Goodwin Procter LLP, a national Am Law 50 firm, announced today that two recent law clerks to Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have joined the firm as associates in the firm’s growing Appellate Litigation Practice. David J. Zimmer, who served as law clerk to Justice Elena Kagan, and Brian Burgess, who served as law clerk to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, will reside in the firm’s San Francisco and Washington, D.C. offices, respectively. They join seven other former Supreme Court clerks who are currently practicing at Goodwin.
Zimmer and Burgess will leverage their U.S. Supreme Court experience to support the continued growth of the firm’s appellate litigation work. They will contribute to client work on a range of appellate matters and complex civil litigation, as well as the development of briefs for cases before federal, state and foreign appellate courts.
“Law clerks to the U.S. Supreme Court have many compelling options upon entering into private practice, and they typically consider offers only from those law firms that clients retain at the appellate phase of a case,” said Kevin P. Martin, co-chair of Goodwin’s Appellate Litigation Practice and a former law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. “Having both David and Brian join Goodwin not only strengthens our support for clients, but also reflects our commitment to expanding our work in the appellate area. These are two highly impressive attorneys with sterling credentials, and we are excited to welcome them to the firm.”
This expansion of Goodwin Procter’s appellate practice follows the addition of Appellate Litigation co-chair William Jay, a partner in the firm’s Washington office. Prior to joining Goodwin Procter in 2012, Jay served for five years as Assistant to the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice, following his clerkship for Justice Scalia. He has argued 11 cases before the Supreme Court, briefed more than 20 Supreme Court cases on the merits and handled more than 30 cases in appellate courts nationwide, including every U.S. Court of Appeals.
Before his Supreme Court clerkship, Zimmer also served as a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Prior to his legal career, he helped design and implement large-scale surveys with the Government of Sierra Leone Statistics Bureau, including oversight of the World Bank Sierra Leone Employers Survey. He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, his M.P.A. in International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School and his A.B. in Social Studies from Harvard College.
Prior to his Supreme Court clerkship, Burgess worked in the Department of Justice as a special assistant to the Solicitor General, where he successfully briefed and argued a criminal appeal before the Seventh Circuit. He also served as a law clerk on the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Second Circuit. He received his J.D. from New York University and his A.B. from Dartmouth College.
Members of Goodwin’s Appellate Litigation Practice have briefed and argued hundreds of high-stakes appeals, securing victories for clients in federal and state appellate courts throughout the United States.
About Goodwin Procter
Goodwin Procter LLP is a leading Global 100 law firm, with offices in Boston, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. The firm provides corporate law and litigation services, with a focus on matters involving real estate, REITs and real estate capital markets; private equity; technology companies; financial institutions; intellectual property; products liability and mass torts; and securities litigation and white collar defense. Information may be found at www.goodwinprocter.com. Follow us on Twitter @goodwinprocter.