Davis Polk Chair and Managing Partner Neil Barr, partner and Washington DC office head Jarrett Arp, and partner and head of the Supreme Court & Appellate practice Kannon Shanmugam discussed the launch of the firm’s Supreme Court & Appellate practice with Bloomberg Law. 

Kannon is one of the nation’s foremost appellate litigators and has argued 40 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He and fellow leading appellate litigator Masha Hansford joined Davis Polk this week as partners in the firm’s Washington DC office. 

“While the practice might be branded as a Supreme Court and appellate practice – and that’s obviously the practice group we’re launching – the ultimate goal here is to serve our clients’ needs at every stage of the litigation and over the full life cycle of the litigation,” Kannon said.

Jarrett explained that the new practice will assist clients in dealing with their most complex appeals – some in front of the Supreme Court, but the overwhelming majority will be in front of the federal circuit courts of appeal and state supreme courts. 

“It’s important for the firm to have the capabilities to see a litigation through from the very beginning through the very end, and having an appellate practice is part of that,” Neil added. 

Discussing the recent growth of the DC office, which has doubled in size from 45 to 90 lawyers, Jarrett noted that the firm laid the foundation in DC “quite deliberately for strategic growth,” making high-impact lateral hires and expanding the office footprint.

Neil continued, “Our expectation and our hope is that Washington DC will be a full-service office,” noting that the firm will grow the new appellate team and make additional civil litigation and corporate hires.

Kannon acknowledged that he long admired Davis Polk and its quality across all practices. “There may be no firm that has a better reputation among clients and lawyers,” he said. “I hope at Davis Polk that we can build one of the finest appellate practices in the country.”

“Davis Polk Looks to Appellate Star Shanmugam to Elevate DC Build,” Bloomberg Law (April 28, 2026) (subscription required) 

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