SCOTUS Veteran and Solicitor General Office Alum Pratik Shah to Join Akin Gump, Co-Head Supreme Court Practice

(Washington, D.C.) – Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is pleased to announce that Pratik A. Shah, most recently an assistant to the solicitor general at the U.S. Department of Justice, will be joining the firm as co-head of the Supreme Court practice and a partner in the national appellate practice in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.

Mr. Shah had served in the Office of the Solicitor General since 2008, where he argued 13 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and authored merits briefs in 10 others.  In that capacity, he handled some of the office’s most challenging cases, including those on issues ranging from same-sex marriage to securities law and from tax and ERISA law to Indian and environmental law.  Prior to his time in the Office of the Solicitor General, Mr. Shah worked at another large international law firm in its appellate and Supreme Court practice. 

Akin Gump chairperson Kim Koopersmith said, “Akin Gump has one of the finest Supreme Court and appellate practices in the country, and Pratik’s intellectual skills, courtroom experience and sterling credentials as a Supreme Court advocate will add tremendously to the quality and depth of the service we offer clients.”

Patricia Millett, who heads the firm’s Supreme Court practice and co-heads the national appellate practice, noted, “I could not be more pleased that Pratik will be joining Akin Gump.  He is a brilliant advocate with a rigorously analytical mind, and his broad experience and superb academic background will contribute materially to our provision of the highest-caliber appellate representation for our clients.”

Mr. Shah added, “Joining Akin Gump is a tremendous opportunity for me.  The firm’s reputation and achievements are known to everyone in the industry, and Patricia’s reputation, in particular, as a top-tier Supreme Court advocate is second to none. I very much look forward to joining this great practice and to working with my new colleagues throughout the firm on behalf of Akin Gump’s clients.”

About Pratik A. Shah

An experienced Supreme Court advocate, both at the Office of the Solicitor General and in private practice, Mr. Shah was a Hugo Black Faculty Fellow at the University of Alabama School of Law, where he taught and wrote about constitutional law.  Prior to that, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer and Judge William A. Fletcher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Mr. Shah has received a number of recognitions for his advocacy before the Supreme Court, including the IRS National Chief Counsel Award for Hall v. United States (2012) and the Justice Department, Environment & Natural Resources Division, Special Commendation for United States v. Jicarilla Apache Nation (2011).

Mr. Shah received his B.S.E. in chemical engineering from Princeton in 1998, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was awarded the Othmer Prize in Chemical Engineering and the Glickman Prize for Community Service.  He received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2001, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and senior articles editor for the California Law Review.

About Akin Gump’s Supreme Court and appellate practice

Akin Gump boasts one of the nation’s foremost Supreme Court and appellate practices, comprising exceptionally experienced and respected figures in the courtroom. Prominent in the practice are a former federal appellate court judge, a former state appellate court judge, former assistants to the solicitor general and Supreme Court law clerks. Their work before the Supreme Court and appellate courts across the country has generated exceptional results for firm clients and led to numerous industry plaudits, including being named to the National Law Journal’s distinguished “Appellate Hot List” every year since 2008.

Most recently, practice co-head Patricia Millett was named by The National Law Journal as among the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America,” and co-head Rex Heinke was named by California Lawyer magazine as one of its “Attorneys of the Year.”

Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 850 attorneys in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

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