Assistant to US Solicitor General To Rejoin Latham

October 2, 2014, Washington, D.C…. Latham & Watkins LLP¹ is pleased to announce that appellate litigator Melissa Arbus Sherry will return to the firm as a partner in the Supreme Court and Appellate Practice Group in the Washington, D.C. office. Sherry, a former associate of the firm, served as an Assistant to the United States Solicitor General since 2009.

Over the past five years, Sherry has argued 10 cases before the US Supreme Court and briefed numerous additional cases before the Court. Her case work has spanned a wide array of areas, including intellectual property, securities fraud, health care, international law, employment discrimination, personal jurisdiction, equitable tolling and the False Claims Act. 

“Melissa is an extraordinary talent and already one of the most accomplished appellate advocates of her generation. We are very happy to welcome her back to Latham & Watkins,” said Alice Fisher, Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins in Washington, D.C.

At Latham, Sherry joins a nationally renowned Supreme Court and Appellate practice in Washington, D.C. led by Gregory Garre, a former Solicitor General of the United States, and including such notable appellate litigators as Maureen Mahoney, Richard Bress and Scott Ballenger. In addition to her experience in the Solicitor General’s office, Sherry worked on numerous matters at Latham covering a range of issues in the Supreme Court and before the Second, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, and D.C. Circuits, as well as dispositive motions filed in state courts. 

Gregory Garre, Global Chair of the Supreme Court and Appellate Practice Group, commented: “Melissa is a rare talent and superb appellate advocate.  She has personally argued 10 cases before the Supreme Court, briefed some of the most important commercial cases to come before the Court in recent years and worked with dozens of federal government agencies and components within the Department of Justice. We are thrilled that she is rejoining our appellate practice.”

Sherry is among a series of litigation partners joining Latham this year from high-profile government positions. In Washington, D.C., Kathryn Ruemmler returned to the firm in July following five and a half years of government service, most recently as Counsel to the President of the United States, and Jonathan Su recently returned to Latham after eight years of service in the White House Counsel’s Office (2012-14) and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Maryland (2006-12).  Additionally, partner Lawrence Buterman joined the D.C. office last month after four years of service at the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s Networks and Technology Enforcement Section. Litigation partner John Sikora also joined the firm earlier this year in Chicago after 16 years at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, most recently as Assistant Director in the Chicago Regional Office and in the Asset Management Unit of the SEC’s Enforcement Division.

“I am so thrilled to be returning to Latham and to have the opportunity to practice with my former colleagues and friends. The firm has a truly collaborative and supportive culture that allows lawyers to thrive and clients to succeed,” Sherry said. “My practice will center on appellate-focused litigation, including briefing and arguing appeals, drafting and arguing critical dispositive motions, embedding with trial teams to assist in spotting and framing appellate issues and developing potential litigation strategies and alternatives.” 

Sherry received her law degree in 2003 from the University of Virginia Law School, where she won awards each year for having the highest GPA in her class. After law school, she clerked for Judge Diana Gribbon Motz on the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and Justice John Paul Stevens on the US Supreme Court.

About Latham & Watkins

Latham & Watkins is a global law firm with approximately 2,100 lawyers in its offices located in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States, including: Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Doha, Dubai, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, New Jersey, New York, Orange County, Paris, Riyadh, Rome, San Diego, San Francisco, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. For more information on Latham & Watkins, please visit the website at www.lw.com.