Senior Fellow and Director of Constitutional Studies, Manhattan Institute
Ilya Shapiro is a senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal. Previously he was executive director and senior lecturer at the Georgetown Center for the Constitution, and before that a vice president of the Cato Institute.
Shapiro is the author of Lawless: The Miseducation of America’s Elites (2025) and Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations and the Politics of America’s Highest Court (2020), coauthor of Religious Liberties for Corporations? (2014), and editor of 11 volumes of the Cato Supreme Court Review (2008-18). He has contributed to a variety of academic, popular, and professional publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, National Review, and Newsweek. He also regularly provides commentary for various media outlets, writes the Shapiro’s Gavel newsletter on Substack, and once appeared on the Colbert Report.
Shapiro has testified many times before Congress and state legislatures and has filed more than 500 amicus curiae “friend of the court” briefs in the Supreme Court. He lectures regularly on behalf of the Federalist Society, is a member of the board of fellows of the Jewish Policy Center, was an inaugural Washington Fellow at the National Review Institute, and has been an adjunct law professor at the George Washington University and University of Mississippi. He is also the chairman of the board of advisers of the Mississippi Justice Institute, a barrister in the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court, and a former member of the Virginia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Earlier in his career, Shapiro was a special assistant/adviser to the Multi-National Force in Iraq on rule-of-law issues and practiced at Patton Boggs and Cleary Gottlieb. Before entering private practice, he clerked for Judge E. Grady Jolly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He holds an AB from Princeton University, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a JD from the University of Chicago Law School.
Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC
Susan Creighton is co-chair of the firm's antitrust practice. Susan's practice focuses on merger review, government conduct investigations, and antitrust litigation and counseling. Representative matters include serving as lead outside counsel for Google in the Federal Trade Commission's search investigation of the company, and representing Netflix in connection with the Justice Department's investigation of the proposed Comcast/TWC merger.
Susan was named "Lawyer of the Year" by Global Competition Review in 2013, and was one of The National Law Journal's "Outstanding Women Lawyers" in 2015. She has testified before the Antitrust Modernization Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Senate on antitrust-related issues. She also has written a number of widely cited articles, including on issues related to mergers, intellectual property, and unilateral conduct.
From 2003 through the end of 2005, Susan served at the Federal Trade Commission as Director of the Bureau of Competition. From 2001 to 2003, she served as Deputy Director of the Bureau. Prior to joining the FTC, Susan wrote the white paper for Netscape that is credited with triggering the Department of Justice's investigation and eventual suit against Microsoft for illegal monopolization.
Susan has served in a variety of leadership roles within the firm, including on the board of directors.
Prior to joining the firm, she was a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. She also served as a law clerk to Federal District Judge Pamela Ann Rymer.
Partner, Paul, Weiss
Andrew Finch is co-chair of the Antitrust Practice Group and a partner in the Litigation Department. He recently rejoined the firm from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, where he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General (April 2017-August 2019) and as Acting Assistant Attorney General (April-September 2017), overseeing all aspects of the Antitrust Division’s operations. A seasoned and pragmatic antitrust counselor and litigator, Andrew has extensive experience with civil and criminal antitrust investigations, litigation and appeals.
EXPERIENCE
Andrew’s practice focuses on antitrust investigations and litigation, both criminal and civil, including merger reviews. At the Antitrust Division, Andrew oversaw dozens of major merger reviews; supervised multiple litigations; negotiated civil and criminal settlements, including consent decrees involving divestitures, plea agreements and deferred prosecution agreements; and represented the Antitrust Division in meetings with other federal agencies, members of Congress, state attorneys general and foreign competition authorities. Throughout his tenure, Andrew played a leadership role in developing and implementing Antitrust Division policies and priorities, including the Division’s new policy regarding the consideration of effective antitrust compliance programs in criminal enforcement decisions. Andrew also has spoken extensively in the United States and abroad about antitrust issues relating to “big data” and technology platforms, acquisitions of nascent competitors, and the application of antitrust law to intellectual property disputes and standard-development organizations.
