The Washington DC-based team at Akin handles appellate litigation across federal and state courts, with particular strength in IP, administrative law, and American Indian law. Experienced practice head Pratik Shah has argued in every federal circuit and eighteen cases before the US Supreme Court, including a challenge to state-level restrictions on gender-affirming medical treatments for minors. Alongside James Tysse, he recently secured a rare grant of certiorari before judgment to challenge federal trade tariffs on behalf of family-owned businesses. Tysse also specializes in administrative law and regulatory challenges for commercial and trade-related clients. Julius Chen is another key name, focusing on appellate matters involving financial restructuring and constitutional law.
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Accolades
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Key clients
- Learning Resources, Inc.
- Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority
- AT&T Corporation
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- Veterans Guardian VA Claims Consulting, LLC
- Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)
- Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians
- Eastman Kodak Company
- MCR Oil Tools, LLC
- Embarq, LLC
- D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel
- Sempra Infrastructure Partners
Work highlights
Represented Learning Resources and hand2mind in a historic US Supreme Court challenge to executive tariffs, securing a rare grant of certiorari before judgment. The case addresses the constitutional limits of presidential authority to unilaterally impose trade duties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Represented the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority in defending the constitutionality of its regulatory framework across multiple circuits, securing favorable rulings from the Sixth and Eighth Circuits that upheld the Authority’s rulemaking and enforcement structure under FTC oversight.
Represented AT&T in a Fifth Circuit victory vacating a $57m FCC forfeiture order, with the court ruling that the agency's in-house adjudication of civil penalties violates the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial.
Lawyers
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Practice head
Pratik Shah
Other key lawyers
James Tysse; Julius Chen