On February 3, 2022, Law360 published a feature article highlighting that Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati recently won a U.S. Supreme Court decision that preserved important constitutional rules for Delaware state courts, which helped land the firm among the publication’s 2021 Appellate Groups of the Year. The profile also referenced the firm’s successful argument against a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that accused Qualcomm of anti-competitive monopolistic behavior (decided in October 2020), as well as its victory in a major “home field advantage” venue case on behalf of Mylan Pharmaceuticals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (decided in November 2020).

According to litigation partner Steffen Johnson, who leads Wilson Sonsini’s nationwide Supreme Court and appellate practice and was quoted throughout the article, the wins were important for a growing group that is part of a broader initiative to build out the firm’s national litigation practice, which now includes more than 200 litigators. Approximately 40-50 attorneys self-identify and participate in appellate issues, and Steffen said the firm is confident that both the trial and appellate sides will continue to grow. One area where the appellate group already stands out, according to Steffen, is that the firm has “a particular depth in constitutional issues, and that was at play in the Carney [Supreme Court] case and at play in one pending now involving due process under California law. That’s an area where we have particular depth and a great track record of success.”

The Carney case, decided in December 2020, was significant “not only to the people of Delaware but to businesses across the globe that have long looked to Delaware’s courts for stable and nonpartisan decision-making,” said Senior Of Counsel Michael McConnell, who argued the case in October 2020 during COVID-19 lockdowns over the phone from his rural Utah cabin.

To read the full Appellate Group of the Year profile, please click here.