November 23, 2020

Skadden Snags Shay Dvoretzky From Jones Day to Lead New SCOTUS Practice “Every time a new justice is appointed, you have to study that justice’s questions and opinions to understand what will appeal to them. The results can be surprising,” says Dvoretzky, who clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia and who had been at Jones Day for 18 years.

By Marcia Coyle Veteran appellate advocate Shay Dvoretzky is leaving Jones Day to join Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where he will begin and lead a U.S. Supreme Court and appellate litigation group. Dvoretzky has argued 12 cases in the Supreme Court and many more in federal and state courts. He will be a partner in Skadden’s Washington office. David Zornow, global head of Skadden’s litigation practice, said Dvoretzky is “recognized as among an elite group of Supreme Court Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM M. Photo: Diego advocates.” Shay Dvoretzky Skadden’s litigation practice is “preeminent,” & Garrison. Filling the vacancy, Williams & Con- Dvoretzky said, and he added he was “thrilled to nolly drew Lisa Blatt from Arnold & Porter Kaye join such an innovative firm.” Scholer, where she had led the appellate team. Dvoretzky, who had spent 18 years at Jones Arnold & Porter then hired longtime advocate Day, said his departure from the Cleveland, John Elwood from Vinson & Elkins. Ohio-based firm was in the works before it faced The arrival of Dvoretzky comes just weeks after criticism in recent weeks over advocating for the Donald Trump presidential campaign and the Skadden announced another major new hire: Republican Party. Jessie Liu, the Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney Dvoretzky became the latest veteran Supreme for the District of Columbia. Liu had formerly Court advocate to seize an opportunity to start been a partner at Jenner & Block and Morrison or bolster a Supreme Court and appellate prac- & Foerster. tice at a major U.S. law firm. Last year, Kannon A Yale Law School graduate, Dvoretzky clerked Shanmugam left Williams & Connolly to lead the for the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin appellate team at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton Scalia and former Judge J. Michael Luttig of the the national law journal November 23, 2020

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The American Lawyer last year named Dvoretzky among the publication’s litigators of the year. He won his two most recent Supreme Court argu- ments: decisions in 2019 in GE Energy v. Outokumpu, involving international arbitration agree- ments, and Rotkiske v. Klemm, concerning the statute of limi- tations in the federal Fair Debt