In private practice, Andrew has represented a broad range of clients, including in the financial services industry, payment networks, insurance, manufacturing, steel production, public performing rights, petroleum refining, publishing, retailing, shipping and air transportation industries, among others. Andrew’s notable representations include:
Between 2003 and 2005, Andrew served as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division. While at the DOJ, he participated in drafting the joint report of the DOJ and FTC, Antitrust Enforcement and Intellectual Property Rights: Promoting Innovation and Competition, and contributed to the Report of the DOJ’s Task Force on Intellectual Property.
Andrew served as a law clerk to the Honorable Dennis G. Jacobs in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. At the University of Chicago Law School, Andrew was a John M. Olin Student Fellow in Law and Economics, the Topics and Comments Editor of The University of Chicago Law Review, and was elected to the Order of the Coif.
Andrew is a member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law, and currently serves on the ABA’s Task Force on the Future of Competition Law Standards. He previously served as vice-chair of the Books and Treatises Committee, as vice-chair of the Civil Practice and Procedure Committee, as a member of the Editorial Board of Antitrust Law Developments (Sixth), and as a principal editor of the Handbook on Interlocking Directorates.
Since 2014, Andrew has been recognized by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in Antitrust. Clients commented that Andrew “is a very smart lawyer [who] has a very keen understanding of antitrust matters from the government perspective.” Following his tenure as one of the senior leadership of the Antitrust Division at the DOJ, Chambers USA has recognized Andrew as an “Eminent Practitioner” in the Antitrust (New York) category for his wide-ranging knowledge across criminal and civil antitrust issues. He is also highly recommended by The Legal 500 in the Antitrust: Cartel, Antitrust: Civil Litigation/Class Actions: Defense and Antitrust: Merger Control categories.
Andrew is a member of the Board of Directors of the School of American Ballet.
Partner, Rule Garza Howley LLP
Rick began his career in the 1980s in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, becoming the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Division from 1986-89 – the youngest person ever to be confirmed by the Senate to that position. Over the last 30+ years since leaving the Division, Rick has led the antitrust practices at several leading D.C. and New York firms including Covington & Burling and Paul, Weiss.
During his time in private practice, Rick has represented major multi-national companies and executives in virtually every industry – from, among others, agricultural and animal health (Monsanto, Elanco) to energy (ExxonMobil) to defense contractors (Northrop Grumman, United Technologies) to professional sports (NFL, NBA, MLB) to technology platforms (Microsoft, Nuance) to pharmaceutical manufacturers (Eli Lilly, Pfizer) to health insurers (Cigna). (For a complete list of industry experience, click here.)
Rick has represented his clients before the Antitrust Division, the Federal Trade Commission, State Attorneys General and major foreign antitrust regulators in connection with many of the most notable merger investigations, including Exxon’s merger with Mobil, US Airways’ merger with American Airlines, and Cigna’s acquisition of Express Scripts. At the same time, Rick has represented clients in some of most prominent government investigations of the last quarter century, including leading the team that settled the Government’s monopolization case against Microsoft and defending international companies and executives in major antitrust criminal investigations.
