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Eric A. Shumsky

Partner
Washington, D.C. 
202.736.8496
202.736.8711 Fax

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ERIC A. SHUMSKY is a partner in Sidley’s Washington, D.C., office. His practice focuses on appellate law, and other litigation presenting complex or novel issues of law. He has represented clients in the telecommunications, pharmaceutical, financial services, transportation, and consumer goods industries, among others, as well as governments and trade associations.

Mr. Shumsky has filed numerous briefs before the United States Supreme Court, state supreme courts, and the federal courts of appeals on a wide range of issues. He has been a primary author of more than 50 briefs of all types in the Supreme Court, including petitions for certiorari, merits briefs and amicus briefs. Among other issues, he has briefed cases concerning federal preemption; takings; punitive damages; copyright and patent; the First Amendment Speech and Religion Clauses; the Federal Employers Liability Act; and the Clean Air Act. He also has significant experience representing criminal defendants pro bono before the Supreme Court, including cases concerning the constitutionality of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines; the constitutionality of mandatory minimum sentences; and the requirement that only Article III judges sit on Article III courts. Representative engagements include:

  • Norfolk Southern Ry. Co. v. Sorrell (U.S. 2007), regarding the standard of causation under FELA
  • United States v. Rita (U.S. 2007), regarding the legal force of the Sentencing Guidelines
  • Wachovia Bank v. Schmidt (U.S. 2006), amicus representation concerning the citizenship of national banks
  • United States v. Booker, United States v. Fanfan (U.S. 2005), regarding the constitutionality of the Sentencing Guidelines
  • Engine Manufacturers Association v. SCAQMD (U.S. 2004), regarding preemption under the Clean Air Act
  • Star Scientific v. RJR (Fed. Cir. 2008), successfully overturning inequitable conduct judgment
  • BIO v. District of Columbia (Fed. Cir. 2007), regarding the constitutionality of a local price-fixing statute under the Supremacy and Dormant Commerce Clauses
  • DRC v. FG Hemisphere (D.C. Cir. 2006), regarding litigation under the FSIA
  • Willow Inn, Inc. v. Public Serv. Mut. Ins. Co. (3d Cir. 2004), amicus representation regarding punitive damages award

In addition, Mr. Shumsky regularly contributes legal analysis to trial-court litigation presenting unusual or complex issues of law. Most recently, this has included:

  • United States v. Acevedo Vila (D.P.R. 2009), jury verdict of acquittal on all counts for former Governor of Puerto Rico stemming from alleged campaign finance and tax charges
  • In re NSA Telecommunications Records Litigation (N.D. Cal, 9th Cir.), regarding telecommunications providers’ liability for allegedly assisting in terrorist surveillance programs
  • Morris v. People's Republic of China (S.D.N.Y. 2007), regarding alleged liability for pre-Revolutionary Chinese bonds

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Shumsky clerked for the Hon. M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the Hon. Wm. Matthew Byrne, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Mr. Shumsky is a graduate of Yale Law School, where he served as Correspondence Editor on the Yale Law Journal, and was awarded the Thomas Emerson Prize for best paper on a subject related to legislation. That article, "The Religious Freedom Restoration Act: Postmortem of a Failed Statute," was subsequently published at 102 West Virginia Law Review 81 (1999). He has also published articles concerning legal issues in The Washington Post and the Detroit Free Press, and appeared as a legal commentator on Fox News.


Memberships & Affiliations
  • ABA Council of Appellate Lawyers
  • Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court

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