First Circuit

• Gillis v. SPX Corporation Individual Account Retirement Plan, 511 F.3d 58 (1st Cir. 2007): Represented SPX in an appeal that rejected a suit against it by a former employee who alleged that the terms of the SPX Individual Account Retirement Plan violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The appeals court found that the plaintiff’s already accumulated early retirement benefit was not improperly reduced because it was figured into the calculation of his SPX accrued benefit and that the plan did not violate ERISA’s notice requirement.
• Carcieri v. Norton, 497 F.3d 15 (1st Cir. 2007)(en banc):  Represented Indian tribes and tribal organizations as amici curiae to defend against state's efforts to invalidate federal legislation that allows the United States to take land into trust for Indian tribes.
• Cook v. Rumsfeld, Nos. 06-2313, 06-2381 (1st Cir. 2006):  Represented Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (“GLAD”) as amici in case contesting a lower court decision that upheld the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy excluding openly gay and lesbian individuals from military service.
• Metts v. Murphy, 363 F.3d 8 (1st Cir. 2004) (per curiam) (en banc):  Represented amici in connection with challenge under the Voting Rights Act to Rhode Island's 2002 state redistricting plan.

Second Circuit

• Olin Corporation v. Lloyds of London, 347 Fed Appx 622, 468 F3d 120. ( 2nd Cir. 2009): Represented Olin Corporation affirming an approximately $40 million judgment for Olin in an insurance coverage dispute over pollution remediation costs at several sites in New York, validating Olin’s position with respect to the nature and timing of the property damage, and several other legal issues.
• Penguin Group (USA), Inc. v. Steinbeck, 537 F.3d 193 (2nd Cir. 2008):  Represented the estate of novelist John Steinbeck’s widow, Elaine Steinbeck, in this decades-long legal battle over the rights to many of the author’s best-known early works.  Reversing a lower court ruling, the court held unanimously that a 1994 copyright agreement entered into by Ms. Steinbeck, who had received the rights by will, could not be terminated by John Steinbeck’s biological heirs.  The ruling is one of the few decisions interpreting termination rights under the Copyright Act of 1976.
• L-3 Communications Corp. v. OSI Systems, Inc., 2008 WL 2595176 (2nd Cir. 2008):  Represented L-3 in its challenge to a $126 million jury verdict growing out of its joint effort to purchase several businesses in conjunction with another company called OSI Systems. In a victory for the firm’s client, the appellate court held that L-3 owed no fiduciary duty to OSI Systems in the negotiations that would result in an increased level of obligation.
• Covanta Onondaga Ltd. v. Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency, 318 F.3d 392 (2nd Cir. 2003):  Represented Covanta in its appeal in which the court issued an important decision concerning the jurisdiction of federal district courts to issue orders that interfere with the ability of bankruptcy courts to administer complex bankruptcy proceedings.  Successfully vacated an injunction that prevented client Covanta Onondaga from asking the Bankruptcy Court to stay the continued prosecution of a state court action that the client asserted was interfering with its ability to reorganize.
• Playboy Enterprises, Inc. v. Dumas, 53 F.3d 549 (2nd Cir. 1995):  Represented a major publisher in an important case involving the work-for-hire doctrine of copyright law.

Third Circuit

• Zelenka v. NFI Industries Inc. and Honeywell International Inc., 260 Fed.Appx. 493, 2008 WL 131463 (3rd Cir. 2008):  Represented Honeywell in an appeal that affirmed the dismissal of a reverse False Claims Act case against Honeywell and a joint venturer.
• Ernest Traslavina v. Michael Gaines, Scott Kubic, U.S. Parole Commission, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 2212 (3rd Cir. 2004):  Persuaded the U.S. Court of Appeals to order a parole hearing for pro bono client,  who was improperly denied a hearing by the Federal Bureau of Prisons on two separate occasions.