For four decades, Rick has been at the forefront of antitrust law and is uniquely capable of advising clients on the antitrust regulatory environment affecting the way they do business globally. As agencies and rules have evolved, he has helped clients to understand the dynamic legal framework, to assess the legal risk and rewards associated with a range of competitive strategies, and to work with government bodies to take advantage of, and ensure appropriate compliance with, the regulations governing the clients’ chosen strategy.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
LAURENCE HIRSCH SILBERMAN, senior circuit judge; recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, June 19, 2008; born in York, PA, October 12, 1935; son of William Silberman and Anna (Hirsch); married to Rosalie G. Gaull on April 28, 1957 (deceased), married Patricia Winn on January 5, 2008; children: Robert Steven Silberman, Katherine DeBoer Fischer, and Anne Gaull Otis; B.A., Dartmouth College, 1957; LL.B., Harvard Law School, 1961; admitted to Hawaii Bar, 1962; District of Columbia Bar, 1973; associate, Moore, Torkildson and Rice, 1961–64; partner (Moore, Silberman and Schulze), Honolulu, 1964–67; attorney, National Labor Relations Board, Office of General Counsel, Appellate Division, 1967–69; Solicitor, Department of Labor, 1969–70; Under Secretary of Labor, 1970–73; partner, Steptoe and Johnson, 1973–74; Deputy Attorney General of the United States, 1974–75; Ambassador to Yugoslavia, 1975–77; President’s Special Envoy on ILO Affairs, 1976; senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute, 1977–78; visiting fellow, 1978–85; managing partner, Morrison and Foerster, 1978–79 and 1983–85; executive vice president, Crocker National Bank, 1979–83; lecturer, University of Hawaii, 1962–63; board of directors, Commission on Present Danger, 1978–85, Institute for Educational Affairs, New York, NY, 1981–85, member: General Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament, 1981–85; Defense Policy Board, 1981–85; vice chairman, State Department’s Commission on Security and Economic Assistance, 1983–84; American Bar Association (Labor Law Committee, 1965–72, Corporations and Banking Committee, 1973, Law and National Security Advisory Committee, 1981–85); Hawaii Bar Association Ethics Committee, 1965–67; Council on Foreign Relations, 1977–present; Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, 1994; member, U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Court of Review, 1996–2003; Adjunct Professor of Law (Administrative Law and Labor Law) Georgetown Law Center, 1987–94; 1997; Adjunct Professor of Law, Harvard Law School, 1994-95, Adjunct Professor of Law, New York University Law School, 1995–96; Distinguished Visitor from the Judiciary, Georgetown Law Center, 2003–2019; co-chairman of the President’s Commission on The Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, 2004–05; appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by President Reagan on October 28, 1985.
Founding Partner, Lodestar Law and Economics PLLC
Josh is the founder of Lodestar Law and Economics, PLLC. On January 1, 2013, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Wright as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). He is a leading scholar in antitrust law, economics, intellectual property, regulation, and consumer protection, and has published more than 100 articles and book chapters, co-authored a leading antitrust casebook, and edited several book volumes focusing on these issues. Commentators have recognized Wright as “widely considered his generation’s greatest mind on antitrust law,” and his academic work ranks him as one of the most cited antitrust academics in the world. Wright was also awarded the Paul M. Bator Award by the Federalist Society in 2014 to “an academic who demonstrated excellence in legal scholarship, a commitment to teaching, a concern for students, and who has made a significant public impact.” Wright also served as the Executive Director of the Global Antitrust Institute, the world’s premiere academic institute focused upon antitrust education for judges and regulators and has taught hundreds of judges and thousands of regulators from dozens of countries.
Wright’s practice focuses upon helping clients solve complex competition, consumer protection, and regulatory problems by providing legal and economic analysis, strategic advice and counseling, and economic expert testimony.
Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC
Susan Creighton is co-chair of the firm's antitrust practice. Susan's practice focuses on merger review, government conduct investigations, and antitrust litigation and counseling. Representative matters include serving as lead outside counsel for Google in the Federal Trade Commission's search investigation of the company, and representing Netflix in connection with the Justice Department's investigation of the proposed Comcast/TWC merger.
Susan was named "Lawyer of the Year" by Global Competition Review in 2013, and was one of The National Law Journal's "Outstanding Women Lawyers" in 2015. She has testified before the Antitrust Modernization Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Senate on antitrust-related issues. She also has written a number of widely cited articles, including on issues related to mergers, intellectual property, and unilateral conduct.
From 2003 through the end of 2005, Susan served at the Federal Trade Commission as Director of the Bureau of Competition. From 2001 to 2003, she served as Deputy Director of the Bureau. Prior to joining the FTC, Susan wrote the white paper for Netscape that is credited with triggering the Department of Justice's investigation and eventual suit against Microsoft for illegal monopolization.
