Kasdin M. Mitchell, P.C.
Overview
Kasdin Mitchell is a litigation partner with a focus on complex litigation at the trial and appellate level. She has obtained successful outcomes for clients at all stages of litigation. She has tried several cases to verdict, including serving on the trial team that resulted in a complete defense victory for 3M in one of the bellwether trials in the largest multidistrict litigation in history. She has argued in the Fourth, Sixth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits as well as numerous federal district and state courts, and she has filed appellate briefs in every federal court of appeals except one. Kasdin also has represented numerous clients at the certiorari and merits stage in the U.S. Supreme Court, helping secure a $12 billion victory against the federal government for health insurers, a victory for Facebook in a case limiting liability under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and a victory for a major pipeline company in a case involving the intersection of the federal eminent domain power and the Natural Gas Act. Her litigation experience spans a wide range of subject areas, including environmental, energy, securities, contract, tort and constitutional law. Kasdin has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Law360, the National Law Journal and SuperLawyers. She was also selected to serve on the Law360 Appellate Editorial Advisory Board and is a Barrister in the Higginbotham Inn of Court.
Prior to Kirkland, Kasdin served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas on the U.S. Supreme Court and to Judge William H. Pryor Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She also served as the Assistant Solicitor General for the State of Alabama. Prior to law school, Kasdin worked as the Assistant Press Secretary to the First Lady at the White House, where she was an on-the-record spokesperson for Mrs. Laura Bush, and in the Office of Fossil Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, where she worked on issues related to oil, gas and coal.
Experience
Representative Matters
U.S. Supreme Court
- Maine Community Health Options v. United States (S. Ct.). Counsel to health insurer petitioners securing a favorable 8-1 decision requiring the government to pay $12 billion in losses that insurers suffered in connection with health care exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act.
- Facebook v. Duguid (S. Ct.). Counsel to petitioner Facebook in successful cert petition and secured favorable 9-0 decision in class action under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act arising out of Facebook’s login-notification text messages.
- PennEast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey (S. Ct.). Counsel to petitioner PennEast Pipeline Co. in successful cert petition and secured favorable 5-4 decision reversing Third Circuit’s unprecedented ruling involving a claim of state sovereign immunity from condemnation proceedings brought by private parties pursuant to the federal government’s delegation of its eminent domain power under the Natural Gas Act.
- Force v. Facebook (S. Ct.). Counsel to respondent Facebook opposing certiorari from a divided Second Circuit decision involving immunity under the Communications Decency Act. Successfully obtained denial of petition for certiorari.
- Holguin-Hernandez v. United States (S. Ct.). Counsel for court-appointed amicus in merits case defending the Fifth Circuit’s holding that unpreserved challenges to the substantive reasonableness of a criminal sentence must be reviewed for plain error.
- Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Becerra; Thomas More Law Society v. Becerra (S. Ct.). Counsel for amicus Independent Women’s Law Center in support of petitioner.
- Springdale Health & Rehabilitation Center v. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (W.D. Ark.; 8th Cir.; S.Ct.). Counsel to plaintiffs challenging HHS’s rule restricting the use of arbitration agreements between long-term care facilities and their residents.
U.S. Courts of Appeals
- 3M Combat Arms Earplug Litigation (11th Cir.). Appellate counsel to 3M in ongoing multidistrict litigation over Combat Arms Earplug.
- Perrigo v. AbbVie (3d Cir.). Counsel to AbbVie securing 3-0 affirmance of dismissal of $450 million antitrust claim by generic-manufacturer Perrigo concerning AbbVie’s AndroGel testosterone product.
- Silbersher v. Allergan (9th Cir.). Counsel to Allergan securing 3-0 reversal of district court’s denial of motion to dismiss nearly $1 billion False Claims Act claim based on statutory interpretation of public-disclosure bar.
- NetChoice et al. v. Attorney General of Florida (11th Cir.). Counsel to internet trade associations NetChoice and CCIA obtaining 3-0 affirmance of preliminary injunction against vast majority of Florida’s novel social media law.
- Kentucky Waterways Alliance v. Kentucky Utilities Co. (6th Cir.). Counsel to Kentucky Utilities Co. securing favorable ruling in appeal arising under the Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
- In re FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. (6th Cir.). Counsel to the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation, an Ohio-based operator of two coal-fired power plants, in bankruptcy and appellate court proceedings relating to FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.’s rejection of an inter-company power purchase agreement.
- In re Pacific Gas & Electric Company (9th Cir.). Counsel to Calpine Corporation in bankruptcy and appellate proceedings relating to power purchase agreements to which Pacific Gas & Electric Company is a party.
- NextEra Energy Capital Holdings v. Paxton (W.D. Tex.; 5th Cir.). Counsel to LS Power as prospective intervenor in lawsuit challenging under the dormant Commerce Clause Texas’s statute that grants incumbent Texas electric transmission owners the exclusive right to construct or acquire electric transmission facilities in Texas.
