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.

Obtaining a stay of execution from the Supreme Court is always a long shot. With only two weeks from the panel ruling to the execution, we had barely any time to put together a full cert petition that would convince five members of the court not only that allowing this execution to go forward was wrong, but also that there were legal issues worth the Supreme Court's attention. Our team is so deep with talent, and so mutually supportive, that we quickly came together, shared ideas, and coalesced around a strategy and timetable to carry it out. I was tremendously proud of the professionalism and high quality of service we put forward under challenging circumstances. It was exceedingly gratifying when the court granted the stay.

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

Our appellate team is a small group of creative lawyers who value collaboration. We are elite communicators. We are at our best when facing the hardest, highest value legal problems. That's where our depth of analysis and clarity of presentation yields results few can match.

What practice advice would you give your younger self?

Study how people make decisions. Your job will be to influence how a small group of people make decisions. Legal knowledge and careful reasoning matter. But they are not everything. Learn how to tell compelling stories and win the battle for a judge's moral intuitions.

Responses submitted by Robert Hochman, a partner at Sidley Austin.