Fourth Circuit

• Final Analysis Communications Systems, Inc. v. General Dynamics, 253 Fed.Appx. 307, 2007 WL 3230733 (4th Cir. 2007): Represented General Dynamics in an appeal of a $19 million verdict against it growing out of an alleged breach of contract and tort claim regarding a failed satellite telecommunications venture. The appeals court overturned that verdict and affirmed an $8 million contract judgment in favor of General Dynamics.
• Dickson v. Microsoft Corp., 309 F.3d 193 (4th Cir. 2002):  Represented Dell in an appeal in which the court rejected plaintiff-appellant’s argument alleging conspiracy among client Dell Computer Corp., two other computer manufacturers and Microsoft. The allegations claimed that Dell and the other appellees violated the Sherman Act by attempting to restrain trade and maintain Microsoft’s alleged monopoly by entering into licensing agreements that ensured that Microsoft’s applications would be installed on new computers.
• Neurotron, Inc. v. American Ass'n of Electrodiagnostic Medicine, 48 Fed.Appx. 42 (4th Cir. 2002):  Defended the American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine against a claim for a prior restraint of publication of its journal Muscle and Nerve based on the Lanham Act and commercial disparagement claims.  The Firm defeated plaintiff’s two requests for temporary restraining orders and its request for a preliminary injunction, and prevailed on summary judgment.  The Fourth Circuit affirmed.
• Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Ass’n v. FCC, 275 F.3d 337 (4th Cir. 2001):  Represented the National Association of Broadcasters who intervened to defend the constitutionality of the Act against challenges under the First Amendment, the Copyright Clause, the Takings Clause and the Due Process Clause.
• Food Lion v. Capital Cities/ABC Inc., 194 F.3d 505 (4th Cir. 1999):  Represented ABC on appeal in a highly publicized case involving tort liability for use of undercover reporters to investigate conditions and practices in a grocery store chain. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the plaintiff’s fraud claim was legally insupportable, thereby reducing the damages awarded by a jury to the nominal sum of $3.
• Harbor Court Associates, et al. v. Kiewit Construction Co., et al., 6 F. Supp. 2d 449 (4th Cir. 1999):  Represented the American Institute of Architects, the National Society of Professional Architects, and the American Society of Civil Engineers, as amici in support of respondents before the Fourth Circuit, successfully upholding an architect-engineering firm’s ability to contract around background law, especially when entering a business relationship with a large, experienced owner/developer. 

Fifth Circuit

• Propulsion Technologies, Inc., d/b/a PowerTech Marine Propellers v. Attwood Corporation, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 14165 (5th Cir. 2004):  Represented Atwood Corporation in challenging a judgment for over $8 million in damages, including interest resulting from a jury verdict in 2001.  The court struck down the verdict, and in so doing, the court ruled that Attwood, a Steelcase subsidiary, did not have an enforceable contract with the plaintiff as alleged, was not liable for fraudulent inducement of contract, and did not steal plaintiff's trade secrets.  The court of appeals did not remand for further proceedings, directing that judgment be entered for Attwood and terminating the litigation without any recovery for plaintiff.
• Telnet v. WorldCom, 92 Fed. Appx. 995 (5th Cir. 2004): Affirmance of denial of class certification in putative nationwide class action.
• SBC Communications, Inc. v. FCC, 154 F.3d 226 (5th Cir. 1998):  Represented a major telecommunications company challenging the constitutionality (under separation of powers and the Bill of Attainder clause) of the Special Provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which regulated the Bell Operating Companies.

Sixth Circuit

• JGR, Inc. v. Thomasville Furniture Industries, Inc., 550 F.3d 529 (6th Cir. 2008):  Represented Thomasville Furniture Industries in a complex appeal of an almost $7 million jury award against the company.  In a victory for the Firm’s client, the appeals court vacated the district court’s judgment entering the jury award, and remanded for a new trial for loss of business value damages.  
• Miller v. Blackwell, 388 F.3d 546 (6th Cir. 2004): Represented voters whose eligibility to vote was challenged.  The Sixth Circuit upheld the grant of a temporary restraining order in favor of the Firm’s clients.
• James v. Meow Media, 300 F.3d 683 (6th Cir. 2002):  Represented most of the leading companies in the video game industry in a lawsuit involving the claim that a troubled teenager’s exposure to games caused a high school shooting.  The court ruled in favor of the video game companies.
• Cherukuri v. Shalala, 175 F.3d 446 (6th Cir. 1999): Represented Dr. Theodore Cherukuri in an appeal in which the Sixth Circuit declined to enforce an administrative law judge's order against the doctor under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, finding that the judge had misapplied the term “stabilization” in the statute.