Susan has served in a variety of leadership roles within the firm, including on the board of directors.
Prior to joining the firm, she was a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. She also served as a law clerk to Federal District Judge Pamela Ann Rymer.
Partner, Paul, Weiss
Andrew Finch is co-chair of the Antitrust Practice Group and a partner in the Litigation Department. He recently rejoined the firm from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, where he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General (April 2017-August 2019) and as Acting Assistant Attorney General (April-September 2017), overseeing all aspects of the Antitrust Division’s operations. A seasoned and pragmatic antitrust counselor and litigator, Andrew has extensive experience with civil and criminal antitrust investigations, litigation and appeals.
EXPERIENCE
Andrew’s practice focuses on antitrust investigations and litigation, both criminal and civil, including merger reviews. At the Antitrust Division, Andrew oversaw dozens of major merger reviews; supervised multiple litigations; negotiated civil and criminal settlements, including consent decrees involving divestitures, plea agreements and deferred prosecution agreements; and represented the Antitrust Division in meetings with other federal agencies, members of Congress, state attorneys general and foreign competition authorities. Throughout his tenure, Andrew played a leadership role in developing and implementing Antitrust Division policies and priorities, including the Division’s new policy regarding the consideration of effective antitrust compliance programs in criminal enforcement decisions. Andrew also has spoken extensively in the United States and abroad about antitrust issues relating to “big data” and technology platforms, acquisitions of nascent competitors, and the application of antitrust law to intellectual property disputes and standard-development organizations.
In private practice, Andrew has represented a broad range of clients, including in the financial services industry, payment networks, insurance, manufacturing, steel production, public performing rights, petroleum refining, publishing, retailing, shipping and air transportation industries, among others. Andrew’s notable representations include:
Between 2003 and 2005, Andrew served as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division. While at the DOJ, he participated in drafting the joint report of the DOJ and FTC, Antitrust Enforcement and Intellectual Property Rights: Promoting Innovation and Competition, and contributed to the Report of the DOJ’s Task Force on Intellectual Property.
Andrew served as a law clerk to the Honorable Dennis G. Jacobs in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. At the University of Chicago Law School, Andrew was a John M. Olin Student Fellow in Law and Economics, the Topics and Comments Editor of The University of Chicago Law Review, and was elected to the Order of the Coif.
Andrew is a member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law, and currently serves on the ABA’s Task Force on the Future of Competition Law Standards. He previously served as vice-chair of the Books and Treatises Committee, as vice-chair of the Civil Practice and Procedure Committee, as a member of the Editorial Board of Antitrust Law Developments (Sixth), and as a principal editor of the Handbook on Interlocking Directorates.
Since 2014, Andrew has been recognized by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in Antitrust. Clients commented that Andrew “is a very smart lawyer [who] has a very keen understanding of antitrust matters from the government perspective.” Following his tenure as one of the senior leadership of the Antitrust Division at the DOJ, Chambers USA has recognized Andrew as an “Eminent Practitioner” in the Antitrust (New York) category for his wide-ranging knowledge across criminal and civil antitrust issues. He is also highly recommended by The Legal 500 in the Antitrust: Cartel, Antitrust: Civil Litigation/Class Actions: Defense and Antitrust: Merger Control categories.
Andrew is a member of the Board of Directors of the School of American Ballet.
Partner, Rule Garza Howley LLP
Rick began his career in the 1980s in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, becoming the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Division from 1986-89 – the youngest person ever to be confirmed by the Senate to that position. Over the last 30+ years since leaving the Division, Rick has led the antitrust practices at several leading D.C. and New York firms including Covington & Burling and Paul, Weiss.
During his time in private practice, Rick has represented major multi-national companies and executives in virtually every industry – from, among others, agricultural and animal health (Monsanto, Elanco) to energy (ExxonMobil) to defense contractors (Northrop Grumman, United Technologies) to professional sports (NFL, NBA, MLB) to technology platforms (Microsoft, Nuance) to pharmaceutical manufacturers (Eli Lilly, Pfizer) to health insurers (Cigna). (For a complete list of industry experience, click here.)
