Partner Seth Waxman, who argued his 75th case before the US Supreme Court on December 2, has been named a Litigator of the Year by The American Lawyer.
A former US Solicitor General, Waxman chairs WilmerHale's Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation Practice and has argued a stunning array of appellate matters in courtrooms across the country, scoring victories that changed the legal landscape on issues including patent infringement, the death penalty, election redistricting, false advertising and free speech. His four Supreme Court arguments in the 2014-2015 term were the most argued by any lawyer in private practice (tied with two others)-an honor Waxman has earned in several years.
The American Lawyer noted that for two consecutive Supreme Court terms, in 5-4 cases, Waxman “has successfully appealed to the better angels of our nature,” highlighting 2014's Hall v. Florida, in which the Court shot down Florida's use of a clinically arbitrary IQ test cutoff for death penalty eligibility. The American Lawyer also recognized Waxman's work on 2015's Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, in which the Court affirmed the constitutional authority of the people, acting by initiative, to draw district lines and enact other time, place and manner regulations governing congressional elections, bypassing state legislatures.
Read The American Lawyer's profile on Waxman.