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.

We convinced the Supreme Court to hold that adding a citizenship question to the [U.S.] Census violated the Administrative Procedure Act because the government's justification was pretextual. Our firm litigated the case from trial all the way to the Supreme Court, including largely batting back the government's emergency request to the Supreme Court to stay all discovery. And we didn't stop litigating the case after oral argument: we discovered crucial citizenship question-related evidence in a separate, gerrymandering case we were handling and quickly mobilized to get that evidence before the Supreme Court just weeks before the term ended.

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

We have an incredible bench of lawyers who work together as a team to win high-stakes appeals. We have a new practice group chair, John Elwood, and Allon Kedem recently joined from the Solicitor General's Office.

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

Coming up with innovative theories and arguments and pulling out victories in cases where no one expected you to win. We often get called in to appeal after adverse decisions, and in particular I love developing and executing strategies to get trial losses reversed.

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

To focus on your audience. A well-crafted brief isn't just about great legal arguments, but about telling a story so that the judges want your client to win.

Submitted by Elisabeth Theodore, partner at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer.