Philippa Scarlett
Professional Profile
Philippa Scarlett is a litigation partner in Kirkland's New York office. Her practice includes high-stakes antitrust and complex commercial litigation in federal and state courts, both at the trial and appellate levels. Philippa has handled significant matters for major corporations such as BASF, Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Dow, Siemens and Teva Pharmaceuticals.
Prior to joining the Firm, Philippa served as a law clerk to Justice Stephen G. Breyer of the Supreme Court of the United States and to Judge Ann C. Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. In between her clerkships, Philippa was an associate at Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP where she had leadership roles in high-stakes antitrust litigation, including in class actions in the pharmaceutical industry and in a successful multi-billion dollar suit on behalf of a single plaintiff in the credit card industry.
Philippa's pro bono work has included winning asylum in the U.S. for survivors of torture, successful and award-winning poverty law impact litigation, and advocacy for Haitian orphans.
Philippa has extensive international experience having lived in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. Her foreign languages include French, German, Spanish and Portuguese.
Representative Matters
Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin et al., Sup. Ct. Case No. 11-345 (currently pending): Representing in the United States Supreme Court 37 former senior officers and civilian leaders of the U.S. military as amici supporting the University of Texas at Austin and its race-conscious university admissions policies.
PLIVA, Inc. v. Mensing, 131 S. Ct. 2567 (2011): Represented Teva entities at the merits stage in the United States Supreme Court in which the Court ruled in favor of the clients in a landmark decision, finding federal law preempts state law failure-to-warn claims against generic drug manufacturers in products liability actions.
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Represented Teva entities and Baxter Healthcare Corporation in hundreds of products liability suits in state trial and appellate courts. Representation included advocacy in the Nevada Supreme Court, including filing an appeal challenging a $505 million judgment against Teva and Baxter, which The American Lawyer featured for its persuasiveness.
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Cook v. Rockwell Int'l Corp., 618 F.3d 1127 (10th Cir. 2010): As part of the appellate team, secured for Dow Chemical and Rockwell International reversal of $926 million judgment in favor of plaintiff class in nuclear environmental contamination case on a variety of grounds, including erroneous interpretation of the federal Price-Anderson Act establishing claims for nuclear-related liability; erroneous approach to preemption of state law by federal nuclear safety standards; erroneous interpretation of state common law of trespass and nuisance; and erroneous punitive damages ruling. The American Lawyer spotlighted Philippa for her contribution to that win.
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Thompson v. Donald, Case No. 24-C-09-2775, Circuit Court for Baltimore City (2009): As part of the trial team, secured a permanent injunction after a fast-tracked trial on the merits in action on behalf of indigent Marylanders in which the State of Maryland was found to have engaged in a pattern and practice of systemic delays in the provision of subsistence benefits to qualified, needy Marylanders and under which the State must engage in corrective action to achieve compliance with the law within one year. This successful suit was covered by The Washington Post and The Baltimore Sun as well as other publications.
Memberships & Affiliations
Board of Directors, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy
Board of Directors, The Marshall Legacy Institute
Other Distinctions
In October 2011, Philippa was selected by The National Law Journal as one of "40 Under 40 Minority Lawyers."
Recipient of Kirkland & Ellis LLP Pro Bono Service Award (2009 and 2010).
During Philippa's tenure at the U.S. Department of Justice, she received a U.S. Department of Justice Special Achievement Award and a letter of commendation from the U.S. Attorney General for her work.
Recipient of German Academic Exchange Award (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst) for one year of study at the Free University of Berlin, Germany (1996-1997).
Seminars
Speaker for the U.S. Supreme Court Roundup panel at the Hispanic National Bar Association 34th Annual National Convention (Albuquerque, NM, 2009).
Participant in the African Presidential Roundtable 2009: Leadership Challenges of Land Reform in Africa (Berlin, Germany, 2009)
Participant in Appellate Advocacy Training for prosecutors of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (Arusha, Tanzania, 2006)
Prior Experience
Associate, Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP (2004-2007)
Summer Associate, Covington & Burling LLP (Summer 2002)
Intern, European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg, France, Summer 2001)
Courts
Supreme Court of the United States
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
