On the Docket: Previewing the 2017 Supreme Court Term

Daniel R. Ortiz has taught at the University of Virginia School of Law since 1985 and currently serves as co-Director of its Supreme Court Litigation Clinic. He writes primarily in the areas of constitutional law, election law, administrative law, and legal theory. In 2001, Mr. Ortiz served under Presidents Carter and Ford as Coordinator of the National Commission on Federal Election Reform’s Task Force on Legal and Constitutional Issues. In 1983-84, Mr. Ortiz clerked for Judge Stephen G. Breyer, then of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston. He then clerked for Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr., of the United States Supreme Court.

Pratik A. Shah is co-head of Akin Gump’s Supreme Court and Appellate practice. Mr. Shah has argued 13 cases before the United States Supreme Court and has filed over 150 merits or certiorari-stage briefs in that court. He has also briefed and argued numerous cases in other federal and state appellate courts, and provides strategic advice to companies, funds and organizations at all stages of constitutional, regulatory and other complex litigation.

In its national rankings, Chambers USA notes that Mr. Shah is “highly recommended by clients for his uniformly high-quality work," and describes him as “one of the brightest and most personable members of the DC appellate bar” with “complete mastery of the facts and law of a case.” Among other publications, the Washington Business Journal has recognized him as a leading appellate advocate who has successfully “practiced before the highest court in the land on some of the most groundbreaking cases of the 21st century.” Under his leadership, Akin Gump was named one of the top three appellate practices in the 2017 “Best of Corporate Counsel” rankings, and again made the National Law Journal “Appellate Hot List” —now for the ninth straight year.

Before joining the firm in 2013, Mr. Shah served for over five years as an assistant to the solicitor general at the U.S. Department of Justice. He received a number of awards for his advocacy before the Supreme Court during that time, including the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for his role as lead drafter of the successful challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act in United States v. Windsor.

Prior to that, Mr. Shah worked in the appellate practice of another international law firm, taught constitutional law, and clerked for Justice Stephen G. Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge William Fletcher on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Mr. Shah received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University with a B.S.E. in chemical engineering.

Sarah Harrington will join Goldstein & Russell, P.C. as a partner in October. Sarah recently finished an eight-year run as an Assistant to the Solicitor General at the United States Department of Justice. In that capacity, Sarah argued 20 cases in front of the United States Supreme Court and wrote merits brief in more than a dozen additional cases. Sarah handled a wide range of topics before the Supreme Court, including bankruptcy, constitutional law, criminal law, tax law, preemption, trademark, and federal statutory questions.

Earlier in her career, Sarah worked as an appellate attorney in the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she argued dozens of appeals on behalf of the government.

A graduate of Harvard Law School, Sarah clerked for the Honorable Rosemary Barkett of the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. In 2009, Sarah was recognized by the National Law Journal as one of the “Top 40 Under 40” rising stars in the Washington, D.C. region.