has a dramatic impact on the stability and value of patent rights, and the incentives to innovate across numerous sectors of the economy. The same week the Court also decided Stanford University v. Roche Molecular Systems, an opinion that was significant for, among other things, being the first patent case in which the Supreme Court affirmed the Federal Circuit notwithstanding the Solicitor General urging reversal. WilmerHale attorneys also argued Chase Bank USA v. McCoy, United States v. Tohono O'odham Nation and Turner v. Rogers.
- Won the judgment of acquittal on all counts against our client, former McAfee Chief Financial Officer, Prabhat Goyal, in the Ninth Circuit. The decision is a resounding rejection of the government's case, finding that no jury could reasonably have reached a criminal violation. In a concurring opinion that takes particular exception with the government's pursuit of criminal charges for accounting and financial fraud, Chief Judge Kozinski noted: “Mr. Goyal had the benefit of exceptionally fine advocacy on appeal, so he is spared the punishment for a crime he didn’t commit. But not everyone is so lucky.” (United States v. Goyal)
- Won a substantial victory in a nearly decade-long battle over patent rights for recordable/rewritable compact disks when the Federal Circuit—sitting en banc—affirmed the decision of the International Trade Commission. (Princo Corp. v. ITC)
- Won a significant victory in the Supreme Court in 2010 on behalf of several ocean shippers in a case raising important issues of class arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act. (Stolt-Nielsen v. Animalfeeds)
- Continued our representation of inmates at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. In June 2010, we secured a victory in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit when it reversed and remanded the District Court’s denial of habeas relief to one of our pro bono clients detained at Guantanamo. (Bensayah v. Obama) The firm previously obtained a landmark victory in the Supreme Court, which held that Guantanamo prisoners have a constitutional right to habeas corpus. (Boumediene v. Bush)