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Lisa Blatt

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Lisa Blatt
Lisa Blatt speaking at the 2023 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference
Born
Lisa Carol Schiavo

1964 or 1965 (age 59–60)[1]
San Angelo, Texas, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Texas at Austin (BA, JD)
Spouse
David Blatt
​
(m. 1995)​

Lisa Schiavo Blatt (born 1964/1965) is an American lawyer known for her advocacy before the Supreme Court of the United States. As of October 15, 2024, she has argued before the Supreme Court 51 times—the most of any woman in U.S. history. She is a partner at the law firm Williams & Connolly and chairs the firm's Supreme Court and appellate practice. She previously worked as an appellate lawyer for the U.S. government in the Office of the Solicitor General and later chaired the Supreme Court and appellate practice at the law firm Arnold & Porter.

Early life and career

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Blatt was born Lisa Carol Schiavo in San Angelo, Texas,[2] to Dr. Lois Friedman, a psychologist and professor, and Dr. Luigi Schiavo, a software engineer.[1] She grew up in Texas in San Angelo and Bryan–College Station.[3]

Blatt was inspired by Thurgood Marshall to pursue a career in law and began speech and debate in seventh grade.[4] She attended the University of Texas at Austin for college and law school, graduating summa cum laude both times.[1][5] After graduating from law school in 1989,[5] Blatt clerked for then-Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.[1] A year later, Blatt joined the Washington, D.C., law firm Williams & Connolly.[6] In 1993, she moved to the General Counsel's Office at the Department of Energy.[7] From 1996 to 2009, she worked in the Office of the Solicitor General as an assistant to the solicitor general.[5] She worked for the Federal Trade Commission for most of 2009 and then moved into private practice at Arnold & Porter,[5] where she was a partner at the firm and chaired its Supreme Court and appellate practice.[7] She returned to Williams & Connolly in 2019 as chair of its Supreme Court and appellate practice.[8][9] Blatt is also an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University, teaching classes on constitutional law and the separation of powers.[10][11] She has also taught at Yale College.[12]

Supreme Court advocacy

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Blatt has argued 51 cases before the Supreme Court,[13][14] the most of any woman in U.S. history,[15] winning in more than 80% of the cases as of April 2024.[13][16] She has a distinctively blunt and informal style of speaking in court—for example, referring to the justices as "you guys".[13] In one case, she told Justice Gorsuch that "you've not obviously read our expert", to which Gorsuch responded: "That is not fair. Come on!"[17] In another instance, when Justice Jackson suggested a simpler legal test than either side was arguing for, Blatt said "I'm fine with you making up stuff".[16] Writing for Law360, Gavin Broady called Blatt's approach to litigation "equal parts Sun Tzu and Vince Lombardi".[18] Mark Sherman, writing for the Associated Press, said that she "elicits laughs and the occasional sharp response from the justices, who seem to enjoy Blatt's presentations as much as they respect her legal acumen".[13]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, one of Blatt's cases was chosen to be the first remote oral argument in the Supreme Court's history.[19] In that case, Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com B. V. (2020), Blatt argued against the United States Patent and Trademark Office's position that "Booking.com" was too generic to be a registrable trademark for a hotel-booking service because it was simply the generic term "booking" plus the top-level domain ".com".[20] The Supreme Court ruled for Booking.com 8–1, saying that the formulation "generic.com" is not categorically too generic to be a trademark, and that the evidence showed that consumers did not consider "Booking.com" generic.[20]

In Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. (2021), Blatt represented a school district that had suspended a student from cheerleading for posting an image on Snapchat after school that said "fuck school fuck softball fuck cheer fuck everything". Blatt argued that schools have a special interest under Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) in preventing speech that disrupts school activities—even, as here, when that speech takes place off campus. The court of appeals had ruled against the school district, holding that public schools have "no special license to regulate student speech occurring off campus". The Supreme Court partly disagreed with the court of appeals and said that schools can forbid some disruptive off-campus speech.[21] However, it ruled 8–1 that the school's interest in preventing disruption did not, in this instance, outweigh the cheerleader's right to free expression under the First Amendment.[21]

In Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith (2023), Blatt represented photographer Lynn Goldsmith in a suit for copyright infringement of a photograph she took of Prince. Goldsmith licensed the photograph to Vanity Fair for use as a reference by Andy Warhol in creating an image to accompany an article about Prince in a 1984 issue of the magazine. Without Goldsmith's awareness, Warhol also used the photograph to create a series of paintings known as the Prince Series.[22] In 2016, the Warhol Foundation licensed one of the paintings, Orange Prince, to Vanity Fair for use as the cover image for an issue commemorating Prince.[23] Goldsmith sued the foundation for licensing it without her agreement.[23] In an argument filled with examples drawing on pop culture, Blatt said in her opening statement: "If petitioner's test prevails, copyrights will be at the mercy of copycats. Anyone could turn Darth Vader into a hero or spin off All in the Family into The Jeffersons, without paying the creators a dime."[23] The Supreme Court ruled for Goldsmith 7–2, saying that both images were used for "substantially the same purpose"—commercial licensing to magazines for depicting Prince—such that the purpose of the challenged use was not transformative and did not favor a claim of fair use.[24]

Public positions

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Blatt has described herself as a liberal Democrat and feminist,[25] and has said that she voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election and voted for Barack Obama twice.[26] During the 2016 election day, when asked by Bloomberg Law who she voted for, how, and why, she said: "Duh! Clinton; early voting; and seriously?"[27]

On August 2, 2018, Blatt endorsed then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court, touting him as "the most qualified conservative for the job" and as having an outstanding record of hiring women as law clerks.[25] Blatt introduced Kavanaugh at his Senate confirmation hearing alongside former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Ohio Senator Rob Portman.[26] Blatt also criticized the Senate for not confirming then-Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court.[26] Maine Senator Susan Collins cited Blatt's remarks in announcing her vote to confirm Kavanaugh.[28] Blatt's support for Kavanaugh led progressive activists to lobby President-elect Joe Biden not to nominate Blatt as U.S. Solicitor General.[29]

Blatt has said that the legal profession is "overrun with men, and unless institutions like the Supreme Court do more to hire women, the upper echelons of my profession will never fully include women".[25] In addition to structural barriers to inclusion, Blatt also pointed to a "war-like mentality" that is required for litigation and said that male litigators "generally are more fearless" than women even though many are "obviously clueless that they have no talent".[30] Blatt has also advocated for more racial diversity in the pool of lawyers arguing before the Supreme Court.[31] In 2022, Blatt said: "As far as I can tell, only two black men from private practice have argued since 2003 and one of them, the great John Payton passed away 10 years ago. The other one, Luke McCloud, had not even argued in any courtroom before I got to Williams & Connolly. The numbers will not change unless we act instead of just talk."[32] As of 2019, all three partners in her firm's Supreme Court and appellate practice area were women: Blatt, Sarah Harris, and Amy Zaharia.[33] American Lawyer has called this all-female practice "an anomaly among its peers".[33]

Personal life

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Blatt is married to David Blatt, a fellow partner at Williams & Connolly who specializes in commercial litigation.[34] Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg officiated their wedding in 1995.[1] Blatt's father-in-law, Sidney Blatt, was a noted psychologist at Yale University.[35] Lisa and David Blatt have two children, who both attended Stanford Law School.[4] She is Jewish.[4]

Supreme Court cases argued

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As of October 2024, cases Blatt has argued before the Supreme Court include:[36]

Publications

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  • Lisa S. Blatt, In Front of the Burgundy Curtain, 14 Green Bag 2d 9 (2010).
  • Lisa Blatt, I’m a Liberal Feminist Lawyer. Here's Why Democrats Should Support Judge Kavanaugh, Politico Magazine (August 2, 2018).
  • Lisa Blatt, Reflections of a Lady Lawyer, in Women & the Law 59 (2020) (joint publication of the top sixteen U.S. law reviews).

