On April 28, 2021, The National Law Journal highlighted Williams & Connolly’s Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation team for its “remarkable term.” In the NLJ’s “Supreme Court Brief” feature, the publication interviewed partner Lisa Blatt in advance of her 41st argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in Mahanoy School District v. B.L. – more arguments than any other woman in U.S. history. The NLJ noted, “Blatt and partners Sarah Harris and Amy Saharia, who are former Supreme Court clerks, will have argued four cases this term. Harris is one of only five female lawyers and the only private firm lawyer to have argued more than one. She won both cases*. The other four were members of the Office of U.S. solicitor general. Saharia's case, Sanchez v. Mayorkas, is pending.”  The NLJ contrasted those “remarkable” numbers with the overall statistics: “Lawyers appeared 146 times before the justices in the current term. Twenty-three female lawyers captured 28 of those slots, or 19 percent.”  Blatt explained her success in breaking the mold as follows: “It’s a fight for every argument,” and some top advocates still refuse to “share” arguments with their colleagues, she added.  But “[w]hen I got to the firm, it was pretty emphatic my job was to promote other people in the group,” Blatt said. “They wanted a new generation of lawyers. We have a pretty diverse group.”  Lisa concluded: “I see the numbers and they’re terrible but it has become my mission and it’s fixable.”

* All cases vary and none are predictive.