Davis Polk partner and Supreme Court & Appellate practice head Kannon Shanmugam was profiled in AmLaw Litigation Daily discussing building Davis Polk’s Supreme Court & Appellate practice, the Supreme Court’s docket, and how his practice has evolved over the years. 

Kannon joined Davis Polk in April, alongside partner Masha Hansford, to launch the firm’s Supreme Court & Appellate practice. “Our goal is to have the finest Supreme Court and appellate litigation practice in the country. I was very fortunate to be making this move with Masha Hansford, who I think is the best appellate litigator of her generation, and our goal is to build the practice here,” Kannon explained. 

“I do think that the nature of appellate practice has changed somewhat over my quarter-century of doing it,” Kannon said. “Now, so-called appellate litigators participate in every stage of litigation, including in trial courts. … So, I think I foresee that we will have a practice that assists clients at every stage of the life cycle of litigation, and our goal is to help our key clients with their most difficult legal issues.”

He added, “I anticipate that most of what we do will continue to be litigating in the appellate courts. But when clients have really big problems in the trial courts, I hope that we will continue to be called upon to help with that. It’s something I really enjoy doing.”

The article noted that the Supreme Court continues to hear a relatively small number of cases each term. Asked how that shapes a Supreme Court and Appellate practice, Kannon answered, “I always say that on any given day, you are more likely to find me in a court of appeals or a state appellate court or even in a trial court than in the Supreme Court of the United States. That’s just because of the small number of cases that the court hears. Nowadays, the court is hearing a vanishingly small number of commercial cases—the types of cases that lawyers like me at Big Law firms handle. So, the majority of what we do is litigation in the federal courts of appeals, and I anticipate that will continue. That having been said, I expect that we will continue to have a substantial presence in the Supreme Court as well.

Discussing his efforts to boost the careers of younger lawyers, Kannon said, “I love what I do, and it gets me out of bed every day, because I am so excited about the work. I would hope that every young lawyer gets the same opportunities. But I do think that young lawyers now have to work harder to build up a corpus of experience. … One of the things I really try to be mindful of now that I’m a little further in my career is really being volitional about finding opportunities for the younger lawyers with whom I work.”

“The best way to do that is not to be afraid to put younger lawyers in front of clients and to allow them to show their stuff to clients, so that clients have confidence in them, and will be comfortable sending them up to the podium,” he added. 

“Kannon Shanmugam Talks Davis Polk Move, the Supreme Court’s Shrinking Docket and Appellate Strategy,” AmLaw Litigation Daily (June 22, 2026) (subscription required)

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