Supreme Court & Appellate

Akin’s Supreme Court & appellate practice is renowned as one of the nation’s top appellate practices. The practice is made up of an elite group of advocates, including veterans of the Solicitor General’s office and former Supreme Court clerks, who brief and argue dozens of cases every year in federal and state appellate courts across the country. Our appellate team works with other lawyers at the trial level, handling dispositive motions and ensuring that key legal arguments are preserved for appeal. We also regularly represent parties and amici in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Our appellate practice has received national recognition from virtually every respected legal publication. It has been recognized perennially by Chambers USA and Legal 500 as a leader in the field, listed in Tier 1 in the U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers’ annual joint rankings of America’s Best Law Firms, and ranked recently by Corporate Counsel as one of the top three appellate practices nationwide. Akin garnered honors as Law360’s Appellate “Practice of the Year” for 2019, and remains a mainstay on The National Law Journal’s “Appellate Hot List.”

Our appellate group’s success is supported by the firm’s broad-gauged Disputes & Investigations practice and global scope. It works hand-in-glove with the firm’s wide range of substantive practices to reframe complex issues for appellate review, and has become a market leader for high-stakes appeals in areas such as Intellectual Property, Employment Law, American Indian Law, Financial Restructuring and Administrative & Regulatory practice. The result is an appellate practice that is able to tackle the most challenging matters across a broad spectrum of disciplines. Whether to undo adverse judgments or preserve critical victories from the trial court, our appellate advocates possess the skill, credibility and proven know-how to win.

Our Team

Headed by Pratik Shah, Akin’s appellate practice is nationally recognized as comprising “experienced practitioners with a wealth of expertise at state, federal and Supreme Court levels.” (Chambers USA 2020).

Mr. Shah, who previously served as Assistant to the Solicitor General in the U.S. Department of Justice, has argued 18 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and dozens more in other federal and state appellate courts throughout the country. Mr. Shah, elected into the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, is ranked among the country’s top appellate litigators by a number of leading publications. He has been noted as “practicing before the highest court in the land on some of the most groundbreaking cases of the 21st century” (Washington Business Journal), described as “absolutely brilliant” and “supremely talented” (Legal 500) and recognized as “the complete package: an extremely gifted writer and an extremely effective oral advocate” (Chambers USA).

Mr. Shah is joined by appellate partners James Tysse, Julius Chen and Aileen McGrath, who bring deep and diverse experience in several areas, including labor & employment, bankruptcy, complex class actions, intellectual property and Indian law. They are also well versed in litigating cases at every level of the judiciary involving federal and state constitutional, administrative and regulatory law issues. New partner Martine Cicconi, a former Deputy Solicitor General of Virginia and co-leader of the firm’s state attorney’s general practice, buttresses those appellate capabilities in litigation involving states. More broadly, Akin’s top-notch appellate team includes former law clerks from the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals. As a result, every appeal our firm handles is fortified by first-hand knowledge of both what judges want to know and how best to present that information.

All in all, we offer clients a seamless continuum of appellate know-how that extends from collaborating with trial counsel on strategic and tactical matters through deploying our extensive and hands-on experience on appeal to seeking or preventing Supreme Court review. The depth, breadth and quality of experience possessed by the appellate practice is such that lawyers from around the country—including other accomplished appellate lawyers—regularly consult our team on complex and critical matters.