Kwaku A. Akowuah

KWAKU AKOWUAH is a co-leader of Sidley’s Supreme Court, Appellate, and Litigation Strategies practice. His wide-ranging practice encompasses traditional appellate litigation, administrative law disputes, commercial disputes, and pre-litigation counseling.

Kwaku’s recent matters include:

• Representing a medical industry publisher before the United States Supreme Court in PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic, Inc., a Telephone Consumer Protection Act case involving significant questions of administrative law. The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor of Sidley’s client, vacated the 4th Circuit’s challenged ruling, and remanded the case to the 4th Circuit for further proceedings. On remand, the 4th Circuit adopted Sidley’s principal administrative law argument and declined to reinstate its prior decision.
• Representing a leading financial services company in a suit brought under the Helms-Burton Act. The Delaware District Court dismissed the suit and the Third Circuit unanimously affirmed the dismissal.
• Representing a leading financial services company in putative consumer class-action litigation in the Southern District of New York. The district court granted the company’s motion to dismiss. The plaintiff declined to appeal.
• Representing a leading industrial company that has intervened in support of EPA to oppose litigation filed by plaintiffs who are seeking to overturn an environmental remediation plan adopted by the agency. The suit is currently pending in the First Circuit.
• Representing a leading pharmaceutical company in litigation against the Department of Health and Human Services regarding the 340B drug pricing program. The suit is pending in federal district court in Washington, DC.
• Representing a leading pharmaceutical company that has intervened in support of FDA to oppose litigation brought against the agency by a commercial competitor that is challenging the agency’s handling of a pending new drug application. The suit is pending in federal district court in Washington, DC.
• Representing a leading pharmaceutical company in a breach of contract and Lanham Act dispute currently pending in the District of New Jersey.
• Representing a leading consumer goods manufacturer in a case brought by the company to challenge the constitutional validity of a municipal ordinance that purports to control the manufacturer’s out-of-state manufacturing and labeling practices. The District Court for the District of Columbia entered a preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of the ordinance on First Amendment grounds.
• Representing a leading telecommunications company before the D.C. Circuit in a challenge to a ruling issued by the Federal Communications Commission. The D.C. Circuit overturned the Commission’s ruling.
• Representing a professional sports franchise in an action to vacate an arbitration award entered by a league panel. A New York trial court vacated the award on grounds of evident partiality. An appellate panel unanimously affirmed the vacatur ruling. Further litigation regarding the proper remedy in light of the vacatur is now pending before the New York Court of Appeals. 

Kwaku was named one of 2016’s top “40 Under 40” business leaders by the Washington Business Journal. In recognition of his litigation success, he was also named a 2015 “D.C. Rising Star” by The National Law Journal.

Prior to joining the firm, Kwaku served as a law clerk to Justice Stephen G. Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court. From 2009 to 2012, Kwaku was an attorney-adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice. In that role, he provided legal advice to departments and agencies of the executive branch on a variety of matters, including questions relating to the constitutional separation of powers, the interpretation of federal statutes, and international law principles. Prior to his time at the Justice Department, Kwaku was an associate in the appellate litigation practice of a global law firm in New York, where he also gained trial court experience representing clients in commercial, products-liability, and securities cases. Kwaku began his career with clerkships for Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the Eastern District of New York and Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the 2nd Circuit.

• Kwaku serves as the D.C. Office Co-Chair of the Committee on Recruiting of Associates.
• Kwaku serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, a leading provider of legal services to individuals living in poverty in the district.
• Kwaku formerly served as chairman of the board of directors for AGE Africa, a nonprofit organization that aims to provide life-changing opportunities to young women in Malawi through targeted initiatives in education, mentoring, and leadership development.

Kwaku is a member of the firm’s Pro Bono and Public Interest Law Committee and maintains an active pro bono practice. He argued a 4th Circuit appeal concerning fast-track immigration removal orders and handled a habeas challenge to immigration detention in Maryland Federal District Court. For these efforts, he was named to the 2015 pro bono honor roll of the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition. Kwaku has also argued a case in the D.C. Circuit concerning the interpretation and constitutionality of the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s three-strikes provision, won an 11th Circuit appeal on behalf of a prisoner seeking relief from long-term solitary confinement, and has presented amicus briefs on behalf of leading scholars and leading advocacy organizations in cases presenting a variety of federal constitutional and statutory issues. He recently represented a leading adoption advocacy group in administrative litigation against the U.S. Department of State. The D.C. Circuit vacated the challenged agency action in a unanimous decision.