C. Harker Rhodes IV
Overview
Harker Rhodes is a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. His practice focuses on Supreme Court and appellate litigation, as well as regulatory matters and strategic counseling. Harker has obtained success for clients in multiple cases before the Supreme Court, both at the certiorari stage and on the merits; has authored successful briefs before numerous federal and state appellate courts; and has argued in federal court at both the appellate and the trial level. His matters have involved both civil and criminal cases, and have addressed a wide range of subjects, including constitutional litigation, administrative law, antitrust, bankruptcy, CERCLA, corporate veil-piercing, criminal procedure, ERISA, federal preemption, labor law, personal jurisdiction, sovereign immunity, and white-collar crime. Harker has represented plaintiffs and defendants in multiple complex cases involving claims in the hundreds of millions of dollars, as well as representing clients in out-of-court mediation proceedings and counseling clients affected by litigation risks. Representative clients include General Motors, IBM, Blue Cross Blue Shield, BP, Sanofi, Regeneron, Moda Health, FirstEnergy, Ultra Petroleum, and other major corporations. In addition, Harker has maintained an active pro bono practice, including successful appeals on behalf of indigent and incarcerated clients in cases involving inadequate prison medical care and denial of the Sixth Amendment right to self-representation.
Before joining Kirkland, Harker served as a law clerk to Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the Supreme Court of the United States, Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Judge Rya W. Zobel of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Law School, where he served as Managing Editor of the Stanford Law Review. He is also a member of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court.
Experience
Representative Matters
Retirement Plans Committee of IBM v. Jander (2020): Successfully obtained United States Supreme Court review and a favorable decision for IBM in a putative ERISA breach-of-fiduciary-duty class action involving claims for millions of dollars in damages premised on the theory that plan fiduciaries should have disclosed inside information for the benefit of plan participants.
Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi (2019): Successfully represented Sanofi and Regeneron in opposing certiorari in a patent case challenging established Federal Circuit doctrine regarding the written description requirement.
Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt (2016): Successfully obtained United States Supreme Court review on behalf of the California Franchise Tax Board in a case addressing state sovereign immunity and the application of the Full Faith and Credit Clause in state court suits.
Gordon v. Schilling (2019): Briefed and argued successful pro bono appeal in the Fourth Circuit on behalf of a Virginia prisoner with hepatitis C who was denied adequate medical treatment, resulting in a unanimous opinion vacating the district court’s grant of summary judgment for defendants and clearing the way for the client to present his claims at trial.
In re Ultra Petroleum Corp. (2019): In a bankruptcy case with hundreds of millions of dollars in claims at stake, obtained unanimous Fifth Circuit decision holding that a claim in bankruptcy is not “impaired” under Section 1124 of the Bankruptcy Code when the holder receives everything to which it is entitled under the Code, reversing in part and vacating adverse bankruptcy court decision to the contrary.
In re Motors Liquidation Co. (2019): Successfully represented General Motors in obtaining a unanimous Second Circuit decision holding that the company did not assume liability for punitive damages based on conduct that occurred before its reorganization, significantly limiting its potential liability in cases involving vehicles manufactured before the reorganization.
Black Card, LLC v. Visa U.S.A., Inc. (2019): On behalf of the plaintiff Luxury Card in a commercial dispute involving claims for hundreds of millions of dollars, successfully obtained a unanimous Tenth Circuit decision reversing the district court’s grant of summary judgment in part and reinstating implied contract and unjust enrichment claims.
California v. Environmental Protection Agency (2019): Successfully represented industry intervenors in convincing the D.C. Circuit to dismiss a premature challenge to a federal agency decision to reconsider existing automobile emissions standards.
Natural Resources Defense Council v. Perry (2019): Represented industry association before the Ninth Circuit and the Northern District of California as intervenors in action involving agency discretion as to issuance of energy efficiency standards.
Duke Energy Florida, LLC v. FirstEnergy Corp. (2018): On behalf of major utility, obtained unanimous Sixth Circuit decision holding client could not be held liable for acts by subsidiaries of corporate predecessor in case addressing CERCLA liability and corporate veil-piercing.
Freeman v. Pierce (2017): Briefed and argued successful pro bono appeal in the Seventh Circuit resulting in a unanimous opinion reversing the district court, granting habeas relief, and vacating the client’s conviction based on the violation of his Sixth Amendment right to self-representation.
Omega Flex, Inc. v. George (2017): On petition for permission to appeal, obtained summary reversal holding that benefit-of-the-bargain allegations were sufficient to create Article III standing and reversing district court decision to remand case to state court.
Clerk & Government Experience
Law ClerkHonorable Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate JusticeSupreme Court of the United States
Law ClerkHonorable Robert A. KatzmannUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Law ClerkHonorable Rya W. ZobelUnited States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Prior Experience
More
Recognition
American Inns of Court Temple Bar Scholar, October 2016.
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- District of Columbia
- New York
Courts
- United States Court of Appeals for the Second 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 District of Columbia Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Education
- Stanford Law SchoolJ.D.2012
Managing Editor, Stanford Law Review
- Harvard CollegeA.B., Linguistics; Government Minorsumma cum laude2009
Phi Beta Kappa