Sidley’s appellate team has been honored with two awards in conjunction with The National Law Journal Legal Awards 2021. The firm has been named to the publication's "Appellate Hot List" for the fourteenth consecutive year. The list honors firms “boasting high-profile and high-stakes wins in the nation’s highest appellate courts.” In addition, Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation partner Joshua J. Fougere has been named a "D.C. Rising Star." This prestigious group consists of “lawyers who have wielded influence in their practice areas in the D.C. area and beyond,” according to The National Law Journal.
Sidley's Supreme Court and Appellate practice is known for its exceptional Supreme Court experience, resoundingly deep bench, and extensive federal appellate experience. One of the first law firms to have a dedicated national Supreme Court and Appellate practice, Sidley represents clients before the United States Supreme Court, all federal courts of appeals, and state appellate and supreme courts. The team is widely recognized for its leadership in addressing groundbreaking and complex questions of federal and state law. Since the inception of the practice in 1985, the team, which includes 27 former Supreme Court clerks, has briefed over 230 cases on the merits and argued more than 125 cases before the Court.
As a “D.C. Rising Star,” Josh has been selected among a group of “innovators who develop unique practice niches, secure wins for clients, cultivate robust books of business, and demonstrate strong leadership qualities.” Josh’s stand-out work over the past year includes leading the appeal briefing on behalf of Bayer at the Federal Circuit in Bayer Healthcare LLC v. Baxalta Inc., in which the Federal Circuit unanimously affirmed a $182 million judgment in a published opinion that rejected every issue that Baxalta had raised. In addition, Josh led the summary judgment briefing for Incyte Corporation in a qui tam action in which the government had alleged that potential liability was in the billions, but, after Incyte’s summary judgment briefs were filed, Sidley negotiated a $12.6 million settlement in which Incyte did not admit to any wrongdoing. Josh focuses his practice on appellate litigation and he assists clients in a broad range of cases involving questions of constitutional, statutory, and administrative law at all stages of litigation. He regularly presents oral arguments, drafts motions and pleadings, and has helped to author numerous briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court, in the federal and state courts of appeals, and in federal and state trial courts.