Rick has represented his clients before the Antitrust Division, the Federal Trade Commission, State Attorneys General and major foreign antitrust regulators in connection with many of the most notable merger investigations, including Exxon’s merger with Mobil, US Airways’ merger with American Airlines, and Cigna’s acquisition of Express Scripts. At the same time, Rick has represented clients in some of most prominent government investigations of the last quarter century, including leading the team that settled the Government’s monopolization case against Microsoft and defending international companies and executives in major antitrust criminal investigations.
For four decades, Rick has been at the forefront of antitrust law and is uniquely capable of advising clients on the antitrust regulatory environment affecting the way they do business globally. As agencies and rules have evolved, he has helped clients to understand the dynamic legal framework, to assess the legal risk and rewards associated with a range of competitive strategies, and to work with government bodies to take advantage of, and ensure appropriate compliance with, the regulations governing the clients’ chosen strategy.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
LAURENCE HIRSCH SILBERMAN, senior circuit judge; recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, June 19, 2008; born in York, PA, October 12, 1935; son of William Silberman and Anna (Hirsch); married to Rosalie G. Gaull on April 28, 1957 (deceased), married Patricia Winn on January 5, 2008; children: Robert Steven Silberman, Katherine DeBoer Fischer, and Anne Gaull Otis; B.A., Dartmouth College, 1957; LL.B., Harvard Law School, 1961; admitted to Hawaii Bar, 1962; District of Columbia Bar, 1973; associate, Moore, Torkildson and Rice, 1961–64; partner (Moore, Silberman and Schulze), Honolulu, 1964–67; attorney, National Labor Relations Board, Office of General Counsel, Appellate Division, 1967–69; Solicitor, Department of Labor, 1969–70; Under Secretary of Labor, 1970–73; partner, Steptoe and Johnson, 1973–74; Deputy Attorney General of the United States, 1974–75; Ambassador to Yugoslavia, 1975–77; President’s Special Envoy on ILO Affairs, 1976; senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute, 1977–78; visiting fellow, 1978–85; managing partner, Morrison and Foerster, 1978–79 and 1983–85; executive vice president, Crocker National Bank, 1979–83; lecturer, University of Hawaii, 1962–63; board of directors, Commission on Present Danger, 1978–85, Institute for Educational Affairs, New York, NY, 1981–85, member: General Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament, 1981–85; Defense Policy Board, 1981–85; vice chairman, State Department’s Commission on Security and Economic Assistance, 1983–84; American Bar Association (Labor Law Committee, 1965–72, Corporations and Banking Committee, 1973, Law and National Security Advisory Committee, 1981–85); Hawaii Bar Association Ethics Committee, 1965–67; Council on Foreign Relations, 1977–present; Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, 1994; member, U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Court of Review, 1996–2003; Adjunct Professor of Law (Administrative Law and Labor Law) Georgetown Law Center, 1987–94; 1997; Adjunct Professor of Law, Harvard Law School, 1994-95, Adjunct Professor of Law, New York University Law School, 1995–96; Distinguished Visitor from the Judiciary, Georgetown Law Center, 2003–2019; co-chairman of the President’s Commission on The Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, 2004–05; appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by President Reagan on October 28, 1985.
Founding Partner, Lodestar Law and Economics PLLC
Josh is the founder of Lodestar Law and Economics, PLLC. On January 1, 2013, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Wright as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). He is a leading scholar in antitrust law, economics, intellectual property, regulation, and consumer protection, and has published more than 100 articles and book chapters, co-authored a leading antitrust casebook, and edited several book volumes focusing on these issues. Commentators have recognized Wright as “widely considered his generation’s greatest mind on antitrust law,” and his academic work ranks him as one of the most cited antitrust academics in the world. Wright was also awarded the Paul M. Bator Award by the Federalist Society in 2014 to “an academic who demonstrated excellence in legal scholarship, a commitment to teaching, a concern for students, and who has made a significant public impact.” Wright also served as the Executive Director of the Global Antitrust Institute, the world’s premiere academic institute focused upon antitrust education for judges and regulators and has taught hundreds of judges and thousands of regulators from dozens of countries.
