Sidley Austin LLP maintains a broad national appellate reach, recently clinching victories across every federal appellate circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. The department is co-headed by Kwaku Akowuah in Washington DC and Tacy Flint in Chicago, who both handle high-stakes commercial and regulatory disputes. Akowuah recently secured a DC Circuit win in a False Claims Act appeal, while Flint led a pro bono team to a unanimous 9-0 Supreme Court victory for combat-wounded veterans. Also in Washington DC, Carter Phillips has argued a record-setting 91 cases before the Supreme Court and continues to lead major litigation, including the current representation of the Kingdom of Spain alongside New York-based Eamon Joyce. Robert Hochman left the firm in May 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Carter Phillips is one of the top appellate practitioners in the country. He is very conversational with the judges and did an excellent job for us.'
Key clients
- Kingdom of Spain
- Simon A. Soto
- Antrix Corp. Ltd.
- Seagate Technology LLC
- Ecore International
- Microsoft
- The Barack Obama Foundation
- US Cellular
- Cantor Fitzgerald
- The Royce Funds
- Amgen
- American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers
Work highlights
Represented CoorsTek in a precedential Federal Circuit victory confirming that a market competitor could not claim a trademark in the color pink to block competition for ceramic hip-implant components.
Represented a former Marine and a class of more than 9,000 veterans in a unanimous US Supreme Court victory ruling that veterans with combat-related disabilities are entitled to full retroactive special compensation benefits regardless of application date.
Represented a Texas state prisoner in a US Supreme Court appeal challenging a Fifth Circuit ruling that would have required him to file a second or successive habeas petition to contest his state conviction.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Practice head
Kwaku Akowuah; Tacy Flint
Other key lawyers
Carter Phillips; Eamon Joyce; Josh Fougere; Jillian Stonecipher