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    Home /  Practices /  Litigation /  Supreme Court and Appellate

    Supreme Court and Appellate

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    Led by former Acting Solicitor General of the United States Jeff Wall—who has argued more than 30 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court—our Supreme Court and Appellate team is one of the most sought-after in the country. Our team handles challenging and high-profile appeals before the Supreme Court, the federal courts of appeals, and state appellate courts. We also provide counseling on complex legal issues, whether at earlier stages of the litigation or before litigation even begins.

    Clients increasingly call on our Supreme Court and Appellate team to lead critical challenges to administrative regulations that pose existential risk to the regulated community. Our recent administrative cases involve some of the most consequential federal rules, including regulations on noncompete agreements, net neutrality, digital discrimination, vehicle emissions standards, proxy advisory firms, securities loan and short sale reporting, and SEC dealer registration requirements. Our appellate team members have spent time at the highest levels of the government, and are also able to draw on the experience and expertise that other S&C lawyers have in dealing with administrative agencies—from the inside and outside.

    Beyond our breadth of experience, our appellate team stands out in three ways. First, we play nicely in the sandbox. We pride ourselves on being easy to work with, and we frequently work closely and cooperatively with in-house counsel, trial teams, and large joint defense groups. Second, who you hire is who you get. We don’t have figureheads; all our lawyers are invested in your matter. Third, our success is driven by the strength and diversity of our bench. We put faith in our entire signature block of lawyers, who have clerked for Justices and judges across the legal spectrum and who come from a variety of groups too long underrepresented in the appellate space.

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    Spotlight

    Nic Bourtin and Sam Bonafede Author Law360 Article on Warrantless Arrest Standard

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    S&C Obtains Appellate Reversal for Sumitomo Entities in Tax Dispute Over International Mining Deal

    Read More

    Alex Willscher and Sam Bonafede Author Bloomberg Law Article on Interlocutory Appeals

    Read More

    S&C Secures Appellate Victory for Canadian Pacific in Mandatory Redemption Dispute

    Read More

    S&C Obtains Appellate Victory for Barclays in LIBOR Antitrust Case

    Read More
    • Experience
    • Rankings and Recognitions
    • News
    • Publications, Videos and Podcasts
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    Experience

    Experience

    • Great Lakes Insurance in securing a unanimous ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in a maritime insurance dispute that the parties’ contractual choice-of-law provision is binding.
    • Goldman Sachs in obtaining a major victory from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a $13 billion securities case, with the court reversing class certification after 13 years of litigation and establishing important guardrails to the “inflation-maintenance” theory of securities fraud.
    • Bayer in obtaining the dismissal—affirmed on appeal by the Delaware Supreme Court sitting en banc—of a lawsuit brought by Merck & Co. alleging M&A-related contract claims.
    • Walgreens Boots Alliance in obtaining a ruling from the Ohio Supreme Court, on certification from the Sixth Circuit, eliminating a $650 million public-nuisance judgment in the national opioid multidistrict litigation.
    • NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, USTelecom – The Broadband Association, and Ohio Telecom Association in their successful challenge to the FCC’s reclassification of broadband under Title II of the Communications Act in the Sixth Circuit.
    • U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, Texas Association of Business, and Longview Chamber of Commerce in their challenge to the FTC’s rule banning noncompete agreements, securing the first nationwide decision declaring the rule unlawful.
    • U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Texas Association of Business, and Longview Chamber of Commerce in their challenge to the FCC’s digital-discrimination rule, pending in the Eighth Circuit.
    • U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, and others in their challenge to the SEC’s proxy-voting rule rescission.
    • National Association of Private Fund Managers, Managed Funds Association, and Alternative Investment Management Association in their challenge to the SEC’s Securities Loan Report and Short Position Reporting rules, pending in the Fifth Circuit.
    • JPMorgan Chase in securing the affirmance from the Second Circuit of the dismissal of a lawsuit in connection with a syndicated loan arranged by a group of banks led by JPMorgan for Millennium Laboratories.
    • Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in the dismissal with prejudice, affirmed on appeal by the Sixth Circuit, of a high-profile lawsuit brought by General Motors in the Eastern District of Michigan against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in which GM sought billions of dollars in damages.
    • Volkswagen in winning an important ruling from a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that eliminated significant liability for the company in securities litigation involving $8.3 billion of bonds that will sharply limit the ability of plaintiffs to use the Supreme Court’s Affiliated Ute presumption of reliance in securities lawsuits.
    • Volkswagen and Audi in obtaining a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that affirmed a decision dismissing with prejudice all claims brought on behalf of a putative class of former owners and former lessees of Volkswagen and Audi diesel vehicles who sold or returned their cars before the September 2015 public disclosure that a defeat device had been installed in their cars. Volkswagen and Audi had purposely excluded these individuals from the historic consumer class action settlements in 2016 and 2017. The Ninth Circuit panel concluded that the drivers had no standing to sue because they didn’t come up with a viable damages theory. 
    • Spirit AeroSystems in two appellate victories in the Tenth Circuit in a case involving compensation for the company’s former CEO—first reversing a $45 million judgment, then winning again on a subsequent appeal.
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    Rankings and Recognitions

    Rankings and Recognitions

    • Jeff Wall and Morgan Ratner Named ‘Litigators of the Week’ for Sixth Circuit Net Neutrality Win

      January 13, 2025
    • Jeff Wall Named ‘Litigator of the Week’ for Eliminating $650 Million Award Against Walgreens and Other Pharmacies

      December 17, 2024
    • S&C Wins Top Award for FT’s ‘Innovative Lawyers in Dispute Resolution’ for Goldman Sachs Securities Litigation Victory

      December 10, 2024
    • The American Lawyer Names Morgan Ratner ‘Young Lawyer of the Year—Litigation’

      November 14, 2024
    • S&C Litigators Recognized as ‘Stars’ by Benchmark Litigation 2025

      October 29, 2024
    • Robert Giuffra Jr. Named ‘Top 100 Trial Lawyer’ by Benchmark Litigation 2025 for Ninth Consecutive Year

      October 28, 2024
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    News

    News

    • S&C Obtains Appellate Reversal for Sumitomo Entities in Tax Dispute Over International Mining Deal

      May 20, 2025
    • S&C Secures Appellate Victory for Canadian Pacific in Mandatory Redemption Dispute

      March 3, 2025
    • S&C Prevails for Barclays Bank in Appeal of RMBS Litigation

      January 15, 2025
    • S&C Obtains Appellate Victory for Barclays in LIBOR Antitrust Case

      January 15, 2025
    • Bob Giuffra Discusses Potential Impact of Macroeconomic Factors on 2025 Litigation Trends with Litigation Daily

      January 10, 2025
    • Judd Littleton Discusses Continued Court Challenges to Agency Rulemaking with Law360

      January 8, 2025
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    Publications, Videos and Podcasts

    Publications, Videos and Podcasts

    • Nic Bourtin and Sam Bonafede Author Law360 Article on Warrantless Arrest Standard

      Articles |  June 4, 2025
    • Supreme Court Allows President to Fire Agency Officials

      S&C Memos |  May 28, 2025
    • In Break from Recent Precedent, Supreme Court Embraces Broad Interpretation of Federal Wire Fraud Statute

      S&C Memos |  May 23, 2025
    • New York’s Highest Court Rejects Efforts to Make New York a Hub for Non-U.S. Derivative Litigation

      S&C Memos |  May 21, 2025
    • Alex Willscher and Sam Bonafede Author Bloomberg Law Article on Interlocutory Appeals

      Articles |  April 10, 2025
    • Upcoming Supreme Court Argument in NVIDIA Corp. v. E. Ohman J:or Fonder AB

      Podcasts |  November 11, 2024
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    Practice Contacts

    Practice Contacts

    Jeffrey B. Wall Headshot Photo
    Jeffrey B. Wall
    Washington, D.C.
    +1-202-956-7500
    Email
    vCard
    Judson O. Littleton Headshot Photo
    Judson O. Littleton
    Washington, D.C.
    +1-202-956-7500
    Email
    vCard
    Morgan L. Ratner Headshot Photo
    Morgan L. Ratner
    Washington, D.C.
    +1-202-956-7500
    Email
    vCard
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    Related Practices

    Related Practices

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