Overview
Paul Hughes heads the Firm’s practices focusing on Supreme Court & Appellate Litigation as well as Government & Regulatory Litigation. He briefs and argues complex appeals; he develops and executes legal strategy before trial courts; and he designs strategic affirmative litigation, often focusing on the Administrative Procedure Act and other claims against local, state, and federal government entities. Paul serves as an elected member of the Firm’s Management Committee.
An experienced appellate lawyer, Paul has argued 10 times at the US Supreme Court, most recently in January 2023. Having presented more than 85 arguments, Paul has appeared before en banc sittings of the Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits; panels of the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, DC, and Federal Circuits; several state appellate courts; and state and federal trial courts across the country.
Paul is a visiting clinical lecturer in law at the Yale Law School, where he co-directs Yale’s Supreme Court Advocacy Clinic.
In 2024, Law360 named Paul as one of a select group of lawyers who is the “future of the Supreme Court bar.” In listing Paul in its nationwide rating of appellate lawyers, Chambers USA (2020-2024) notes that he “play[s] 3D chess in litigation strategy” and “will learn your business better than you know it.” In ranking Paul as a “Leading Lawyer” in appellate practice, The Legal 500 (2021-2024) describes Paul as “exceptionally professional, effective, and easy to work with,” an “intellectually impressive and skilled advocate,” and it explains that he “demonstrates a surprisingly high policy awareness that sets him apart in Washington.”
Recent successes at the Supreme Court include Kisor v. Wilkie, a landmark administrative law case decided in June 2019 that imposes significant limitations on the scope of agency deference. Paul won a trio of cases expanding the scope of judicial review of agency actions in the context of immigration: In 2023, he unanimously prevailed in Santos-Zacaria v. Garland, and in 2020 he won both Nasrallah v. Barr and Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr. In Nasrallah, Paul successfully advanced a statutory construction that had been overlooked by all ten courts of appeals to have previously addressed the issue. In 2018, Paul secured a 9-0 win in the bankruptcy case Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, which presented a technical question of statutory interpretation.
Paul regularly designs and leads challenges to agency actions. In 2024, he secured victory in the Fifth Circuit, setting aside the SEC’s attempted rescission of a key regulation imposing restrictions on proxy voting advice businesses (National Association of Manufacturers v. SEC, 5th Cir. 2024). Earlier, Paul obtained relief precluding the SEC from suspending that rule absent a formal rescission (National Association of Manufacturers v. SEC, W.D. Tex. 2022). In 2021, Paul won complete victory invalidating four separate regulations designed to disrupt the high-skilled immigration ecosystem (U.S. Chamber of Commerce v. DHS, N.D. Cal. 2020 & 2021).
Paul works across substantive areas of law. He has recently secured major victories touching on intellectual property (Uniloc 2017 LLC v. Blackboard, Fed. Cir. 2022), energy (Electric Power Supply Association v. FERC, 6th Cir. 2023; Independent Power Producers of New York v. FERC, D.C. Cir. 2022), employment (Meadows v. NCR, 7th Cir. 2023), immigration (Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. DHS, D.C. Cir. 2022), and FOIA (Vanda Pharmaceuticals v. FDA, DDC 2023). Paul won injunctive relief against the FDA, compelling the agency to act timely (Vanda Pharmaceuticals v. FDA, DDC 2024).
Paul served as a law clerk to the Honorable Diana Gribbon Motz of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was a senior editor of the Yale Law Journal.