Wright’s practice focuses upon helping clients solve complex competition, consumer protection, and regulatory problems by providing legal and economic analysis, strategic advice and counseling, and economic expert testimony.
Solicitor General, Montana Attorney General's Office
Christian is currently Solicitor General of Montana, where he serves as the chief litigator and principal legal advisor to Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen. In that capacity, he manages litigation before the federal district courts, courts of appeal, and the United States Supreme Court, as well as the Montana Supreme Court. He previously served in the Trump Administration as Senior Counsel to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education. Prior to government service, he was a public interest constitutional litigator at Mountain States Legal Foundation and a fellow at the Institute for Justice. He clerked for Justice Caleb Stegall on the Kansas Supreme Court. He also served as Director of Publications for the Federalist Society's national headquarters.
Christian earned his B.A. in Political Science in 2009 from the University of Pennsylvania before attending the University of Kansas School of Law. Christian is admitted to practice law in Kansas and Montana. A Kansas native, he is a die-hard fan of the Kansas Jayhawks, Kansas City Chiefs, and Kansas City Royals.
Christian is a member of the Federalism & Separation of Powers Practice Group's Executive Committee.
L. Q. C. Lamar Professor of Law, Emory University School of Law
Thomas C. Arthur holds degrees from Yale Law School and Duke University, where he was an Angier B. Duke Scholar and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Before coming to Emory, he practiced law for eleven years with the Washington, DC office of Kirkland & Ellis. In 1982, he left his law firm partnership to join the Emory Law faculty.
Arthur teaches antitrust, civil procedure, and administrative law, and he has been active on the executive committee of the Antitrust Section of the Association of American Law Schools. His articles in the California and Tulane law reviews have been credited with the founding of a new, "statutory" school of antitrust analysis. His 1991 Emory Law Journal article (co-authored with Professor Richard D. Freer) provoked a nationally noted debate over an important new statute governing the jurisdiction of federal courts. A major antitrust article, "The Costly Quest for Perfect Competition: Kodak and Nonstructural Market Power," was published in the New York University Law Review (vol. 69, April 1994).
Senior Fellow in Constitutional Jurisprudence, Independence Institute
Professor Robert G. Natelson is a constitutional scholar and author.
Rob’s constitutional scholarship has been cited repeatedly by justices and parties at the U.S. Supreme Court—as well as by federal appeals courts, and at least 18 state supreme courts.
Rob’s research into the Constitution’s original meaning has carried him to libraries throughout the United States and in Britain, including four months at Oxford University. His books and articles span many different parts of the Constitution, including groundbreaking studies of the Necessary and Proper Clause, the Indian Commerce Clause, federalism, Founding-Era interpretation, regulation of elections, and the amendment process of Article V. He created the first-ever online bibliography for 18th century materials used in constitutional research. He is a contributing author to the Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (on Magna Carta). He contributed eight essays to the third edition of the Heritage Guide to the Constitution: five on the amendment procedure and one each on the Guarantee Clause, the Postal Clause, and the Recess Appointments Clause.
U.S. Supreme Court justices have relied explicitly on Rob’s research in 41 citations in 13 separate cases.
Partner, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Miguel A. Estrada is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
Mr. Estrada has represented clients before federal and state courts throughout the country in a broad range of matters. He has argued 24 cases before the United States Supreme Court, and briefed many others. He has also argued dozens of appeals in the lower federal courts.
