Congratulations to my friend, Judge Amy Coney Barrett. It’s an exciting day for the Scalia clerk family – the “clerkorati,” as the Justice liked to call us -- to have one of our own nominated to the Supreme Court.
The great-great-granddaughter of Dred Scott is trying to raise $85,000 for a new memorial at his gravesite.
#AppellateTwitter
, seems like we should be able to get this done. I’m in. Who’s joining me?
I love this so much — the typefaces used by the federal courts of appeals in their opinions (HT Cedric Bond; follow him on LinkedIn, if you don’t already):
The President is right to express support for the heroes who died and were injured in the attack on the Cole. It remains inexplicable and distressing that the Administration opposed those heroes, and sided instead with the nation that sponsored the attack, in the Supreme Court.
Our GREAT MILITARY has delivered justice for the heroes lost and wounded in the cowardly attack on the USS Cole. We have just killed the leader of that attack, Jamal al-Badawi. Our work against al Qaeda continues. We will never stop in our fight against Radical Islamic Terrorism!
RIP Ralph Winter, who passed away today at the age of 85. Put simply, he was one of the finest judges of his generation. It was an honor for me to have had the chance to appear in front of him several times, most recently this summer. A sad day for the judiciary.
In her opinions, Justice Ginsburg was fond of referring to “pathmarking” precedents. She was the true pathmarker, a Justice who broke barriers and served as a role model for so many. I count myself honored to have appeared in front of her. RIP, RBG.
My former boss
@judgeluttig
gave the most moving eulogy for Barbara Olson at the memorial following her death on 9/11. That eulogy doesn’t appear to be available anywhere online, but I’m posting it here with the Judge's permission.
#NeverForget
This was probably the greatest presidential speech of my lifetime.
“These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the heroes who helped end a war.”
Ronald Reagan -- 40 years after D-Day, 40 years ago today.
It was an honor to be the last advocate to appear before Justice Breyer, but also an honor to be the subject of
@Courtartist
's last sketch. Congrats to Art Lien on his well-deserved retirement.
Here's Art's final oral argument sketch, showing
@KannonShanmugam
facing a hot bench in yesterday's case, Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta. Three cheers for
@courtartist
!
Readers, where should I have
@gtconway3d
take me in Philly? (And George, the Eagles were such worthy foes that I'm going to send you some
@jackstackbbq
ribs anyway.)
Deal. I'd rather have the prize be you showing up at a
@PaulWeissLLP
partners meeting in a green bird suit (with appropriate video documentation) but I will take KC-style barbecue. For my part I'll offer the Italian meal of your choice in either DC or Philly.
#GoBirds
🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅
The D.C. Circuit’s war on Garamond illustrates a bigger problem in the federal courts of appeals, which is that the uniformity of the rules has broken down. There’s no good reason for most of the variation and it imposes real costs on practicing lawyers.
#AppellateTwitter
Some advice for young lawyers: find the time to spend with your parents as they (and you) get older. No matter how busy you are now, you will never regret it later.
#PracticeTuesday
#AppellateTwitter
Thinking of my dad this morning. Before he died, he came to all of my Supreme Court arguments. He would have loved this case. I’ll be presenting argument in Connelly v. United States today.
As always, it was a privilege to argue before the Supreme Court in this unprecedented year, though I’m hoping to do it in person next time. (Hat tip to my assistant Jen Peters, who took these photos of my telephonic arguments at the request of
@SCOTUSBlog
.)
When I was in law school, Judge Williams was the judge everyone wanted to clerk for — a brilliant jurist, a genuine polymath, and a consummate gentleman. He will be greatly missed. RIP, Your Honor.
@KannonShanmugam
Have you ever been to The Supreme Court? I have, it’s not large at all. Read the transcript or do something novel and sit outside and have a story to tell. There are paid line sitters for everything it’s 2017 keep up.
We came from different points on the political spectrum, but
@walterdellinger
was a friend and a mentor. It was special to spend some time with him last fall at a conference. "I don't have long," he told me then. I will always cherish that conversation. RIP, friend.
Twenty years, but it feels like just yesterday. My thoughts this morning are with Ted Olson and all those whose lives were forever changed on that terrible morning. We will never forget. We never could.
Fifty years ago, my parents came to America in search of a better life. This country has been a shining city on a hill for my family ever since. Happy Independence Day, everyone.
RIP, Judge Laurence Silberman. One of the most influential jurists of his generation, he wrote the D.C. Circuit opinion in Morrison v. Olson. And he mentored scores of law clerks and other young lawyers (this one included). Another sad loss.
Congrats, Chris. When my associates appear on their first Supreme Court filings, I always hand-deliver copies of the printed booklets to their offices. A little harder to do these days, unfortunately -- I'm now mailing them to their homes with notes.
Got that bound copy for the first cert petition to which I significantly contributed. My brilliant
@PacificLegal
colleague
@wenfa1
is counsel of record, so that means it'll be granted, right?