Seventh Circuit

• Rex Carr v. Stephen M. Tillery, et al., 591 F. 3d 909 (7th Cir. 2010)  Successfully represented members of a dissolved law firm in upholding dismissal of a RICO suit and multiple suits in both state and federal courts, brought by a former partner of the firm who was alleging fraud in division of fees. 
• Freeland v. Enodis, 540 F.3d 721 (7th Cir. 2008): Represented the Trustee of Consolidated Industries in an appeal of a lower court finding that Consolidated Industries had made actual fraudulent transfers to its former owners, Enodis Corporation, at a time when the company was insolvent and facing significant exposure for products liability and other claims arising out of defective furnaces it manufactured and sold.  The court affirmed in substantial part a large judgment against the company’s former owners and vacated a judgment entered for the defendants on the Trustee's alter ego claims.
• Pugh et al. v. Tribune Company et al., 521 F.3d 686 (7th Cir. 2008); City of Philadelphia Board of Pensions and Retirement et al. v. Tribune Company et al., 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 12957 (7th Cir. 2008): Represented the officers and directors of the Tribune Company in a consolidated securities class action and an ERISA class action brought in the wake of a circulation scandal at two of the Tribune Co.'s New York newspapers. The court affirmed the dismissal of the cases, ruling that there was no basis to infer that Tribune officers and directors or the pension plan managers knew of the circulation fraud and the alleged misconduct was not imputable to Tribune by the doctrine of respondeat superior.
• Muzikowski v. Paramount Pictures Corp., 477 F.3d 899 (7th Cir. 2007):  Represented Paramount Pictures in this precedent-setting defamation case that protects the right of movie studios to produce films that are “inspired by a true story.”  The court upheld a lower court finding rejecting the plaintiff’s Lanham Act claim, agreeing with Jenner & Block that Paramount’s First Amendment rights must include the flexibility to incorporate real life aspects into creative works.  The court also affirmed more than $50,000 in sanctions against the plaintiff’s counsel for discovery abuses. 
• In re ABC-Naco, Inc., 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 8949 (7th Cir. 2007):  Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of ABC-Naco, Inc. in a case ruling that a former vendor of ABC-Naco should return certain payments from ABC-Naco to the bankruptcy estate fund. 
• Entm't Software Ass'n v. Blagojevich, 469 F.3d 641 (7th Cir. 2006):  Represented the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) in its challenge against the enforcement of Illinois’ Sexually Explicit Video Games Law, which ESA alleged was an unconstitutional violation of the video game makers’ and retailers’ freedom a speech.  The court affirmed of permanent injunction against the law’s enforcement. 
• Enodis Corp. v. Daniel Freeland, 397 F.3d 524 (7th Cir. 2005):  Represented the Trustee of Consolidated Industries in an appeal by Enodis Corporation that sought to force the client to obtain Bankruptcy Court approval for a settlement of an $8 million dollar personal injury suit in Alabama.  The court dismissed the appeal.
• United States of America v. Wayne Stephens, 421 F.3d 503 (7th Cir. 2005):  In a case of first impression, the court found prima facie evidence that the government may have violated a pro bono client’s equal protection rights when prosecutors peremptorily struck minorities of different ethnic backgrounds from the pool of potential jurors.  Case remanded to the district court for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the government had “legitimate non-discriminatory reasons” for striking minority jurors.
• Joseph Barnes v. Kenneth Briley, et. al., 420 F.3d 673 (7th Cir. 2005):  In a case presenting unique issues of appellate jurisdiction, civil procedure, and administrative law, the court rejected arguments that it lacked jurisdiction to hear a pro bono client’s appeal of a dismissal order and held that the client properly exhausted his administrative remedies before amending his complaint to add new claims.
• Donald F. Greeno v. George Daley, et al., 414 F.3d 645 (7th Cir. 2005):  Represented a pro bono client in an appeal seeking to overturn a lower court’s grant of summary judgment, and thereby allowed pro bono client to proceed with his lawsuit against several medical care providers who allegedly refused to effectively treat client’s esophageal ulcer while he was incarcerated.
• Friends Of Milwaukee’s Rivers and Lake Michigan Federation v. Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, 382 F.3d 743 (7th Cir. 2004) :  Persuaded court to reverse a federal trial judge’s earlier dismissal of lawsuit to halt the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District’s allegedly illegal raw sewage discharges into Lake Michigan. 
• Global Relief Foundation, Inc. v. New York Times Co., 390 F.3d 973 (7th Cir. 2004): Persuaded court to uphold the First Amendment rights of Firm’s news media clients to report truthfully on the federal government’s investigation into sources of funding for terrorism.
• Johnson v. Apna Ghar, Inc., 330 F.3d 999 (7th Cir. 2003):  Persuaded court that a federal trial court does have jurisdiction to hear a gender-discrimination case brought by a pro bono client under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Court reversed a lower court’s dismissal of the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
• SNA Nut Co. v. Häagen-Dazs Co., 302 F.3d 725 (7th Cir. 2002):  Represented the debtor in its appeal, whereby the court affirmed a substantial award of damages in favor of the Firm’s client, in an adversary proceeding arising out of a dispute between an ice cream maker and its supplier of nut products.  The court of appeals affirmed the judgment that Häagen-Dazs Co. had breached numerous supply contracts when it refused to accept performance from the debtor.
• Green v. Nuveen Advisory Corp., 295 F.3d 738 (7th Cir. 2002):  Represented Nuveen Advisory Corp., the investment advisor to various Nuveen Investment funds, in a case where plaintiffs were common shareholders who had brought suit alleging that the use of preferred stock to leverage various Nuveen closed-end funds created a conflict of interest between the funds and the advisor, and constituted a breach of fiduciary duty. The court of appeals unanimously rejected plaintiffs’ theory of the case. 
• CH2M Hill, Inc. v. Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor and OSHRC, 192 F.3d 711 (7th Cir. 1999):  Represented The American Institute of Architects, the National Society of Professional Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the American Consulting Engineers Council, as amici in support of CH2M Hill before the Seventh Circuit, successfully overturning a decision of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission that was inconsistent with the Commission’s prior decisions and posed substantial threats to architects, engineers, and public safety.

