Tell us about your top U.S. Supreme Court or federal appeals court victory over the past year and how you and your team achieved the win. 

Arab Bank was a great team win. Any time you represent the respondent in the Supreme Court you face an uphill climb. But here the Supreme Court had previously considered the Second Circuit's no-corporate-liability view and pointedly declined to embrace it, and the SG was against us. Despite those obstacles, we never lost faith in our core arguments (including that a statute designed to avoid diplomatic friction should not be interpreted to create it) and avoided being dragged into peripheral disputes. We also coordinated with the Jordanian government to highlight the profound disruption the lawsuit had caused a close ally.

How did your firm approach appellate success over the past year?

A team approach and depth of talent were keys. Erin Murphy argued one of the biggest cases of last Term. Erin and George Hicks handled numerous appeals, and at moots we draw on the wisdom of Judge McConnell, Bartow Farr and talented future stars.

What practice advice would you give your younger self?

Common sense beats a footnote every time. It is critical for advocates to master the precedents and the record, but appellate courts decide cases based on common sense and the broader principles of past decisions, not what they said in a footnote a decade ago.

Responses submitted by Paul Clement, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis.