Carter G. Phillips - Lawyer in Washington, DC

Carter G. Phillips is the chair of the firms ExecutiveCommittee and was the managing partner of its Washington, D.C. office from 1995to 2012. He served as a law clerk to both Judge Robert Sprecher on the UnitedStates Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Chief Justice Warren E.Burger on the United States Supreme Court. Carter also served as Assistant tothe Solicitor General. Carter Phillips has argued 75 cases before the SupremeCourt since joining Sidley, which is more than any other lawyer while inprivate practice. He also argued 9 cases before the Court on behalf of thefederal government during his tenure in the Solicitor Generals office, for atotal of 84 arguments before the Court. Carter also has argued more than 120cases in United States courts of appeals, including at least one in everycircuit in the country, and more than 30 in the Court of Appeals for theFederal Circuit.

Carters advocacy on behalf of clients has earned him acknowledgementin numerous publications. An academic study of Supreme Court briefs from 1946to 2013 found Carter to be one of the most successful lawyers to argue in frontof the Supreme Court. The analysis, Who Wins in the Supreme Court? AnExamination of Attorney and Law Firm Influence, led the author to concludethat not only is Phillips a seasoned Supreme Court litigator, but he is alsoone of the most successful Supreme Court brief-writers.

In recognition of Carters litigation success, he has beenranked among the nations top lawyers by Chambers USA, The Legal 500 UnitedStates, Benchmark Litigation, The Best Lawyers in America, Whos Who Legal andthe National Law Journal. Carter consistently is recognized by Chambers USA asbeing in the nations top tier of appellate lawyers and regularly receives thedirectorys highest level Star ranking. That publication said that Carter isone of the leading lights of the appellate Bar, described as ?a truly uniquetalent whose incredible expertise sees him appear frequently before theSupreme Court. Over the years, sources have told Chambers that Carter is in aleague of his own with a CV that stretches from the U.S. to London, notingespecially that he enjoys a lot of credibility with the Supreme Court and hasan amazing track record, and that theres nobody quite like him on anappellate issue. Benchmark Litigation also names Carter a Litigation Star,calling him a household name in the appellate world.

Carters practice has been featured in articles in Forbes,the American Lawyer, Business Week, Legal Times, the National Law Journal, USAToday and Legal Business (a publication in England). He frequently speaks atconferences, law schools and before industry groups regarding his experiencebefore the Supreme Court.