Walter Dellinger
1625 Eye Street, NW
Washington, DC, 20006
Phone: +1-202-383-5319
Fax: +1-202-383-5414
Jonathan Hacker
1625 Eye Street, NW
Washington, DC, 20006
Phone: +1-202-383-5285
Fax: +1-202-383-5414
PROFESSIONALS
Related Practices
Ace U.S.A. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Bank of America ExxonMobil Corporation Fidelity Investments Ford Motor Company Merck & Co., Inc. Morgan Stanley National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Rio Tinto Group US Chamber of Commerce XL Insurance
|

Appellate
O’Melveny’s Appellate Practice group is one of the nation's preeminent appellate practices. Our appellate lawyers have collectively argued more than 50 cases in the US Supreme Court, and have written briefs in hundreds more, both at the merits and certiorari stages. Members of the practice include several veterans of the Office of the Solicitor General, other former DOJ lawyers, and numerous former Supreme Court and federal appellate clerks.
The experience of our appellate practitioners goes well beyond the US Supreme Court. Because many of our clients’ most significant matters involve fact-intensive problems or state-law legal issues that will never reach the Supreme Court, our appellate skills are frequently employed to reverse losses – or preserve victories – in federal and state courts throughout the nation, on a wide range of subject matters. We are also regularly involved in trial proceedings, briefing and arguing legal motions and ensuring that worthy legal issues are identified and preserved for appeal. Clients even call upon us before cases are filed, for help anticipating and solving potential legal problems, including through regulatory or legislative action.
Whatever the venue, issue, or subject matter, the unrivaled skill and experience of our appellate lawyers ensures that we can provide the forceful advocacy, nuanced advice, or creative solutions to meet our clients’ needs.
Key Facts
- O’Melveny’s Supreme Court and Appellate Practice Group is headed by Jonathan Hacker and includes several former lawyers in the Office of the Solicitor General, and other former DOJ lawyers. Almost all members of the practice clerked for federal judges, and several clerked for Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. A number of the members of the group also have substantial academic experience.
- Members of our practice direct appellate clinics at two of the nation’s top law schools: Harvard and UCLA. Two members of our Washington, DC office, Walter Dellinger and Jonathan Hacker, are the co-directors of the Harvard Law School Supreme Court and Appellate Practice Clinic. The directors of the Clinic instruct students on topics in Supreme Court and appellate advocacy, and supervise teams of students and other O’Melveny lawyers in the drafting and filing of petitions for writs of certiorari, merits briefs, and amicus briefs, primarily in pro bono matters. Likewise, O’Melveny’s Los Angeles office was instrumental in the creation of the UCLA Appellate Litigation Clinic, and three O’Melveny partners, Victor Jih, Charles Lifland, and Sabrina Strong, are adjunct faculty members at the Law School and co-teach the Clinic. The Clinic pairs UCLA law students with O’Melveny associates and counsel to file briefs on behalf of clients drawn from the Ninth Circuit’s pro bono program.
- Members of O’Melveny’s Supreme Court and Appellate Practice Group have published extensively in law reviews, bar journals, magazines, and newspaper op-ed pages. They have appeared as commentators on television news programs and have given speeches and panel presentations before various legal organizations, including the Federalist Society, the American Constitution Society, the American Bar Association, the US Chamber of Commerce’s Litigation Center, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
- O’Melveny’s appellate lawyers have litigated appeals and motions on the broadest possible range of legal subject matters, including products liability, class actions, patents, securities, punitive damages, criminal law, equal protection, and many others. Our members are adept at understanding difficult legal problems in any subject area and explaining them to the non-specialist judges who typically will resolve them.
Practice Strengths
-
Antitrust and Competition
-
Business Trial and Litigation Group
-
Class Actions, Mass Torts, and Aggregated Litigation
-
ERISA Litigation
-
Health Care and Life Sciences
-
Insurance and Reinsurance
-
Intellectual Property and Technology
-
International Arbitration
-
Labor and Employment
-
Securities Ennforcement
|
Skilling v. U.S.
Hertz Corp.
Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc. v. Public Utility District No. 1 of Snohomish County
Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker (Valdez)
Cuellar v. United States
|