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Lawyer Profile

Image of Seth P. Waxman

Seth P. Waxman

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
  • Recognized Since:
    1995
  • Recognized in:
    Appellate Practice
    Bet-the-Company Litigation...
  • Website:
    http://www.wilmerhale.com
  • Location:
    1875 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
    Washington, DC 20006
"Seth Waxman is as good as any Supreme Court advocate I ever seen or known. He is phenomenal as SG and really talented in any appellate setting, a scholar of Supreme Court case law."

-David Snively (Monsanto Company), St. Louis

"Seth Waxman is the best appellate advocate in private practice today, bar none."
Read More Client Comments
  • Lawyer Bio
  • Client Comments
  • Lawyer Practice Areas
  • Firm Details

Lawyer Bio

Universally considered to be among the country's premier Supreme Court and appellate advocates, Seth Waxman served as Solicitor General of the United States from 1997 through January 2001. In addition to leading the firm's appellate practice, Mr. Waxman engages in a broad litigation and counseling practice, with particular emphasis on complex challenges involving governments or public policy, intellectual property, regulatory, criminal and commercial issues. 
 
A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, he also is a widely respected trial litigator—named as "Bet-the-Company Litigator of the Year" for 2010 by The Best Lawyers in America and by Super Lawyers in 2013 as the “number one” lawyer in Washington DC. Mr. Waxman has been accorded both "star" rating by Chambers USA and "leading lawyer" ranking in PLC's Global Counsel Handbook.  

Practice

Mr. Waxman's practice spans both federal and state trial and appellate courts. He has delivered more than 65 oral arguments in the United States Supreme Court and many more in the lower federal and state courts. Mr. Waxman's clients range from financial institutions to technology, consumer, industrial and media companies, universities and Indian tribes, and he leads the firm's efforts to counsel tribal governments. He also represents a number of local, state and national governments and prominent business and government executives and professionals. The recipient of numerous professional awards and honors, Mr. Waxman is among a small handful of practicing attorneys elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He holds several honorary degrees, as well as the Jefferson Medal in Law, an honor awarded once a year and only rarely to an attorney in private practice. In recognition of exceptional service to law enforcement, Mr. Waxman holds the extraordinary status of permanent honorary Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Read more on firm website
  • Education
  • Bar Admissions
  • Award List
  • Clerkships
  • Additional Information
  • Lawyer of the Year Badge
  • Lawyer of the Year Badge
  • Lawyer of the Year Badge
  • Lawyer of the Year Badge
  • Lawyer of the Year Badge
  • Lawyer of the Year Badge
  • Lawyer of the Year Badge
  • Lawyer of the Year Badge
  • Lawyer of the Year Badge
  • Lawyer of the Year Badge

Education:

  • Harvard University, AB

Bar Admissions:

  • District of Columbia, The District of Columbia Bar

Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers for:

  • First Amendment Law, Washington, D.C. (2021)
  • Litigation - First Amendment, Washington, D.C. (2020)
  • Bet-the-Company Litigation, Washington, D.C. (2019)
  • Appellate Practice, Washington, D.C. (2018)
  • Litigation - Intellectual Property, Washington, DC (2016)
  • Litigation - First Amendment, Washington, DC (2015)
  • Litigation - Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy), Washington, DC (2015)
  • Appellate Practice, Washington, DC (2014)
  • Litigation - First Amendment, Washington, DC (2013)
  • Bet-the-Company Litigation, Washington, DC (2010)
 

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for work in:

  • Appellate Practice
  • Bet-the-Company Litigation
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Criminal Defense: White-Collar
  • First Amendment Law
  • Litigation - First Amendment
  • Litigation - Intellectual Property
  • Litigation - Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy)
  • Native American Law

Federal Clerkships:

  • United States District Court

Special Focus:

  • Supreme Court
 

Lawyer Client Comments

"Seth Waxman is as good as any Supreme Court advocate I ever seen or known. He is phenomenal as SG and really talented in any appellate setting, a scholar of Supreme Court case law."

David Snively, Monsanto Company, St. Louis

"Seth Waxman is the best appellate advocate in private practice today, bar none."

"Seth Waxman is the best Supreme Court advocate today."

David Snively, Monsanto Company, St. Louis

Lawyer Practice Areas

Key: Awarded in Best Lawyers Not Currently Awarded for this Area in Best Lawyers

Firm Details

Image for Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP View Firm Profile
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
http://www.wilmerhale.com
 
13 Office Locations
in 5 Countries

Belgium

Belgium

Brussels, Belgium

Bastion Tower, Place du Champ de Mars

Marsveldplein 5

Brussels 1050

Belgium

32 2 285 4900

Get Directions

China: Global Firms

China: Global Firms

Beijing, China: Global Firms

1206 North Tower

Beijing Kerry Center

1 Guanghua Road Chaoyang District

Beijing 100020

China: Global Firms

86 10 5901 6588

Get Directions

Germany

Germany

Berlin, Germany

Friedrichstr. 95

Berlin 10117

Germany

49 30 20 22 64 00

Get Directions

Frankfurt/Main, Germany

Ulmenstrasse 37-39

Frankfurt/Main 60325

Germany

49 69 27 10 78 000

Get Directions

United Kingdom

United Kingdom

London, United Kingdom

49 Park Lane

London W1K 1PS

United Kingdom

44 20 7872 1000

Get Directions

United States

United States

California

California

Los Angeles, CA

350 South Grand Avenue, Suite 2100

Los Angeles, CA 90071

United States

(213) 443.5300

Get Directions

Palo Alto, CA

950 Page Mill Road

Palo Alto, CA 94304

United States

(650) 858.6000

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San Francisco, CA

One Front Street

Suite 3500

San Francisco, CA 94111

United States

(628) 235.1000

Get Directions

Colorado

Colorado

Denver, CO

1225 Seventeenth Street, Suite 2600

Denver, CO 80202

United States

(720) 274.3135

Get Directions

District of Columbia

District of Columbia

Washington, DC

1875 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20006

United States

(202) 663.6000

Get Directions

Massachusetts

Massachusetts

Boston, MA

60 State Street

Boston, MA 02109

United States

(617) 526.6000

Get Directions

New York

New York

New York, NY

Seven World Trade Center

250 Greenwich Street

New York, NY 10007

United States

(212) 230.8800

Get Directions

Ohio

Ohio

Dayton, OH

3139 Research Boulevard

Dayton, OH 45420

United States

(937) 395.2100

Get Directions

 
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