Merrill C. Godfrey litigates complex civil matters, appeals and administrative cases. Mr. Godfrey has experience in litigation strategy and tactics—how to use both substantive law and procedural mechanisms to achieve the best possible outcome. He has represented plaintiffs, defendants and interested parties in high-stakes matters before the federal courts and federal agencies. He has authored briefs in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. courts of appeals, the U.S. district courts, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and U.S. administrative agencies.
Mr. Godfrey has litigated numerous oil and gas cases and is part of a team at Akin Gump with experience in energy matters. He also has extensive experience litigating against the United States and its executive agencies, including claims for breach of contract and breach of trust. He has handled intricate, technical subject matter and difficult legal issues in such diverse areas as patent law, Indian trust law, federal income tax, fraud, antitrust, securities, international copyright law and nuclear waste disposal.
Mr. Godfrey received his B.A. summa cum laude in political science in 1995 from the University of Utah, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received his J.D. in 1998 from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), where he was named to Order of the Coif, served as an associate editor of the California Law Review and was a member of the Moot Court Board. From 1998 to 1999, he clerked for the Honorable Stephen H. Anderson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. Mr. Godfrey is a member of the California and District of Columbia bars.