Best Lawyers® recognized Mr. Estrada as a 2020 Lawyer of the Year in Intellectual Property Litigation and as a Lawyer of the Year in Appellate Practice. He has been recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a 2020 U.S. Appellate Litigation “Star”. In 2014, The American Lawyer named Mr. Estrada a “Litigator of the Year,” praising his “brains and tenacity” and noting he is the lawyer to call for “a tough, potentially unwinnable case.” From 2014-2021, Chambers & Partners has named him as one of a handful of attorneys that it ranked in the top tier among the nation’s leading appellate lawyers. Chambers & Partners noted that “clients are impressed by his intellect and ability, with one saying, ‘His papers are just blindingly clear in what they say and devastating in how they marshal the arguments.’” The Atlantic described his oral argument in a 2014 high-profile separation-of-powers case as “one of the most dazzling arguments the marble chamber has heard in many years.”
Mr. Estrada was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2020 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Appellate Law, in addition to previous recognition by the publication in the specialties of Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation and Criminal Defense: White Collar, Intellectual Property Litigation, and Regulatory Enforcement Litigation in the areas of SEC, Telecom, and Energy. In 2017, he was elected as a member of the American Law Institute. In 2021, Mr. Estrada was named among the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America. In 2004, Legal Times named him one of the top 12 appellate litigators in the D.C. area, noting that “people who follow appellate practice in Washington have known for several years that Estrada . . . is one of the best around.” Also in 2004, Washingtonian Magazine named him one of the top constitutional law lawyers “who could become one of the legends of the Supreme Court bar.”
Mr. Estrada joined Gibson Dunn in 1997, after serving for five years as Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States. He previously served as Assistant U.S. Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Appellate Section, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York. In those capacities, Mr. Estrada represented the government in numerous jury trials and in many appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Estrada practiced corporate law in New York with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.
Mr. Estrada is a Trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society. He was formerly a member of the Board of Visitors of Harvard Law School.
Mr. Estrada served as a law clerk to the Honorable Anthony M. Kennedy in the U.S. Supreme Court from 1988 to 1989 and to the Honorable Amalya L. Kearse in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1986 to 1987. He received a J.D. degree magna cum laude in 1986 from Harvard Law School, where he was editor of the Harvard Law Review. Mr. Estrada graduated with an A.B. degree magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1983 from Columbia College, New York. He is fluent in Spanish and proficient in French.
Representative Supreme Court matters include:
In 2011, the Supreme Court appointed Mr. Estrada to brief and argue two criminal cases –Dorsey v. United States and Hill v. United States – in which the Solicitor General declined to defend the judgments of the court of appeals. Mr. Estrada was appointed to argue the position that the Solicitor General had declined to defend.
Mr. Estrada was also part of the team that successfully presented then Governor Bush’s position to the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore (2000). Other cases that Mr. Estrada handled in the Supreme Court include Granholm v. Heald (2005) (dormant Commerce Clause and Twenty-First Amendment), Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States ex rel. Stevens (2000) (False Claims Act, Article III standing and Eleventh Amendment immunity), Old Chief v. United States (1997) (rules of evidence), United States v. Mezzanatto (1995) (evidence and plea bargaining), United States v. Robertson (1995) (constitutional limits on Congress’s Commerce Clause powers), Citizens Bank of Maryland v. Strumpf (1995) (bankruptcy law), and NOW, Inc. v. Scheidler (1994) (RICO).
Recent Court of Appeals matters include:
In addition, Mr. Estrada is lead appellate counsel to Vivendi S.A. in two securities-fraud appeals from jury verdicts that are currently pending in the Second Circuit, and to the National Association of Broadcasters in a challenge to certain procedures promulgated by the FCC in connection with the upcoming Spectrum Auction. Mr. Estrada also recently presented argument before the D.C. Circuit on behalf of the tobacco industry in a first amendment challenge to certain compelled disclosures that were imposed as part of the government’s long-running civil RICO case against the industry.
Other matters:
Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Thomas G. Hungar is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson Dunn. His practice focuses on appellate litigation, and he assists clients with congressional investigations and complex trial court litigation matters as well. He has presented oral argument before the Supreme Court of the United States in 28 cases, including some of the Court’s most important patent, antitrust, securities, and environmental law decisions, and he has also appeared before numerous lower federal and state courts.
