WilmerHale has been named to The National Law Journal’s 2015 Appellate Hot List, marking eight consecutive years that the firm has been included in this prestigious listing. Each year, the list recognizes 20 firms with the strongest appellate practices in the nation based on their successes during the course of the previous year.
The journal’s profile on the firm highlights a number of recent victories, including Kimble v. Marvel Enterprises Inc., which was led by Partner Tom Saunders. In that case, the Supreme Court upheld the 1964 Brulotte v. Thys ruling that “rendered royalty contracts unenforceable after the expiration of a patent.” Partner Seth Waxman, chair of the Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation Practice, says “when the Supreme Court declined to overrule it, it read as though it was an easy case, but in fact, the Las Vegas odds on this were minuscule, at least before we filed our brief.” In the end, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of WilmerHale’s client.
Another notable case that the firm handled was a pro bono matter for the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, which had been sued by the Arizona Legislature in 2012. The court ruled in favor of the firm’s client, leaving the redistricting process in the hands of the independent commission rather than the legislature. Additionally, the journal called out WilmerHale’s victory in the Google books case, which found that Google’s digital copying from more than 20 million books is fair use.
Attorneys at the firm have argued more than 130 cases before the Supreme Court, leading matters in areas such as antitrust, banking law, bankruptcy, communications, constitutional law, employment, energy regulation, federal preemption, patent, securities regulation, and tax. Solidifying WilmerHale’s strong practice, the firm has also handled hundreds of cases in the courts of appeals. This past July the journal published a story entitled, “Bragging Rights go to Wilmer,” and featured the firm for arguing the most cases at the US Supreme Court (in the term just ended).
The full 2015 Appellate Hot List can be viewed on The National Law Journal’s website.