Overview
Paul Hughes co-heads the Firm’s practices focusing on Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation as well as Government and Regulatory Litigation. He briefs and argues complex appeals, and he develops legal strategy before trial courts, including strategic affirmative litigation.
An experienced appellate lawyer, Paul has argued ten times at the US Supreme Court, most recently in January 2023. Having presented more than 60 arguments, Paul has appeared before en banc sittings of the Fourth, Fifth, Ninth and Tenth Circuits; panels of the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, DC and Federal Circuits; and several state appellate courts. Paul also frequently argues in state and federal trial courts across the country.
Paul is a visiting clinical lecturer in law at the Yale Law School, where he co-directs Yale’s Supreme Court Advocacy Clinic.
In listing Paul in its nationwide rating of appellate lawyers, Chambers USA (2022) notes that he “play[s] 3D chess in litigation strategy” and “will learn your business better than you know it.” In ranking Paul as a “Leading Lawyer” in appellate practice, The Legal 500 (2021) describes Paul as “exceptionally professional, effective, and easy to work with,” an “intellectually impressive and skilled advocate,” and it explains that he “demonstrates a surprisingly high policy awareness that sets him apart in Washington.”
Before the Supreme Court, Paul won a pair of cases in 2020 – Nasrallah v. Barr and Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr – both of which extended the scope of judicial review over administrative agency action. Crucial to Paul’s victory in Nasrallah was advancing a statutory interpretation argument that had been overlooked by all ten courts of appeals to have previously addressed the issue. In 2019, Paul won a unanimous victory – with divided reasoning – in Kisor v. Wilkie, a landmark administrative law case that imposes significant limitations on the scope of agency deference. In 2018, Paul secured a 9-0 win in the bankruptcy case Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, which presented a technical question of statutory interpretation.
Paul frequently challenges administrative agency action, especially with respect to the life sciences and healthcare industries, high-skilled immigration, and taxation. In October 2020, Paul won an injunction for the National Association of Manufacturers and the US Chamber of Commerce, enjoining implementation of a presidential proclamation that would have barred tens-of-thousands of high-skilled workers from entering the United States. In a series of orders spanning 2020 and 2021, Paul invalidated four separate regulations designed to substantially upset high-skilled immigration.
In 2018, Law360 named Paul an “MVP” for his intellectual property work before the Federal Circuit, where he has argued about a dozen times. Paul also has deep experience with the False Claims Act, civil rights litigation, and securities law. Paul often challenges—and sometimes defends—federal, state, and local governments across a wide range of issues.
Paul served as a law clerk to the Honorable Diana Gribbon Motz of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was a senior editor of the Yale Law Journal.
Results
- In the Supreme Court, won a decision extending judicial review to all aspects of administrative agency decision-making over Convention Against Torture Claims. (Nasrallah v. Barr, 2020)
- In the Supreme Court, won a sweeping victory providing broad judicial review over administrative agency action in the immigration context. (Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr & Ovalles v. Barr, 2020)
- In the Supreme Court, secured a unanimous victory, with divided reasoning, confirming sharp limitations on the scope of agency authority (Kisor v. Wilkie, 2019)
- In the Supreme Court, unanimously won a statutory interpretation question involving the Bankruptcy Act (Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, 2018)*
- In the Supreme Court, won a 9-0 favorable decision regarding the construction of the Prison Litigation Reform Act, leading to victory on remand (Ross v. Blake, 2016)*
- In the D.C. Circuit, won vacatur and remand of FERC ratemaking decision that rejected the New York Independent System Operator’s proposed amortization period for use in capacity auctions. (Independent Power Producers of New York v. FERC, 2022)
- In the Ninth Circuit, won affirmance of summary judgment for reinsurer in complex insurance dispute (American Claims Management v. Allied World Surplus Lines Insurance Co., 2022)
- In the Federal Circuit, won a summary affirmance of a complex, multi-week patent trial (Zhejiang Med. Co. v. Kaneka Corp., 2019)*
- In the Federal Circuit, successfully reversed the adverse decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (In re Tropp, 2018)*
- In the Federal Circuit, won appeal regarding patent invalidity for reasons of indefiniteness (Capital Security Systems v. NCR, 2018)*
- In the Federal Circuit, obtained reversal of the district court’s grant of summary judgment in a patent matter, winning an important decision addressing divided infringement (Travel Sentry, Inc. v. Tropp, 2017)*
- In the Fifth Circuit, won reversal of the district court’s statutory construction regarding the reach of the fraud exception to bankruptcy discharge (Matter of Haler, 2017)
- In the US District Court for the Northern District of California, secured a preliminary injunction that enabled the EB-5 program to resume and subsequently achieved a settlement governing implementation of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act. (EB5 Capital v. DHS, 2022).
- In the US District Court for the Northern District of California, won summary judgment to hold invalid two interim final regulations—one by the Department of Labor and one by the Department of Homeland Security—designed to foreclose the H-1B program; subsequently succeeded in invalidating two additional regulations, again one each by DOL and DHS, which sought to disrupt H-1B visas (Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. DHS, 2020 & 2021)
- In the US District Court for the Northern District of California, obtained a preliminary injunction on that barred enforcement of Presidential Proclamation 10,052, which sought to ban entry of high-skilled workers entering the United States on H, J, and L visas (National Association of Manufacturers v. DHS, 2020)
- In the US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, obtained a nationwide permanent injunction on behalf of a consortium of leading colleges and universities, blocking an immigration policy detrimental to the interests of international students (Guilford College v. McAleenan, 2020)
- In the US District Court for the District of Columbia, prevailed on summary judgment against the Department of Homeland Security, invalidating its delay of the International Entrepreneur Rule (Nat’l Venture Capital Ass’n v. Duke, 2017)*
*Matter handled prior to joining McDermott.*
Recognitions
- Chambers USA, Nationwide Appellate Law, 2020 – 2022
- The Legal 500 US, Appellate & Supreme Court, Leading Lawyer, 2021 – 2022
- Benchmark Litigation, 40 & Under Hot List, 2017-2022
- The Best Lawyers in America 2020 to 2022, Banking and Finance Law
- Jack Wasserman Memorial Award, presented by the American Immigration Lawyers Association for excellence in litigation respecting immigration, 2021
- Law360, MVP, 2018
- Law360, Appellate Rising Star, 2017 & 2018
- National Law Journal, Appellate Rising Star, 2017
- American Lawyer, Litigator of the Week, 2017
Community
- Yale Law School, visiting clinical lecturer in law, 2015 to present
- National Police Accountability Project, board member, 2014 to present
Credentials
Education
Yale Law School, JD, 2008
Georgetown University, MA, 2005
Georgetown University, AB, summa cum laude, 2004
Admissions
District of Columbia
New York
Courts / Agencies
US Supreme Court
US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
US District Court for the District of Colorado
US District Court for the District of Columbia
US District Court for the District of Maryland
US District Court for the Eastern District of New York
US District Court for the Southern District of New York