Eighth Circuit

• Entertainment Software Ass’n v. Swanson, 519 F.3d 768 (8th Cir. 2008):  Represented the Entertainment Software Association and the Entertainment Merchants Association in a constitutional challenge to a Minnesota law that prohibited persons under 17 years old from purchasing or renting video games rated AO or M.  The appeals court affirmed a lower court ruling barring enforcement of the law.
• Taylor v. Crawford, 457 F.3d 902 (8th Cir. 2006):  Represented Death Row inmate Michael Taylor, who argued that the Missouri Department of Correction’s method of execution subjects inmates to unconstitutional pain and suffering in violation of the Eighth Amendment.  The district court had stayed Mr. Taylor’s execution and halted all executions in Missouri pending changes to the state’s lethal injection protocol.  The appellate court remanded the case, directing the lower court to determine whether the new protocol passed constitutional muster.
• International Paper v. MCI WorldCom Network Servs., Inc., No. 02-2856, --- F.3d ----, 2006 WL 522194 (8th Cir. 2006)
  (per curiam): Successfully represented telecommunications company in connection with a challenge to the validity of a right of way that had been granted to the company to lay fiber-optic cable necessary to provide service.

Ninth Circuit

• VSDA v. Schwarzenegger, (9th Cir. 2009):  Represented the Entertainment Merchants Association and the Entertainment Software Association in a constitutional challenge to a California law that would have restricted the sale or rental to anyone under the age of 18 of computer and video games that were classified as “violent.”  The appeals court affirmed a lower court ruling that found the law to be an unconstitutional violation of the video game makers’ and retailers’ freedom of speech. 
• Manufactured Homes Inc. v. County of San Diego, 269 Fed.Appx. 627, 2008 WL 630075 (9th Cir. 2008):  Represented Equity LifeStyle Properties in a successful defamation appeal in which the court found that a reasonable jury could conclude that statements made about the company by a county supervisor were factual in nature and could reasonably be found to be false.
• CRST Van Expedited, Inc., v. Werner Enterprises, Inc., 479 F.3d 1099 (9th Cir. 2007):  Represented CRST Van Expedited, Inc. in a case that reinstated the company’s claims that a competitor had wrongfully interfered with CRST’s driver employment contracts by hiring away truck drivers whom CRST had trained at its own expense.  The appeals court found that CRST had adequately alleged each of the five elements required for a claim of intentional interference with contract.
• AT&T Corp., et al. v. City of Portland, 216 F.3d 871 (9th Cir. 2000):  Represented the Oregon Internet Service Providers Association who intervened in this nationally-watched Ninth Circuit case to defend rules requiring cable operators to permit access to the Internet provider of their subscriber’s choice, just as telephone companies must, against challenges under the First Amendment, Contract Clause and Commerce Clause.
• CMC Heartland Partners v. L.B. Foster, 959 F.2d 239 (9th Cir. 1992): Represented CMC Heartland Partners, a successor to the Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.  Reversed a Montana federal district court on Montana contractual indemnity law in relation to a contractor’s liability for injuries sustained for work performed on the railroad.