Results
- In the Supreme Court, unanimously won decision holding that administrative exhaustion requirement in immigration statute is not jurisdictional and, further, does not require agency motions to reconsider (Santos-Zacaria v. Garland)
- In the Supreme Court, won a decision extending judicial review to all aspects of administrative agency decision-making over Convention Against Torture Claims (Nasrallah v. Barr, 2020)
- In the Supreme Court, won a sweeping victory providing broad judicial review over administrative agency action in the immigration context (Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr & Ovalles v. Barr, 2020)
- In the Supreme Court, secured a unanimous victory, with divided reasoning, confirming sharp limitations on the scope of agency authority (Kisor v. Wilkie, 2019)
- In the Supreme Court, unanimously won a statutory interpretation question involving the Bankruptcy Act (Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, 2018)*
- In the Supreme Court, won a 9-0 favorable decision regarding the construction of the Prison Litigation Reform Act, leading to victory on remand (Ross v. Blake, 2016)*
- In the Fifth Circuit, won sweeping victory invalidating SEC’s rescission of the 2020 Proxy Voting Advisory Business Rule (Nat’l Assoc. of Manufacturers v. SEC, 2024)
- In the D.C. Circuit, secured an additional victory for the Independent Power Producers of New York, relating to the design of the New York capacity market (New York State Public Service Commission v. FERC, 2024.) This follows-up from an earlier win in the D.C. Circuit, which vacated and remanded FERC’s rejection of the New York Independent System Operator’s proposed amortization period for use in capacity auctions (Independent Power Producers of New York v. FERC, 2022)
- In the Sixth Circuit, won vacatur of FERC order on grounds that FERC Chairman exceeded his statutory authority (Electric Power Supply Assoc. v. FERC, 2023)
- In the Seventh Circuit, won reversal of a trial verdict in an employment case (Meadows v. NCR, 2023)
- In the D.C. Circuit, confirmed the legality of Optional Practical Training, a program that provides immigration status to hundreds of thousands of individuals (Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. DHS, 2022)
- In the Federal Circuit, won affirmance through successful assertion on appeal of a res judicata defense (Uniloc 2017 LLC v. Blackboard, 2022)
- In the Ninth Circuit, secured affirmance of summary judgment for reinsurer in complex insurance dispute (American Claims Management v. Allied World Surplus Lines Insurance Co., 2022)
- In the Federal Circuit, won a summary affirmance of a complex, multi-week patent trial (Zhejiang Med. Co. v. Kaneka Corp., 2019)*
- In the Federal Circuit, successfully reversed the adverse decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (In re Tropp, 2018)*
- In the Federal Circuit, won appeal regarding patent invalidity for reasons of indefiniteness (Capital Security Systems v. NCR, 2018)*
- In the Federal Circuit, obtained reversal of the district court’s grant of summary judgment, winning an important decision addressing divided patent infringement (Travel Sentry, Inc. v. Tropp, 2017)*
- In the US District Court for the District of Columbia, won order compelling FDA to timely adjudicate a Section 355 request for an order regarding a supplemental New Drug Application (Vanda Pharmaceuticals v. FDA, 2024)
- In the US District Court for the District of Columbia, successfully vacated HHS Rule that authorized insurers to adopt copay accumulators (HIV & Hepatitis Policy Institute v. HHS, 2023)
- In the US District Court for the Western District of Texas, invalidated SEC’s order suspending implementation of its 2020 rule governing proxy voting advice businesses (National Association of Manufacturers v. SEC, 2022)
- In the US District Court for the Northern District of California, secured a preliminary injunction that enabled the EB-5 program to resume and subsequently achieved a settlement governing implementation of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (EB5 Capital v. DHS, 2022)
- In the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, won summary judgment to hold invalid four regulations—two each by the Department of Labor and the Department of Homeland Security—designed to foreclose the H-1B program (Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. DHS, 2021)
- In the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, obtained a preliminary injunction on that barred enforcement of Presidential Proclamation 10,052, which sought to ban entry of high-skilled workers entering the United States on H, J, and L visas (National Association of Manufacturers v. DHS, 2020)
- In the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, obtained a nationwide permanent injunction on behalf of a consortium of leading colleges and universities, blocking an immigration policy detrimental to the interests of international students (Guilford College v. McAleenan, 2020)
*Matter handled prior to joining McDermott.*
Recognitions
- Chambers USA, Nationwide Appellate Law, 2020-2024
- Legal 500 US, Leading Lawyer, 2021-2024
- Benchmark Litigation, 40 & Under Hot List, 2017 to 2023
- District of Columbia Courts, Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2023
- Washingtonian, DC’s Top Lawyers, Supreme Court, 2023
- The Best Lawyers in America 2020 to 2023, Banking and Finance Law
- Jack Wasserman Memorial Award, presented by the American Immigration Lawyers Association for excellence in litigation respecting immigration, 2021
- Law360, MVP, 2018
- Law360, Appellate Rising Star, 2017 & 2018
- National Law Journal, Appellate Rising Star, 2017
- American Lawyer, Litigator of the Week, 2017
Community
- Yale Law School, visiting clinical lecturer in law, 2015 to present
Credentials
Education
Yale Law School, JD, 2008
Georgetown University, MA, 2005
Georgetown University, AB, summa cum laude, 2004
Admissions
District of Columbia
New York
Courts / Agencies
US Supreme Court
US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
US District Court for the District of Colorado
US District Court for the District of Columbia
US District Court for the District of Maryland
US District Court for the Eastern District of New York
US District Court for the Southern District of New York