#SCOTUS
#appellatetwitter
Today will be a bittersweet day -- my first Supreme Court argument since my dad's passing. Before my dad's stroke, my folks came to all of my arguments. My mom will be in the audience at the Court today. I know my dad will be too.
Happy birthday to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who turns 69 today. (Fun trivia fact: she is one of only three Justices who served on the Second Circuit before joining the Supreme Court. Can you name the other two?)
Two years ago this Sunday morning, I drove across town and walked into an empty office to start the appellate practice at
@PaulWeissLLP
and to become managing partner of our DC office. So proud of what we’ve built so far -- and excited for what’s to come.
#AppellateTwitter
I crossed 10,000 Twitter followers last week -- no small feat for a guy who doesn't tweet about politics, rarely tweets about substantive law, and tries not to tweet anything negative about anyone or anything (except Missouri). I appreciate all of you.
Great advice, and I would add that partners make mistakes too -- and should always take ownership of, and responsibility for, their associates' mistakes. After all, my name is the first name on the brief.
One of the best lessons I learned as a junior associate was to ALWAYS be candid about mistakes. Do not under any circumstances try to fix the mistake yourself without telling a more senior attorney on the team. That is a recipe for disaster.
Only appropriate that the two millionth run in major league history was scored against the Royals, since so many of the last million were scored against us too...
Paid line-sitting at
#SCOTUS
is unseemly. But more generally, people shouldn't have to line up in the cold for days to get into a public court hearing. Whether it's some form of broadcast or something else, the Court should come up with a better solution.
On this Pearl Harbor Day, thinking of the late Justice John Paul Stevens, who enlisted in the Navy the day before Pearl Harbor, served with distinction in the Pacific theater, and won the Bronze Star for his work as a codebreaker. More here:
A special happy birthday to my mentor and former boss Ted Olson. He lost his wife, Barbara, in the attack on the Pentagon on this day 18 years ago.
#NeverForget
While I was preparing for my recent Supreme Court argument in a tax case, I was reminded of the most deliciously bonkers Supreme Court argument I have ever attended. A 🧵 follows… 🍎
The boys found a snake in the yard yesterday, adopted him as a pet, and named him Roger.
This morning, we have 17 snakes. Roger has been renamed Serena.
On this day four years ago, I walked into this empty office to launch the
@PaulWeissLLP
appellate practice. I had no clients, no team -- not even a desk. It was scary and exhilarating at the same time. Proud of what we've built -- and what we're still building.
I'm leaving for India later today to fulfill one of my dad's wishes: to return his ashes to the small village where he grew up. I hope to post some pictures along the way.
The Supreme Court has granted review on our petition in Seila Law v. CFPB, on the constitutionality of the CFPB’s single-director structure. Oral argument will likely be in February.
I often get asked if I have a favorite courtroom in which to argue. Today’s venue — the en banc courtroom in the John Minor Wisdom Courthouse — is right up there.
In his recent (wonderful) interview with
@DavidLat
, Kirkland’s Mike Williams makes a great point about being an appellate lawyer in private practice — one I’ve often thought about. There are not a lot of “easy” hours in appellate work.
#AppellateTwitter
I'm guessing we will see a schedule much like this from the Supreme Court in the coming days; whether they can finish by next Friday (6/28) is another question.
At this stage last term the court had 17 cases left and decided them like this:
Thurs 6/22 - 4 rulings
Fri 6/23 - 4 rulings
Tues 6/27 - 3 rulings
Thurs 6/29 -3 rulings
Fri 6/30 - 3 rulings
Would you hold the phone to your ear like Professor Bryan Garner?
Go with the Britney Spears headset like
@KannonShanmugam
?
Use the speaker like
@SEHarringtonDC
?
P.S. You can see more from
@Courtartist
on our insta:
There’s probably no more iconic courtroom number for appellate lawyers than 1703 -- the main Second Circuit courtroom at Foley Square. Looking forward to arguing there later this morning.
#AppellateTwitter
#AppellatePlaces
For an upcoming speech, I became curious about how many judges from each circuit have been promoted to the Supreme Court. Here’s a crack at the numbers, with some notes in the 🧵.
It’s always a pleasure to argue before my home circuit, the Tenth. I would have loved to do it in the Byron White Courthouse in Denver — my favorite place to argue — but ended up doing it from here.
The best thing about an afternoon argument in the Fifth Circuit — beignets for breakfast!
(For those on the earlier beignet thread, no, I’m not wearing my suit.)
#AppellateTwitter
If you’ll indulge me, a personal 🧵 I've been storing up, about a question I often get (at least when folks have the gumption to ask it): “So… what’s the deal with your name?”
It was a pleasure to welcome
@steve_vladeck
to Paul Weiss DC today to talk about all things Supreme Court-related. It's great to have Steve and his family back in these parts.
All you need to know about my mom: she came to my argument at the Court this morning, then stood in line at the Capitol for two hours this afternoon to pay her respects to President Bush.
I’m honored to have been elected this week to the management committee of
@PaulWeissLLP
. Proud to serve this great institution with its storied history.