Thomas served as General Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives from July 2016 until January 2019. As General Counsel, he provided legal advice and litigation representation on a non-partisan basis to the House and its leadership, members, officers, and staff, and he worked closely with numerous House committees in connection with their oversight and investigative activities. Previously, he served as a Deputy Solicitor General of the United States. In that position, he supervised business-related appellate litigation for the federal government, with particular emphasis on patent, antitrust, securities, and environmental appellate cases, and he also oversaw appellate litigation in banking, bankruptcy, tax, government contracts, communications, copyright, labor, trademark, and international trade matters. In private practice, Thomas’s appellate experience has encompassed those areas as well as class actions, constitutional law, employment law, product liability, administrative procedure, insurance coverage and bad faith, and general commercial litigation. He has handled scores of business-related appeals in the Supreme Court and lower appellate courts, and has briefed and argued many high-profile matters.
Thomas is a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and is a frequent lecturer in his areas of expertise. While at the Department of Justice, he served as Appellate Counsel to the Intellectual Property Task Force Executive Staff, and he was awarded the John Marshall Award for Outstanding Legal Achievement, the Department’s highest award presented to attorneys for contributions and excellence in legal performance, in recognition of his handling of patent-law matters before the Supreme Court.
Most recently, Thomas has garnered national recognition for his Appellate Practice in The Legal 500 – United States, Best Lawyers in America, and in Chambers USA, which has repeatedly highlighted Thomas for his “expertise in appellate litigation” and experience with employment and antitrust disputes, as well as Congressional Investigations. Thomas was also recently named a “Litigation Star” by Benchmark Litigation.
Thomas served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States from 1992-1994. He also served as a law clerk to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the Supreme Court and to Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He received his law degree from Yale Law School in 1987, where he was a Senior Editor of the Yale Law & Policy Review. He received his Bachelor of Science degree magna cum laude in mathematics/computer science and economics from Willamette University in 1984.
Thomas is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia.
Masterpiece Cakeshop: The Decision [SCOTUSbrief]
Ilya Shapiro
Masterpiece Cakeshop was one of the most highly anticipated Supreme Court cases of 2018. What...
Panel I: Generational Impact of The Antitrust
Susan Creighton, Andrew Corydon Finch, Charles "Rick" Rule, Laurence H. Silberman, Joshua D. Wright
In 1978, Judge Robert Bork published the book The Antitrust Paradox. The Antitrust Paradox has become one of...
Panel I: Generational Impact of The Antitrust
Susan Creighton, Andrew Corydon Finch, Charles "Rick" Rule, Laurence H. Silberman, Joshua D. Wright
In 1978, Judge Robert Bork published the book The Antitrust Paradox. The Antitrust Paradox has become one of...
2018 Annual Supreme Court Round Up
Washington, DCViolet Dock Port, Inc, LLC v. St. Bernard Port, Harbor & Terminal District
Christian Corrigan
One of this year’s most acclaimed films, Little Pink House, has resurrected old wounds from the...
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Docket Watch: Violet Dock Port, Inc, LLC v. St. Bernard Port, Harbor & Terminal District
One of this year’s most acclaimed films, Little Pink House, has resurrected old wounds from...
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Trump Administration Withdraws Guidance on Affirmative Action In Admissions
On Wednesday, July 3, the Departments of Education and Justice announced that they withdrew a...
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Another Important Confirmation
While Washington focuses on the looming struggle over a U.S. Supreme Court nominee, another important...
Can Fake News Be Regulated? [POLICYbrief]
Thomas Carlton Arthur
On April 11, 2018, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified at a congressional hearing regarding questionable...
Did the Constitution Grant the Federal Government Eminent Domain Power?: Using Eighteenth Century Law to Answer Constitutional Questions
Robert G. Natelson
Note from the Editor: This article asks whether the Constitution granted eminent domain power to...