Collection Practices Act. Radzinschi/ALM M. Diego Photo by “While appeals involve detailed Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom’s Washington, D.C., offices on June 19, 2015. research and analysis, the key to effectively, you have to under- >> For many years, Skadden most cases can be reduced to a stand its business. And know- has been known and admired single concept expressed in two ing a bit about organizational for its pro bono work. You also or three words, sometimes even psychology helps you be a good have had a pro bono commit- one. Figuring out how to unlock mentor and attract and retain a ment. Will you be able to con- a case is both challenging and successful team. tinue doing that work and is rewarding,” Dvoretzky told The >> Given the tough compe- there an area in which you have National Law Journal earlier tition among law firms today a particular interest? this year in a report recognizing with Supreme Court and appel- Absolutely. For starters, on Fri- Jones Day for its appellate work. late practices, how will you, in day the Supreme Court granted In an interview with The addition to your own reputa- certiorari in a Fourth Amend- National Law Journal, Dvoretzky tion, distinguish Skadden in ment case that I’ll be arguing shared thoughts about joining this field? this term (Caniglia v. Strom). Skadden, about the Supreme Skadden is known for its pre- More generally, Skadden has a Court term, and what he does eminent corporate and litiga- long history of tremendous ded- to relax. tion practices, exceptional client ication to pro bono work. It’s an >> NLJ: After graduating from base, global footprint, and com- important obligation, and law- Yale, you did not go immediately mitment to pro bono work. This yers in my practice group will to law school. What were you is a firm firing on all cylinders— have the opportunity to shape doing in the interim? including in its D.C. office, significant areas of law in the After graduating from Yale, I where there have been a num- Supreme Court and the courts spent two years at a manage- ber of exciting new additions. of appeals. The firm fully sup- ment consulting firm, where my With market-leading attorneys ports my plan to continue doing work involved business strategy across practices and offices, high-impact pro bono work in and organizational psychology. Skadden offers an exceptional criminal, immigration, constitu- I really enjoyed my experience platform for building a dedi- tional, and other matters. and have found it helpful as an cated Supreme Court and appel- >> The Supreme Court now appellate lawyer. To achieve a late practice to better serve our has a 6-3 conservative majority. client’s goals and tell its story clients. Does that present any different the national law journal November 23, 2020 challenges for the advocate in One case I’m particularly inter- agreed (6-2) with my client’s briefing and arguing a case? We ested in is Facebook v. Duguid. argument and invalidated the remember the days of pitching The issue is whether the Tele- interpretation of the Federal arguments to Justice Anthony phone Consumer Protection Act Vacancies Reform Act followed Kennedy. prohibits unsolicited calls and by every president of both Every time a new justice is texts from any device that can parties since the statute was appointed, you have to study that automatically store and then passed in 1998—an interpre- justice’s questions and opinions dial numbers—at a penalty of tation that had never before to understand what will appeal up to $1,500 per call. Virtu- been challenged. The case is a to them. The results can be sur- ally every major company that good illustration of how inno- prising. For example, during his communicates with consumers vative advocacy can pay off. For first term on the court, Justice faces staggering class-action lia- my client, the decision set aside Kavanaugh agreed with Justices bility under the plaintiffs’ read- an unfair labor practice charge Breyer and Kagan as often as ing of the statute, which would authorized by an unlawfully he agreed with Justice Gorsuch. include every smartphone as a appointed general counsel of There’s no one type of argument prohibited calling device, too. the NLRB. An unintended con- that necessarily appeals to the The case has huge practical sequence is that, while few peo- justices on one side or the other consequences and is also fasci- ple outside of the DOJ’s Office of of a so-called 6-3 divide. Also, nating as a textual and gram- Legal Counsel had even heard about two-thirds of the cases last matical matter. (Full disclosure: of the FVRA before this case, it term were decided with seven or I have a long-standing interest has since become a prominent more votes in the majority, and in this statutory puzzle. I filed factor in presidential appoint- that’s typical of Justice Kennedy’s an amicus brief in this case for ments. I just regret that Justice last years on the court, too. So the Chamber of Commerce and Scalia, for whom I clerked, was yes, there are cases where trying other business groups. I also not on the bench for the argu- to count votes in advance may won a D.C. Circuit case that ment, which took place a few lead you to think that one vote was a precursor to this one, in months after he passed away. is critical. But for the core cases which the court invalidated the >> What does Shay Dvoretzky that the court hears—business Federal Communication Com- do to relax? issues, cases involving individual mission’s reading of the statute, I love spending family time criminal defendants’ rights, and and then an Eleventh Circuit with my wife, daughter, and the like—there’s no substitute case that created the circuit split dog. I also enjoy photography for studying the views of all the on the issue the Supreme Court and playing the piano. And I’m Justices, and trying to get to at will now decide.) a longtime car enthusiast and a least five votes without assuming >> Do you have a favorite more recent Peloton rider. which ones they will be. argument or case from your >> What are you watching Supreme Court experiences? Marcia Coyle, based in Washing- closely in the current term— My favorite case was repre- ton, covers the U.S. Supreme Court. either in the significance of cases senting SW General in NLRB v. Contact her at [email protected]. On or the roles of the justices? SW General in 2016. The court Twitter: @MarciaCoyle

Reprinted with permission from the November 23, 2020 edition of THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL © 2020 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited. For information, contact 877-257-3382, [email protected] or visit www.almreprints.com. # NLJ-11242020-466690