Calling All Appellate Movers and Shakers
This week the west coast firm of Munger Tolles & Olson LLP announced that well-known former Solicitor General Donald Verilli will lead the opening of its new Washington, D.C., office. Verilli is moving back into private practice after several years at the Department of Justice. He plans to continue his appellate practice but also to build an office that is broad in its reach regarding regulatory issues, counseling, and negotiation.
For Verrilli, heading to Munger Tolles represents a return to private practice. Before his time in government, he worked for Jenner & Block LLP, where he chaired the telecommunications, appellate and Supreme Court practices and developed expertise in areas such as patent law, technology, content and copyright, health care and energy. He also served as deputy White House counsel, and as an associate deputy attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice before his June 2011 confirmation.
Verilli argued some of the biggest cases ever before the Court:
As the nation’s 46th solicitor general, Verrilli argued the landmark 2012 National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius decision, in which a 5-4 majority upheld the constitutionality of most parts of the Affordable Care Act. That, along with 2015’s King v. Burwell decision over state health care exchange subsidies, are some of his proudest moments from his service, Verrilli said.
“We were defending social policy of enormous consequence and the stakes could not have been higher,” Verrilli said. “I thought in both those cases, the lawyering really made a difference in the case, and I’m very proud of that work and that I had a chance to do it.”
Arguing cases defending the right to marriage equality was an “enormous privilege,” Verrilli said. During his tenure, he argued against the federal ban on same-sex marriage in the Defense of Marriage Act in the 2013 U.S. v. Windsor case and against state bans on same-sex marriage in the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges case, in which the majority found a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
Verilli, formerly of Jenner and Block – a Supreme Court powerhouse law firm – is bringing some legal firepower to the new office. Michael DeSanctis, a former partner at Jenner and Block, and Chad Golder, at DOJ and formerly at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, will be joining Verilli at the D.C. office. Verilli is also known for his skill in building talented legal teams.
While this “start up” might be a little new to the scene to make the Appellate Hot List for this year, it will likely be a frontrunner before long. The National Law Journal is currently taking nominees for law firms that have done exemplary, cutting-edge appellate advocacy:
Potential nominees must be able to point to least one significant appellate win since January 2015, plus an impressive track record overall. A “significant win” means prevailing before the U.S. Supreme Court, a U.S. circuit court of appeals or a state court of last resort when the financial stakes were high or an important legal principle was at stake.
Munger Tolles & Olson with Verilli at the helm will likely lead the contenders in years to come, but who are your picks for this year?