Kannon Shanmugam, with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.

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.

In March, we won a unanimous [U.S.] Supreme Court victory in Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus, on the question of whether the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act covers entities engaging in nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings. In that case, which I argued before joining Paul Weiss, we persuaded the court that Congress did not intend to reach entities that merely undertake nonjudicial foreclosure in accordance with state law and that do not take other actions to collect on debts. The [Supreme] Court's decision places a substantial and important limit on liability under the FDCPA.

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

I joined Paul Weiss in January with the goal of building one of the country's best Supreme Court appellate litigation practices. We're off to a great start, but we have plenty of work to still do.

What is the most satisfying element of appellate practice in your opinion?

I have always enjoyed the puzzle-solving aspect of appellate matters. Every case is its own puzzle, and our goal is to solve that puzzle for our clients.

What's the most valuable lesson you learned as a young lawyer?

The details matter. When you're the associate on a case, you're responsible for making sure that every last detail in every brief is correct. And even as you become more senior, that remains important.

Submitted by Kannon Shanmugam, the managing partner of the Washington, D.C., office of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.