Shay Dvoretzky

Shay Dvoretzky

Partner, Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation
Shay Dvoretzky is the head of Skadden’s Supreme Court and Appellate Practice. He represents clients in a wide range of appellate matters in the U.S. Supreme Court, federal courts of appeals, and state appellate courts.

Bio

Recognized nationally as a leading appellate litigator, Mr. Dvoretzky has argued 14 cases in the Supreme Court. He will argue three more cases in early 2023 — during a Term in which Skadden’s Supreme Court and Appellate Practice will brief and argue four merits cases, more than almost any other firm. Mr. Dvoretzky’s recent Supreme Court victories include:

  • Merck v. Albrecht, in which he persuaded the Court to hold that a judge, not a jury, should assess a federal preemption defense, and should do so using ordinary, not heightened, legal standards (The American Lawyer discussed the case in naming Mr. Dvoretzky a 2019 Litigator of the Year, noting that he has “paved his way through the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals with numerous unanimous wins.”);
  • GE Energy v. Outokumpu, in which he convinced the Court to hold that international arbitration agreements under the New York Convention should be treated on an equal footing with domestic ones under the Federal Arbitration Act (including as to enforcement by nonsignatories);
  • Rotkiske v. Klemm, in which he persuaded the Court to reject a presumption applying the discovery rule to federal statutes of limitation; and
  • Caniglia v. Strom, in which he persuaded the Court to unanimously hold that the so-called “community caretaking” exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement does not extend to the home.

Mr. Dvoretzky has briefed and argued dozens of cases across virtually all federal courts of appeals. His work has spanned many substantive areas, including constitutional law, administrative law, antitrust, arbitration, bankruptcy, labor and employment, ERISA, tax, telecommunications, securities, preemption, energy, intellectual property, and criminal defense, as well as various complex statutory questions. He also leverages his appellate experience to counsel clients on key strategic issues at the trial level, and to brief and argue dispositive motions with an eye toward appeal.

Mr. Dvoretzky is recognized in Chambers USA, in which clients call him a “tremendous strategist” who “delivers thoughtful and persuasive arguments that captivate the justices’ attention and command their respect.” Clients in Chambers also commend his ability “to effortlessly reduce mind-numbingly complex legal problems to straightforward and easy-to-follow propositions.” Clients told The Legal 500, which ranks Mr. Dvoretzky a “leading lawyer,” that he is a “superb brief writer” who “handles oral arguments with grace and ease” and is “always prepared for all potential lines of questioning.” He has been selected repeatedly as an Appellate MVP by Law360 and as part of The National Law Journal’s Appellate Hot List, in addition to being named to Lawdragon’s inaugural list of the 500 Leading Litigators in America, recognized as a Litigation Trailblazer by the NLJ, and profiled in Bloomberg Law’s inaugural edition of Pro Bono Innovators. According to a recent study of Supreme Court practitioners in the last five years, Mr. Dvoretzky ranks in the uppermost echelon of advocates by number of arguments before the Court and has the highest rate of cert grants of any of these elite practitioners. Mr. Dvoretzky is a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and a member of the American Law Institute, the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Administrative Law & Regulatory Litigation Committee.

He has an active pro bono practice that includes criminal, immigration, and constitutional cases, including his recent Supreme Court victory in Caniglia v. Strom, which restricted the authority of police to enter homes without a warrant.

Before joining Skadden, Mr. Dvoretzky was a partner in the appellate practice at another global law firm. Previously, he clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge J. Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Credentials

Education

  • J.D., Yale Law School, 2000 (Coker Fellow; Olin Fellow; William Wang Prize in Corporate Law)
  • B.A., Yale University, 1995 (summa cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa)

Admissions

  • New York
  • District of Columbia

Experience

  • Law Clerk, Justice Antonin Scalia, U.S. Supreme Court (2001-02)
  • Law Clerk, Hon. J. Michael Luttig, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (2000-01)

Shay Dvoretzky

Partner, Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation
shay.dvoretzky@skadden.com