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Lawyers

Kannon Shanmugam

Lawyers

Kannon Shanmugam

Partner
Supreme Court & Appellate
Washington DC

Head of Supreme Court & Appellate. Has argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court and more than 150 appeals in courts across the country.

Kannon is the head of our Supreme Court & Appellate practice. He has argued 39 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and has argued more than 150 appeals in courts across the country, including every federal court of appeals and numerous state courts. 

Kannon is ranked as a “Star Individual” in appellate law by Chambers USA, where a client notes, “It’s hard to think of enough superlatives to describe his talent, his judgment, his ability, his experience – he is as good as it gets.” Legal 500 U.S. recognizes Kannon in its Hall of Fame for appellate work. A client shares, “His work is the best in the business, and he is a wonderful human being in addition to being a world-class appellate litigator.”

In 2024 and 2022, Kannon was a finalist for the American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Year” award. He was named “Appellate Litigator of the Year” by Benchmark Litigation in 2021 and was a 2026 finalist for that recognition. 

Before entering private practice, Kannon served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Experience

Kannon’s representations prior to joining Davis Polk include:

Supreme Court

  • Goldman Sachs in a case establishing the standard for disproving price impact in connection with class certification in a securities class action
  • ExxonMobil in a case concerning jurisdiction over tort suits seeking to recover damages for global climate change
  • Meta in a case regarding the circumstances under which statements in risk disclosures can be false or misleading under the securities laws
  • Seila Law in Seila Law v. CFPB, the landmark constitutional challenge that invalidated the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
  • Henry Schein in a case involving the enforcement of a contractual provision delegating questions of arbitrability to an arbitrator

Federal Courts of Appeals

  • Mastercard in a Second Circuit appeal defending the settlement of the credit card interchange fee class action, believed to be the largest private antitrust settlement in history
  • Bank of America in its Second Circuit appeal from a $1.3 billion adverse judgment for civil penalties under FIRREA arising from the sale of mortgage loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
  • AstraZeneca in a Federal Circuit appeal providing broad personal jurisdiction over generic drug manufacturers in patent disputes
  • Coinbase in a Fifth Circuit appeal challenging Treasury’s designation of a cryptocurrency service under federal sanctions laws
  • CNA in a series of appeals, including in circuit courts across the country, concerning insurance coverage for business losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Lender group in a Fifth Circuit victory overturning a bankruptcy court’s approval of a controversial debt restructuring practice
  • A former member of Congress in a Ninth Circuit victory overturning a conviction for making false statements to the government

State Appellate Courts

  • National Football League in a Nevada Supreme Court appeal concerning the arbitrability of a dispute with a former head coach

Recognition

Chambers USA – Appellate Law, Star Individual 

Benchmark Litigation  United States and Washington DC, Star 

Legal 500 U.S. – Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal), Hall of Fame

Law360 – “Appellate MVP of the Year,” 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025

American Lawyer – “Litigator of the Year,” Finalist, 2022 and 2024

Washingtonian – “20 People in Washington to Watch,” 2024

Benchmark Litigation – “Appellate Litigator of the Year,” 2021 

Lawdragon – 500 Leading Lawyers in America, since 2012

Education

J.D., Harvard Law School
  • magna cum laude
Master of Letters, University of Oxford
  • Marshall Scholar
A.B., Harvard University
  • summa cum laude

Clerkships

Law Clerk, Hon. Antonin Scalia, U.S. Supreme Court, 1999-2000
Law Clerk, Hon. J. Michael Luttig, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1998-1999

Prior experience

  • Partner, Paul, Weiss, 2019-2026
  • Partner, Williams & Connolly, 2008-2019
  • Assistant to the Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice, 2004-2008
  • Associate, Kirkland & Ellis, 2000-2004

Qualifications and admissions

  • State of New York
  • District of Columbia
  • Kansas
  • Virginia
  • U.S. Supreme Court
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