Today we’ll extend the focus on law firms that prevailed during the fantasy league season by providing an update on the most visible firms over the past five years.[1] Our gaze covers private firms and non-profit organizations,[2] seeking those whose attorneys delivered at least four oral arguments in cases decided between September 2018 and August 2023.[3]
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty has cast a long shadow at the court in recent years and sits atop Table 1 with 13 oral arguments. Close behind come von Briesen & Roper (11 arguments), Stafford Rosenbaum (10), and Husch Blackwell (9), followed by clusters of firms culminating with a group of five at the bottom responsible for four arguments apiece.[4]
Given that Table 1 combines information from five years, it cannot distinguish between firms active most recently and those that have addressed the justices less frequently of late. Here, Table 2 can help, as it restricts coverage to the last two terms (2021-22 and 2022-23) and displays firms credited with at least three oral arguments during that period. The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and von Briesen & Roper (now tied) continue to set the pace, but five other firms from the first table have vanished in Table 2, and the order has shifted among several others that managed to survive the cut.
[1] The previous post covered 2008-09 through 2017-18.
[2] Thus, we are excluding the Department of Justice and the State Public Defender’s Office, which accounted for the largest number of oral arguments.
[3] It should be emphasized that we are counting oral arguments in cases decided during the periods covered by the two tables. Disciplinary matters involving lawyers and judges, as well as various motions and petitions, are excluded.
[4] The total of eight arguments for Troutman Pepper includes three credited to Troutman Sanders, which merged with Pepper Hamilton to became Troutman Pepper in 2020.
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