Christopher Landau, P.C. 
Professional Profile
Chris Landau is the head of the Firm's Appellate Litigation Practice, based in the Washington office. He has handled appeals involving a wide range of subject matters in courts all across the country, including the United States Supreme Court, every one of the federal courts of appeals, and many state appellate courts. In 2006, he won a significant arbitration case, Buckeye Check Cashing v. Cardegna, in the United States Supreme Court. Chris served twice as a law clerk at the United States Supreme Court, first to Justice Antonin Scalia (1990-91) and then to Justice Clarence Thomas (1991-92).
Most recently, Chris has been recognized by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in appellate law. Chambers noted that he is a "wonderful resource, with great talent and the ability to communicate the most important issues to the judges." Chris has also been featured in The National Law Journal's "2008 Appellate Hot List" and in the article "Young Guns" in which Kirkland was named as The American Lawyer’s "2008 Litigation Department of the Year." In addition, Chris was highlighted in the Washingtonian Magazine's articles "2007 Washington's Top Lawyers" and "40 Top Lawyers Under 40." He was previously featured in the Chicago Lawyer's article "Clerks See Life on the Inside of the U.S. Supreme Court." Chris has also commented on the Supreme Court on a variety of media outlets, including CNN, PBS, MSNBC, C-SPAN and radio.
Representative Matters
Litigation Experience
Focus on appellate litigation, and have worked on a broad variety of cases in both the federal and state courts. Some representative cases include:
- U.S. Supreme Court:
- Buckeye Check Cashing v. Cardegna, 546 U.S. 440 (2006): obtained reversal in U.S. Supreme Court of Florida Supreme Court decision refusing to enforce arbitration;
- Free v. Abbott Labs., Inc., 529 U.S. 333 (2000): obtained affirmance in U.S. Supreme Court of a decision authorizing the exercise of supplemental jurisdiction to remove claims of absent class members to federal court;
- Hughes Aircraft Co. v. Jacobson, 525 U.S. 432 (1999): obtained reversal in U.S. Supreme Court of a decision construing the federal employee-benefits statute (ERISA) to allow participants in a defined benefit pension plan to obtain investment income generated by the plan;
- Hughes Aircraft Co. v. United States ex rel. Schumer, 520 U.S. 939 (1997): obtained reversal in U.S. Supreme Court of a decision authorizing the retroactive application of amendments to the False Claims Act;
- U.S. Courts of Appeals:
- Hoosier Energy Rural Elec. Co-op., Inc. v. John Hancock Life Ins. Co.,
__ F.3d __, 2009 WL 2981884 (7th Cir. 2009): obtained affirmance of
preliminary injunction preventing non-profit rural electricity supplier from being forced into bankruptcy as a result of credit
default swap;
- June v. Union Carbide Corp., 577 F.3d 1237 (10th
Cir. 2009): obtained affirmance of summary judgment for defendants in
case alleging injury from exposure to radioactive emissions,
and seeking damages and medical monitoring, under the Price-Anderson
Act;
- Brown v. Jevic, 575 F.3d 322 (3d Cir. 2009): obtained reversal
of order remanding case to state court for lack of federal jurisdiction
under the Class Action Fairness Act;
- Roberts v. Financial Technology Ventures, L.P., 320 Fed.
App’x 350 (6th Cir. 2009): obtained affirmance of summary judgment in
contract case involving legality of contract and enforceability of
release;
- In re W.R. Grace & Co., 316 Fed. App’x 134 (3d Cir. 2009):
obtained affirmance of order disallowing asbestos property damage
claims filed after bankruptcy bar date;
- Bell v. Hershey Co., 557 F.3d 953 (8th Cir. 2009): obtained reversal of order remanding class action to state court for lack of federal jurisdiction, and persuaded Court of Appeals to adopt favorable legal standard for a defendant attempting to prove that the amount in controversy in a class action exceeds the $5 million jurisdictional minimum under Class Action Fairness Act;
- Koch v. CompuCredit Corp., 543 F.3d 460 (8th Cir. 2008): obtained reversal of order denying motion to compel arbitration, on ground that termination of underlying contract does not terminate obligation to arbitrate disputes arising under that contract;
- CSX Corp. v. The Children's Investment Fund, 2008 WL 4222848 (2d Cir. 2008): obtained affirmance of district court order refusing to enjoin defendants from voting in proxy contest notwithstanding alleged violations of securities laws;
- Extra Equipamentos v . Case Corp., 541 F.3d 719 (7th Cir. 2008): obtained affirmance of summary judgment for defendants on fraud and fraudulent inducement claims;
- Chartschlaa v. Nationwide Mutual Ins. Co., 538 F.3d 116 (2d Cir. 2008): obtained reversal of first judgment allowing insurance agent to sue insurance company under a franchise statute for lack of standing under the bankruptcy laws;
- United States v. W.R. Grace & Co., 526 F.3d 499 (9th Cir. 2008) (en banc): obtained overruling of adverse circuit precedent limiting trial court's authority to order Government to disclose witnesses in criminal cases before trial;
- Leonard v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 499 F.3d 419 (5th Cir. 2007): obtained reversal of adverse rulings in insurance coverage case involving damage from Hurricane Katrina;