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Lisa Schiavo, David Blatt". New York Times. October 22, 1995. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  2. ^ Mauro, Tony (August 3, 2020). "Record-Breaking SCOTUS Advocate Lisa Blatt Talks Texas" (PDF). The Texas Lawbook. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 21, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  3. ^ "Best Adversaries". Texas Law News. University of Texas School of Law. August 31, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Lat, David (December 14, 2022). "SCOTUS Bar Superstar: An Interview With Lisa Blatt". Original Jurisdiction. Substack. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Castro, Melissa (November 16, 2009). "Arnold & Porter names Lisa Blatt to head appellate practice". Washington Business Journal. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  6. ^ Blatt, Lisa (February 4, 2020). "Reflections of a Lady Lawyer". Texas Law Review. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Greene, Jenna. "Daily Dicta: Why Supreme Court Star Lisa Blatt Left Arnold & Porter for Williams & Connolly". Litigation Daily | The American Lawyer. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  8. ^ "Supreme Court and Appellate Partner Lisa Blatt Rejoins Williams & Connolly". Williams & Connolly. 2019. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  9. ^ Hoover, Jimmy (January 28, 2019). "High Court Veteran Returns 'Home' To Williams & Connolly". Law360. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  10. ^ "Lisa S. Blatt". Georgetown Law. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  11. ^ "Lisa S. Blatt". Stanford Law School. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  12. ^ Slifka Center (September 23, 2020). "The Supreme Court - Today An Insider's Perspective: A Slifka Salon with Lisa Blatt". YouTube. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d Sherman, Mark (April 13, 2024). "Nearing 50 Supreme Court arguments in, lawyer Lisa Blatt keeps winning". Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 2, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  14. ^ "Lisa S. Blatt". Oyez Project. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  15. ^ Sanchez, Brandon (May 21, 2020). "She Has Argued 40 Cases in Front of the Supreme Court. The Latest Was From Her Dining Room". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Wheeler, Lydia (April 19, 2024). "Fifty-Time Supreme Court Litigator Keeps Justices on Their Toes". Bloomberg Law. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  17. ^ Farivar, Masood (May 4, 2020). "US Supreme Court Justices 'Phone It In' for the First Time in Hearing a Case". Voice of America. Archived from the original on September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  18. ^ Broady, Gavin (October 28, 2014). "Arnold & Porter's Pugnacious Powerhouse: Lisa Blatt". Law360. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  19. ^ Barnes, Robert (April 29, 2020). "Supreme Court arguments resume next week, with all the grandeur of working from home". The Washington Post.
  20. ^ a b Jahner, Kyle; Brittain, Blake (June 30, 2020). "Supreme Court Affirms Validity of 'Booking.com' Trademark (1)". Bloomberg Law. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  21. ^ a b Breuninger, Kevin; Mangan, Dan (June 23, 2021). "Supreme Court rules for Pennsylvania cheerleader in school free speech case". CNBC. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  22. ^ Liptak, Adam (March 28, 2022). "Supreme Court to Hear Copyright Fight Over Andy Warhol's Images of Prince". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  23. ^ a b c Totenberg, Nina (October 12, 2022). "Supreme Court dives into pop culture with Warhol, Prince and Norman Lear". NPR. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  24. ^ de Vogue, Ariane (May 18, 2023). "Supreme Court rules against Andy Warhol in copyright dispute over Prince portrait". CNN. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  25. ^ a b c Blatt, Lisa (August 2, 2018). "I'm a Liberal Feminist Lawyer. Here's Why Democrats Should Support Judge Kavanaugh". Politico Magazine. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  26. ^ a b c Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of Hon. Brett M. Kavanaugh: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on the Judiciary. Archived December 2, 2021, at the Wayback Machine S. Hrg. No. 115-545, p. 107. September 4, 2018.
  27. ^ Sullivan, Casey (November 8, 2016). "Flash Poll! These Lawyers Voted for Hillary Clinton". Bloomberg Law. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016.
  28. ^ "Senator Collins Announces She Will Vote to Confirm Judge Kavanaugh | U.S. Senator Susan Collins of Maine". www.collins.senate.gov. October 5, 2018. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  29. ^ Meyer, Theodoric (December 4, 2020). "Progressive judicial group to Biden: Pick a Black woman for solicitor general". Politico. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  30. ^ Blatt, Lisa (2010). "In Front of the Burgundy Curtain: The Top Ten Lessons I've Learned About Advocacy Before the Nation's Highest Court" (PDF). The Green Bag. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  31. ^ Meyer, Theodoric; Raji, Tobi (October 30, 2022). "Historically diverse Supreme Court hears disproportionately from White lawyers". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  32. ^ Mauro, Tony (April 28, 2022). "Marble Palace Blog: Celebrated as a Top SCOTUS Advocate, Lisa Blatt Laments 'Appalling Disparity' Among Lawyers Before the Court". Law.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  33. ^ a b Greene, Jenna (April 17, 2019). "Daily Dicta: At Williams & Connolly, 'The Primordial, Motherly Instinct to Protect and Defend'". Law.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  34. ^ Olson, Elizabeth (January 31, 2019). "Some Attorneys Are Partners in Life, Partners in Practice". Bloomberg Law. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  35. ^ "In Memoriam: Sidney J. Blatt, PhD". Yale School of Medicine. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  36. ^ "Lisa S. Blatt: Cases Argued". Oyez. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
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