Mr. Zimmer’s recent U.S. Supreme Court representations include the following:
- Led briefing and presented oral argument before the Supreme Court in an immigration case concerning the correct interpretation of the stop-time rule for cancellation of removal. By an 8-1 vote, the Supreme Court agreed with our client, reversing the decisions of six courts of appeals, and allowing thousands of noncitizens to apply for cancellation of removal. The American Immigration Lawyers Association awarded Mr. Zimmer and his team with the Jack Wasserman Memorial Award for Excellence in Litigation based on their work on this case. Mr. Zimmer’s work on this case was also recognized by The Financial Times in its 2019 North America Innovative Lawyers Report. Pereira v. Sessions, 138 S. Ct. 2105 (2018).
- Co-authored brief and served as second chair in the first Supreme Court case to consider the revised standards for patentability under the 2011 America Invents Act. The Court unanimously agreed with our client’s argument that an invention is “on sale” for purposes of the statute if it is sold or offered for sale, and that it does not matter whether the sales are public or make the invention “available to the public” more broadly. Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharm. USA, Inc., 139 S. Ct. 628 (2019).
- On behalf of a major banking client, co-authored the petition for certiorari and merits briefs that persuaded the Supreme Court to grant certiorari to resolve questions about the scope of the Fair Housing Act, adopt our client’s argument, and set aside the appellate decision applying a relaxed causation standard.
His other significant representations include the following:
- Led briefing and presented oral argument that successfully convinced the First Circuit to hold that our client’s sustained overdraft fees do not qualify as “interest” under regulations implementing the National Bank Act. The court’s decision was the first appellate decision addressing the proper classification of sustained overdraft fees. Fawcett v. Citizens Bank, N.A., 919 F.3d 133 (1st Cir. 2019).
- Developed appellate strategy and co-authored briefs that convinced the Federal Circuit to reverse the district court’s factual findings as clearly erroneous, and hold that the patent asserted against our client was invalid as obvious. The Federal Circuit’s decision cleared the path for our client to launch its generic pharmaceutical product. Bayer Pharma AG v. Watson Laboratories, Inc., 874 F.3d 1316 (Fed. Cir. 2017).
- Co-authored winning briefs in a significant appeal in the Federal Circuit about the scope of “covered business method” review of patents by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Managing IP named the case one of 2016’s “Milestone Cases.” Unwired Planet, LLC v. Google Inc., 841 F.3d 1376 (Fed. Cir. 2016).
- Appointed as Special Assistant Attorney General to represent two Boston-area District Attorneys in bringing the first legal challenge to ICE’s policy of conducting civil immigration arrests at state courthouses. The district court concluded that our clients are likely to succeed in establishing that ICE lacks the authority to conduct such arrests, and granted a preliminary injunction barring ICE from civilly arresting parties, witnesses, and others attending Massachusetts courthouses on official business while they are going to, attending, or leaving the courthouse. The American Lawyer recognized Mr. Zimmer as a Litigator of the Week nominee for obtaining this groundbreaking ruling. Ryan v. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 382 F. Supp. 3d 142 (D. Mass. 2019).
- On behalf of a major mortgage lender, co-authored briefs persuading a California trial judge to grant judgment notwithstanding the verdict on a multimillion-dollar tort judgment against our client, and appellate briefs persuading the California Court of Appeal to affirm the trial court’s decision and the California Supreme Court to deny review.
- On behalf of four nationwide mortgage lenders, co-authored briefs persuading the Ninth Circuit to dismiss a False Claims Act lawsuit demanding a multibillion-dollar recovery.
- Successfully briefed and argued cases before the Second and Ninth Circuits on behalf of pro bono clients, convincing the courts to grant petitions for review from decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals finding our clients removable. The Legal Aid Society recognized Mr. Zimmer for this work by awarding him its Pro Bono Publico Award.
Professional Activities
Mr. Zimmer is a member of the Board of Directors for both the ACLU of Massachusetts and Lawyers for Civil Rights.
Prior to joining Goodwin, Mr. Zimmer served as a law clerk to Justice Elena Kagan of the Supreme Court of the United States, and Judge William A. Fletcher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He also previously worked as an associate at Keker & Van Nest.