- Boehner v. McDermott, 484 F.3d 573 (D.C. Cir. 2007) (en banc): obtained reversal of ruling that the First Amendment does not protect the disclosure of truthful information on matters of public concern by persons who obtained such information with knowledge or reason to know it had been unlawfully intercepted by someone else (although a different majority of the court ultimately affirmed the judgment);
- Discover Bank v. Vaden, 396 F.3d 366 (4th Cir. 2005): successfully defended exercise of federal subject matter jurisdiction over motion to compel arbitration;
- Kern v. Siemens Corp., 393 F.3d 120 (2d Cir. 2004): obtained reversal, on interlocutory review, of class certification order;
- In re W.R. Grace & Co., 2004 WL 2404546 (3d Cir. 2004): obtained reversal of order directing remand of product liability claims to state court for lack of federal bankruptcy jurisdiction;
- Republic Tobacco Co. v. North Atlantic Tobacco Co., 381 F.3d 717 (7th Cir. 2004): obtained 60% remittitur of damages award in commercial defamation case (after obtaining a prior 60% remittitur of damages award in post-trial motions in district court);
- Ball v. Union Carbide Corp. et al., 376 F.3d 554 (6th Cir. 2004): obtained affirmance of judgment declining to certify class action, and dismissing claims of individual plaintiffs on statute of limitations grounds;
- Hawkins v. Aid Ass'n for Lutherans, 338 F.3d 801 (7th Cir. 2003): obtained affirmance of judgment compelling arbitration of claims against fraternal benefit society;
- Beech Nut v. Gerber Prods. Co., 69 Fed. Appx. 350, 2003 WL 21317277 (9th Cir. June 4, 2003): obtained reversal of judgment dismissing Beech Nut's antitrust claims against Gerber for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted;
- Deutsch v. Turner Corp., 317 F.3d 1005 (9th Cir. 2003): obtained affirmance of order dismissing World War II forced-labor claims against Japanese corporations on the ground that the California statute creating such claims violated the exclusive federal realm of foreign affairs;
- AM General Corp. v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., 311F.3d 796 (7th Cir. 2002): obtained affirmance of order denying preliminary injunction in case involving trademark claims by DaimlerChrysler, owner of the Jeep mark, against General Motors, owner of the Hummer mark;
- Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. v. Mitsui & Co., Inc., 221 F.3d 924 (6th Cir. 2000): obtained affirmance of a ruling that the 1916 Antidumping Act does not authorize injunctive relief, and that courts have no "inherent power" to award such relief;
- Hermès International v. Lederer de Paris Fifth Avenue, Inc., 219 F.3d 104 (2d Cir. 2000): obtained reversal of a summary judgment dismissing trademark infringement claims against sellers of knockoff luxury handbags;
- U.S. District Courts:
- Franco v. Dow Chem. Co., No. 03-5094 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 21, 2003): obtained dismissal of action to enforce $489 million Nicaraguan judgment against American defendants;
- Lichtman v. Siemens AG, 65 F. Supp. 2d 248 (D.N.J. 1999): obtained dismissal of lawsuits challenging the use of forced labor by German industry during the Second World War on the ground that the claims involve non-justiciable political questions;
- State Appellate Courts:
- Henry v. Dow Chemical Co., __ N.W.2d __, 2009 WL 2356729 (Mich. 2009): obtained reversal of class certification order in mass environmental contamination case;
- Innophos, Inc. v. Rhodia, S.A., 882 N.E.2d 389 (N.Y. 2008): obtained affirmance of summary judgment in contract dispute over responsibility for $130 million assessment by Mexican government for use of water;
- Biko et al. v. Siemens Corp. et al., 246 S.W.3d 148 (Tex. App. 2007): obtained affirmance of summary disposition of $80 million contract and tort claims involving employee incentive program;
- Cosio v. United States, 927 A.2d 1106 (D.C. 2007) (en banc): participated as amicus curiae by invitation of the Court, and persuaded Court to reverse criminal conviction based on ineffective assistance of counsel;
- Patterson v. General Motors Corp., 2005 WL 1160605 (Mich. App. 2005): obtained affirmance of summary disposition of employment discrimination claims;
- AIDA v. Time Warner Entertainment Co., LLP, 722 N.E.2d 953 (Ill. App. 2002): obtained affirmance of decision dismissing lawsuit contending that "The Sopranos" television series violated the "Individual Dignity" Clause of the Illinois Constitution;
- ServiceMaster v. Martin, 556 S.E.2d 517 (Ga. App. 2001): obtained complete reversal of $45 million punitive damages award, and judgment for client as a matter of law, in employment dispute after default judgment entered against client.
Other Distinctions
Adjunct Professor of Administrative Law at Georgetown University Law Center (Fall 1994 and 1995)
Trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society
Prior Experience
Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Washington, D.C.
Partner, 1995 - present; Associate, 1993 - 1995
Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.
Adjunct Professor of Administrative Law, Fall 1994 and 1995
Courts
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, District of Columbia and Federal Circuits
U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
