ProfessionalsKannon K. Shanmugam
Tel: +1-202-223-7325
Fax: +1-202-204-7397
kshanmugam@paulweiss.com
Kannon Shanmugam is one of the nation's best-known appellate lawyers. He has argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court, including 31 cases in private practice. He has also argued over 150 appeals in courts across the country, including all 13 federal courts of appeals and numerous state courts. In addition to chairing the firm’s Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation Practice, Kannon serves as chair of the Washington office and co-chair of the Litigation Department.
Kannon is a go-to lawyer for corporate and individual clients before the Supreme Court, having represented ExxonMobil, Goldman Sachs, and Meta in recent matters there. He was the lead counsel in Seila Law v. CFPB, the landmark constitutional challenge that invalidated the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In the lower courts, he recently overturned the certification of a $13 billion securities class action arising out of the 2008 financial crisis, and he overturned the conviction of a former member of Congress, Jeff Fortenberry, for making false statements to the government.
Before entering private practice, Kannon served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice. He also served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and to Fourth Circuit Judge J. Michael Luttig.
Kannon is one of only five appellate lawyers ranked as a Star Individual by Chambers USA. He was a finalist for The American Lawyer's Litigator of the Year in 2022 and 2024, and he was named Appellate Litigator of the Year by Benchmark Litigation in 2021.
Chambers USA described Kannon as “the best of the best,” and Benchmark Litigation called him “one of the most respected and admired appellate practitioners” in the country. One longtime Supreme Court reporter recently said that Kannon “has perhaps the most eloquent and elegant manner … that I’ve ever seen in my 40 years covering the Court,” adding that he “projects calm, confidence, and authority from the moment he takes to the lectern.”
Legal 500 called Kannon “a brilliant lawyer and tactician, with impeccable judgment and an optimal moral compass.” It added, “you won’t find a more talented, sophisticated, compelling lawyer—and he matches that with his overall humility and kind nature.”
Awards and Recognitions
Kannon has been recognized as one of the top 500 lawyers in the nation (Lawdragon), one of the top 10 lawyers in Washington (Super Lawyers), and one of 20 people in Washington to watch (Washingtonian). Kannon was a finalist for the National Law Journal’s Appellate Litigator of the Year (2024), and he has been named a Law360 Appellate MVP five times (2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2024).
EXPERIENCE
Kannon has served as the co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Committee and as president of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court. Kannon is the only practicing American lawyer who is an honorary bencher of the Inner Temple, one of the four English Inns of Court. He is also an honorary fellow of Keble College, Oxford University.
Kannon has taught Supreme Court advocacy as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center. In the community, he has served as chair of the board of trustees of Thurgood Marshall Academy, a charter school in Southeast Washington that is one of the city’s highest-performing public high schools.
Kannon has devoted substantial time to pro bono representation, including in the areas of criminal law and religious liberty. Among other matters, he argued a high-profile appeal before the Supreme Court on behalf of the victims of the U.S.S. Cole bombing and their families.
Kannon’s significant representations include:
- Goldman Sachs in a Supreme Court case establishing the standard for disproving price impact in connection with class certification in a securities class action.
- ExxonMobil in a Supreme Court case concerning jurisdiction over tort suits seeking to recover damages for global climate change.
- Meta in a Supreme Court case regarding the circumstances under which statements in risk disclosures can be false or misleading under the securities laws.
- Warner Music in a Supreme Court case concerning the statute of limitations for copyright claims.
- Henry Schein in a Supreme Court case involving the enforcement of a contractual provision delegating questions of arbitrability to an arbitrator.
- 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 the Treasury’s designation of a cryptocurrency service under federal sanctions laws.
- The National Football League in a Nevada Supreme Court appeal concerning the arbitrability of a dispute with a former head coach.
- CNA in a series of appeals concerning insurance coverage for business losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Jesse Litvak in two Second Circuit appeals reversing his convictions for securities fraud.