Client Services / Trial / Appellate

Appellate

McDermott Will & Emery’s nationally recognized Appellate Practice Group consists of highly experienced lawyers in our U.S. offices who have successfully handled hundreds of appeals.   Our group includes more than 20 partners who have successfully argued appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court, the thirteen regional circuits of the U.S. courts of appeals and numerous state appellate courts.   Members of this group have served as judicial law clerks at the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. courts of appeals, and U.S. district courts.  In addition to representing our own clients in their appeals, lawyers in our group have also been retained to file friend of court briefs in cases of national importance in the U.S. Supreme Court and various other appellate courts.   

Supreme Court Experience

Arthur Andersen, LLP v. Carlisle, 556 U.S. ___,129 S. Ct. 1896 (2009)
Whether non-parties to an arbitration agreement may use the Federal Arbitration Act to enforce arbitration rights; whether non-parties to an arbitration agreement may appeal a district court’s denial of a motion to stay pending arbitration.

Morgan Stanley Capital Group, Inc. v. Public Util. Dist. No. 1 of Snohomish County Washington, 554 U.S. ___ (June 26, 2008)
Whether the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is allowed to invalidate energy contracts with public utilities when they no longer provide favorable market terms for the utilities.

FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., 551 U.S.449, 127 S. Ct. 2652 (2007)     
Whether the McCain-Feingold law’s broad ban on election-related communications by corporations within 60 days of an election, as applied to broadcast ads urging senators to oppose the judicial filibuster, violated the First Amendment. 

Beck v. Pace International Union,   551   U.S.96, 127 S. Ct. 2310 (2007) 
Whether a pension plan sponsor terminating a pension plan had a fiduciary duty under ERISA to consider a union’s proposal to merge the plan with the union’s pension plan.

Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. v. FEC, 546 U.S. 410 (2006) (per curiam)
Whether McConnell v. Federal Election Commission foreclosed an “as applied” First Amendment challenge to the McCain-Feingold law’s ban on election-related communications by corporations and labor unions.  

Merck KGaA v. Integra Lifesciences I, Ltd., 545 U.S. 193 (2005)
Whether the Federal Circuit correctly construed the scope of the “FDA Exemption” under the Hatch-Waxman Act to liability for patent infringement. 

United States v. Lara, 541 U.S. 193 (2004)
Whether a tribal prosecution under the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 followed by a federal prosecution for offenses with the same elements violated the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

FCC v. Gulf Power Co., 534 U.S. 327 (2002)
Whether the Federal Communications Commission had jurisdiction under the Telecommunications Act to regulate pole attachments for commingled high-speed Internet and traditional cable television services and attachments by wireless telecommunications providers.

Dir. of Revenue of Missouri v. CoBank ACB,   531 U.S. 316 (2001)
Whether the National Bank for Cooperatives, which Congress has designated as a federally chartered instrumentality of the United States, was exempt from state income taxation.

Market Recognition

McDermott’s lawyers are recognized as leaders in their fields, and our appellate lawyers have been highly praised for their work.

  • Named to The National Law Journal’s 2008 and 2010 Appellate Hot List for firms demonstrating “unqualified excellence” in appellate litigation.  McDermott was one of 20 law firms that received this recognition in 2010.
  • Chambers USA 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 nationally ranked our appellate lawyers.  Chambers indicates that “clients go on to praise the team for ‘picking up on the issues others miss.’”
  • Benchmark Litigation 2011 nationally ranked our appellate practice.
  • Legal 500 USA 2010 and 2011 nationally ranked our appellate practice.
  • U.S. News-Best Lawyers 2011 nationally ranked our appellate practice.

Contacts

Trial Client Services

McDermott Will & Emery

McDermott Will and Emery