Latham & Watkins’ appellate group handles a breadth of cases. One of the biggest last year involved the legal profession specifically, convincing the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 18 that a death row inmate’s failure to meet a filing deadline shouldn’t be held against him because his attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell had essentially abandoned his appeal.
“It is quite important in recognizing that attorney conduct can be so egregious…that the inmate would not be held accountable for purposes of whether he defaulted on a claim of habeas corpus,” said former Solicitor General Gregory Garre, the firm’s appellate chief, of the 7-2 ruling in Maples v. Thomas.