District and State Courts
- Suffolk County Water Authority et al. v. The Dow Chemical Co. (E.D.N.Y.). National counsel to Dow in dioxane groundwater contamination cases on Long Island.
- W. Va. State Univ. Bd. of Gov. v. The Dow Chemical Co. (W. Va.). Counsel to Dow in groundwater contamination case in West Virginia.
- Montero v. 3M (N.D. Fla.). Obtained complete defense verdict for 3M in bellwether trial in historic multidistrict litigation concerning the Combat Arms Earplug.
- Vilsmeyer v. 3M (N.D. Fla.). Counsel to 3M in bellwether trial in historic multidistrict litigation concerning the Combat Arms Earplug.
- Abbott Laboratories v. Edwards Lifesciences (D. Del.). Counsel to Abbott in a patent-infringement suit against Edwards relating to Abbott’s MitraClip device.
- Windy City Investments Holdings, LLC v. Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (Del. Ch.). Counsel to Windy City, a portfolio company of Madison Dearborn Partners, in litigation against TIAA arising from the 2014 sale of Nuveen Investments, Inc. Successfully defeated Defendants’ motion to dismiss.
- Motorola Solutions, Inc. v. Hytera (N.D. Ill.). Counsel to Motorola in trade secret misappropriation lawsuit. Successfully defeated motion for summary judgment on the statute of limitations.
- Desai v. Charter Communications (W.D. Ky.; 6th Cir.). Counsel to Charter Communications in defamation suit based on termination of employees who took company property for personal use. Obtained substantial reduction of punitive damages award in post-trial motion.
- Tara Broadcasting LLC v. Charter Communications, Inc. (C.D. Cal.; 9th Cir.). Counsel to Charter Communications in a lawsuit relating to the distribution of cable channels, involving claims under the First Amendment and state deceptive trade practices laws. Achieved dismissal of the case at the pleadings stage.
- Alabama Aircraft Industries, Inc. v. The Boeing Company (N.D. Ala.; 11th Cir.). Counsel to Boeing in a decade-long dispute brought by a former subcontractor alleging breach of contract and misappropriation of confidential information arising from the award of a multi-year contract to Boeing by the U.S. Air Force. Obtained dismissal of post-remand complaint.
Clerk & Government Experience
Law ClerkHonorable Clarence ThomasSupreme Court of the United StatesOctober Term 2016
Law ClerkHonorable William H. Pryor Jr.United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit2013–2014
Assistant Solicitor General for the State of Alabama2012–2013
Assistant Press Secretary to the First LadyThe White House2008–2009
Special AssistantUnited States Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy2007–2008
Prior Experience
Maynard Cooper & Gale PC
Alabama Attorney General’s Office
Pro Bono
Johnson v. Ferrell (M.D. Ga., 11th Cir.). Counsel to prisoner plaintiff in §1983 deliberate indifference case. Successfully obtained reversal of summary judgment on appeal; first-chaired trial on remand and obtained judgment against both defendants, including the statewide Medical Director for the Georgia Department of Corrections.
Roy v. Barr (9th Cir.; S. Ct.). Counsel for petitioner Rajeshree Roy challenging the former derivative citizenship statute as a violation of the equal protection clause.
Owens v. Parris (6th Cir.; S. Ct.). Court-appointed counsel to habeas petitioner seeking relief from his sentence on the ground that the judge improperly found facts that increased his sentence, in violation of his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights.
Archdiocese of Washington v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (D.D.C.; D.C. Cir.). Counsel for the Archdiocese of Washington in its lawsuit against the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), arguing that the WMATA's refusal to advertise the Archdiocese’s charitable-giving campaign violates the First Amendment.
Knight v. United States (6th Cir.). Counsel for defendant seeking a reduction of his sentence on the ground that he was sentenced under an unconstitutionally vague statute. Obtained remand following Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Davis.
Hernandez v. City of Houston (5th Cir.). Appellate counsel for class of plaintiffs challenging the city of Houston’s detention practices as unconstitutional.
Wright v. State (N.Y. Sup. Ct.; N.Y. App. Div.). Counsel for parents of New York primary school students suing the state of New York to vindicate their state constitutional right to a sound, basic education.
More
Thought Leadership
Press Mentions
“Bobbleheads and Smoked Brisket at SCOTUS: Recollections and Advice from Former Supreme Court Law Clerks Who Now Practice in Texas,” The Texas Lawbook, August 1, 2022
Recognition
Recognized as a runner-up by The American Lawyer Litigation Daily’s “Litigator of the Week” feature for pro bono work for Ricky Johnson.
Named to Law360’s “Rising Star” list, 2023
Selected to Super Lawyers’ “Rising Stars,” 2022
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- 2023Texas
- 2019District of Columbia
- 2012Alabama
Courts
- United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- United States Court of Federal Claims
- United States District Court for the District of Columbia
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Education
- Yale Law SchoolJ.D.2012
Senior Editor, Yale Law Journal
Co-Editor-in-Chief, Yale Law & Policy Review
- Yale UniversityB.A., Political Sciencewith Distinction2007