Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP announced today that Eric Shumsky, formerly of Sidley Austin LLP, has joined the firm as a partner in the Supreme Court and Appellate Group, resident in Washington, D.C. Mr. Shumsky’s arrival follows the addition earlier this year of Robert Loeb, former Acting Deputy Director of the Appellate Staff of the Civil Division at the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Eric is a superb all-around appellate lawyer, who has developed a particular expertise in intellectual property,” said Josh Rosenkranz, head of the firm’s Supreme Court & appellate practice. “He is one of the rising stars in the area of patent appeals to the Federal Circuit, and has significant experience presenting cutting-edge IP issues to the Federal Circuit and to the Supreme Court. We know that our clients will be excited to have Eric lead appellate teams on high-stakes matters, both in and outside the IP space.”

“Orrick has built one of the premier technology-focused litigation practices in the world where we win big cases at trial and in appeals,” said Neel Chatterjee, co-chair of Orrick’s intellectual property practice. “Eric’s deep IP expertise and familiarity with the Federal Circuit helps ensure that we continue our leadership in intellectual property litigation everywhere.”

In addition to a series of high-stakes appeals for clients like Facebook, UBS, Morgan Stanley, DIRECTV, and DISH Network, Orrick’s Supreme Court & Appellate lawyers have represented parties in some of the most noteworthy IP appeals in the country, including a recent victory in the first-sale doctrine case before the U.S. Supreme Court; several appeals for Apple arising out of the smartphone wars; an appeal for Oracle in its suit alleging that Google copied the Java platform when it developed Android; and an appeal for Nintendo against patent owners seeking to exclude the Wii from the U.S. market.

Mr. Shumsky has filed numerous briefs before the United States Supreme Court, state supreme courts, and federal courts of appeals, and has been the primary author of more than 75 briefs in the Supreme Court alone. He has briefed and argued cases on topics as wide-ranging as administrative law, criminal law, national security, and foreign sovereign immunity for clients in the telecommunications, technology, pharmaceutical, financial services, transportation, and consumer goods industries, among others. For a number of years, his practice has focused heavily on intellectual property matters, and he has particular expertise in the Federal Circuit. Mr. Shumsky serves as co-chair of the Federal Circuit Bar Association’s Amicus Committee, which has primary responsibility for the FCBA’s amicus filings in the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court.

“Orrick’s appellate group is outstanding, and the fact that it has been built in a few short years is simply extraordinary,” Mr. Shumsky said. “The firm is handling its clients’ most complicated and most significant intellectual property appeals, and I look forward to further building on the strength of this first-rate practice.”

Prior to joining Sidley Austin, Mr. Shumsky clerked for the Hon. M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the Hon. Wm. Matthew Byrne, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Mr. Shumsky received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as Correspondence Editor on the Yale Law Journal. He received his B.A. from Yale, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, in 1995.

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