Tenth Circuit

• Sorenson Communications, Inc. v. FCC, (10th Cir. 2009): Represented provider of telecommunications relay services in successful First Amendment challenge to restrictions on TRS providers’ use of customer data and fund revenue.
• Joseph Dodge, et al. v. Cotter Corporation, 328 F.3d 1212 (10th Cir. 2003): Assisted Exelon in reversing two jury awards totaling over $43 million in an environmental mass tort case.  The Tenth Circuit reversed a district court decision based on a failure to exercise the gatekeeper function under the U.S. Supreme Court’s Daubert opinion.
• U.S. West v. FCC, 182 F.3d 1224 (10th Cir. 1999):  Represented a major telecommunications company in a case challenging the constitutionality of FCC’s regulation of customer proprietary network information under the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Eleventh Circuit

• Bennett v. Hendrix, (11th Cir. 2009):  Represented defendants in defamation action in securing affirmance of the district court’s order granting the defendants' motions for judgment as a matter of law as to First Amendment retaliation claims and conspiracy claims.
• CBS Broadcasting Inc. et al. v. EchoStar Communications Corp. (11th Cir. 2003):  Represented plaintiffs, which included the major broadcast television networks and their affiliated stations, in a national suit against a major satellite carrier involving both copyright and First Amendment issues.
• Miller v. Stuart, 117 F.3d 1376, 1382 (11th Cir. 1997):  Represented American Express in this case involving a groundbreaking First Amendment challenge to state rules limiting the right of certified public accountants to advertise.

DC Circuit

• Intercollegiate Broadcast System, Inc. v. Copyright Royalty Board, (D.C. Cir. 2009):  Represented SoundExchange Inc. in securing a major victory in a case involving royalty rates for Internet radio services.
• Verizon California, Inc. v. FCC, (DC Cir. 2009):  Represented a major cable company in a suit challenging a telecommunications company’s use of its competitors’ proprietary information for retention marketing purposes.  The appeals court unanimously upheld a Federal Communications Commission ruling that the company’s actions violated the Telecommunications Act.
• DKT Int'l, Inc. v. United States Agency for Int'l Dev., 477 F.3d 758 (D.C. Cir. 2007):  Represented non-profit DKT International in its First Amendment challenge to a government-enforced pledge against prostitution in exchange for federal funds. 
• WorldCom, Inc. v. FCC, 288 F.3d 429 (D.C. Cir. 2002):  Represented numerous carriers in cases remanding FCC’s first and second attempts to exclude calls to Internet Service Providers from federal reciprocal compensation obligations.
• American Society of Association Executives v. United States, 195 F.3d 47 (D.C. Cir. 1999):  Represented the American Society of Association Executives in a First Amendment challenge to special provisions imposing an income tax on money associations spend to lobby.
• BellSouth v. FCC, 162 F.3d 678 (D.C. Cir. 1998):  Represented a major telecommunications company challenging the constitutionality (under separation of powers and the Bill of Attainder clause) of the Special Provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which regulated the Bell Operating Companies.
• MCI Telecommunications Corp. v. FCC, 143 F.3d 606 (D.C.Cir. 1998):  Represented a major telecommunications carrier in this case addressing the lawfulness of the FCC’s decision to eliminate tariffs for domestic long distance service.

Federal Circuit

• Broadcast Innovation, et al. v. Charter Communications Inc., et al. (Fed. Cir. 2005): Court held that the District Court had erred in concluding that the client’s patent was invalid for anticipation based on prior art because the District Court had incorrectly determined the patent's priority date. The court ruled that under the correct priority date, the patent was not invalid and reversed the judgment of invalidity.
• Union Carbide Chemicals & Plastics Technology Corp. v. Shell Oil Co., 425 F.3d 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2005): Represented Union Carbide in a case involving Union Carbide's patent on catalysts for making ethylene oxide.  Under previous counsel, a jury had returned a verdict against Union Carbide, and the case was remanded by the appellate court for another jury trial.  That court entered a judgment for Union Carbide of $153 million.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the jury’s verdict and reversed a pre-trial ruling limiting the damages award saying it was improper for the district court to have excluded Shell’s foreign sales in its damages calculation.  The court remanded the case to the lower court to reconsider potentially significant damages owed to Union Carbide in light of its ruling.
• McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. U.S., 323 F.3d 1006 (Fed. Cir. 2003):  Represented General Dynamics Corporation in connection with a multibillion dollar contract dispute with the federal government arising out of a contract to develop the A-12 carrier-based stealth aircraft.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated the judgment of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that had been in favor of the government and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings.
• Chicago Milwaukee Corporation v. United States of America, 40 F.3d 373 (Fed. Cir. 1994): Successfully reversed decision of Court of Federal Claims that had dismissed client’s claim for a refund of railroad tax overpayments.