Hogan Lovells named first-ever sole winner of Appellate Group of the Year by National Law Journal

Hogan Lovells’ Appellate Practice has established a nationwide reputation for its compelling advocacy throughout our national court system, including frequently leading matters at the United States Supreme Court and in the federal appellate courts across the country. 

Hogan Lovells partner Neal Katyal, who co-heads the firm’s Appellate Practice and is the former Acting Solicitor General of the United States, commented:

“This year, four different members of our Appellate Practice presented oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court. We have built a deep bench of top-tier appellate advocates, all of whom play a crucial part in our clients’ success.”

Partner Cate Stetson, who co-heads the Appellate Practice and has argued over 130 appeals, added: “Our Appellate team argues important cases in appellate courts across the country, taking on complex matters wherever they arise. We are so happy to have received this recognition.”

Over the last year, Hogan Lovells’ Appellate practice has achieved stellar success in headline-making litigation, including:  

• Partner Jessica Ellsworth led a team that won a 9-0 Supreme Court decision on behalf of Danco Laboratories in a case (Danco Laboratories v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine) challenging the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, a drug used in the termination of pregnancies.  

• Stetson secured a rare 5-4 Supreme Court stay of the EPA’s “Good Neighbor Plan” (Ohio v. EPA), an interstate emissions reduction rule, which would have dramatically impacted the country’s energy and industrial sectors. 

• Katyal, Ellsworth, and partner Katie Wellington represented Google in a major appeal challenging the certification of a class of 21 million consumers who made over a billion purchases across nearly 300,000 apps in the Google Play Store. The team obtained rare interlocutory review of the trial court’s massive class certification ruling in the Ninth Circuit.

Katyal has now argued 51 cases at the Supreme Court and is set to argue his 52nd, a record for a diverse lawyer.  In the 2022-23 term alone, he argued five cases (nearly 10% of the Court’s docket).

Notably this year, Ellsworth and Wellington presented oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court for the first time.

In the weeks ahead, our team is also scheduled to present oral arguments in three Supreme Court cases this Term. Katyal will argue NVIDIA Corp. v. E. Ohman J:or Fonder AB; Stetson will argue for Mexico in Smith & Wesson v. Mexico; and in a rare feat, associate Nathaniel Zelinsky will argue Barnes v. Felix. We are also lead counsel in another merits case, Duffey v. United States.

More information on our Appellate Practice and its lawyers can be found here.