Seth Waxman > WilmerHale > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile

Combining extensive Washington DC experience with a strong presence in the western United States, WilmerHale is uniquely positioned to represent Indian tribal governments, bands and nations in the most contentious and unsettled Native American legal issues at every stage of dispute resolution, especially at appellate level. With long-standing relationships to various tribes, the team led by Supreme Court litigator Seth Waxman boasts a diversified practice handling disputes about energy resource development, land acquisitions, water rights, gaming, and most notably, tribal sovereignty and self-determination matters, routinely working with tribal groups, members of Congress and the administration on ways to reinforce principles of tribal sovereignty. The group’s expertise expands to tribal white-collar and criminal internal investigation cases, where Tom Strickland is often called upon, next to capabilities in natural resources and environmental law, healthcare regulation and securities law. Several team members have previously worked on Native American law matters in government positions including at the Department of Interior and Justice, respectively. Notable names include Christopher Babbitt, who is active at the intersection of public policy, public affairs, and strategy, representing clients in litigation and enforcement matters involving the federal government and Daniel Volchok, whose Native American practice incudes representing tribes and nations in trial and appellate litigation, as well as counselling in non-contentious matters.

Ranking among the market leaders for high-stakes appellate work, WilmerHale is widely hailed for the depth of its bench and the reputation of its senior partners. Indeed, for some, the ‘experience and expertise of the appellate team at WilmerHale is unmatched’. The national group routinely appears before state and federal courts across the US, right up to Supreme Court level, and is a particularly dominant performer in the Federal Circuit. High-profile department head Seth Waxman is a former US Solicitor General, who has delivered over 80 oral arguments in the US Supreme Court alone. Waxman recently paired up with Daniel Volchok to successfully represent the justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, and the members and executive director of the Oklahoma Bar Association Board of Governors, before the Tenth Circuit in a case concerning the association’s mandatory-dues requirement. The team also leans on experienced practice vice chairs Catherine Carroll, who has argued four cases before SCOTUS, and Boston-based Mark Fleming, who has argued before SCOTUS seven times. Other key contacts include IP specialist Thomas Saunders and New York-based Alan Schoenfeld. Named attorneys are based in Washington DC unless stated otherwise. Danielle Spinelli recently retired.

WilmerHale’s higher education-focused team has garnered a solid market reputation as the go-to firm for sensitive high-stakes litigation guiding colleges and universities through governmental investigations, congressional inquiries, and confronting contentious policy issues. The group frequently defends their clients’ intellectual property, handles major transactions and assists in handling accreditation, antitrust, art and antiquities, cybersecurity, free speech, and employee misconduct matters. Based in Washington DC, the group, jointly headed by educational law expert Bruce Berman, who is one of the most experienced attorneys in standardized educational testing, and esteemed litigator Jamie Gorelick, has expertise handling Title IX, Title VI, and other federal anti-discrimination statues for educational institutions. Alan Schoenfeld has extensive appellate litigation expertise and handles complex class actions out of the New York office. Other members of the team, including Seth Waxman and New York-based Debo Adegbile who leads the firm’s anti-discrimination practice alongside Brenda Lee, are acting for Harvard University in a Supreme Court affirmative action case concerning their admissions program. The group also counts advising on financial aid, federal grants, and on issues related to the misuse of research funds among its specialisms. Preet Bharara joined from the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York in June and in September 2022, Lauren Moore joined the group prior to being Associate Counsel for The White House.