Seth M. Galanter

Of Counsel
Washington D.C., (202) 887-6947

Seth Galanter's primary focus is on Supreme Court and appellate litigation. He has argued more than 40 cases in the federal courts of appeals, including in 11 of the 12 regional courts of appeals. The cases have involved a range of issues, including the constitutional limits on RICO claims, the prerequisites for administrative deference, the availability of private rights of action under federal statutes, and the scope and interpretation of federal disability and voting rights laws. His recent work has involved banking, energy law, and intellectual property matters, as well as general statutory and constitutional litigation. Mr. Galanter recently argued a case in the Supreme Court of the United States regarding the scope of an important attorneys' fee statute.

Mr. Galanter received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1993, where he served as an Articles Editor on the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif.

Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, Mr. Galanter worked at the United States Department of Justice from 1994 until 2002. He initially served as a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General. He later worked as an appellate attorney in the Appellate Section of the Civil Rights Division where he briefed and argued cases in the courts of appeals. Mr. Galanter also worked closely with the Office of the Solicitor General in the preparation of briefs and argument for cases pending in the Supreme Court of the United States.

Hall Street Associates v. Mattel, Inc.
(U.S. Supreme Court). Successfully defended Mattel, Inc. before U.S. Supreme Court in case arising from contaminated property dispute in Beaverton, Oregon at site of former View Master facility. Although Mattel did not contaminate property, its landlord sought to hold it liable. Supreme Court heard procedural issue regarding whether expanded judicial review of arbitration decisions was available under Federal Arbitration Act. Court held in accordance with Mattel\'s assertion that no such expansion was available; case has been remanded for further proceedings. (2008)
Rowe v. New Hampshire Motor Transport Association
(District of Maine, First Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Supreme Court). Victory at all three levels of the federal courts, including unanimous U.S. Supreme Court, in high-profile federal preemption challenge to Maine laws regulating deliveries of tobacco products. Filed the case on behalf of three state trade associations of motor carriers on the ground that Maine laws were preempted by a federal statute that deregulated the motor carrier industry. Won summary judgment, which affirmed by the First Circuit Court of Appeals, and then affirmed by a unanimous United States Supreme Court. N.H. Motor Transport Ass’n v. Rowe, 377 F. Supp 2d 197 (D. Me. 2005), aff’d, 448 F.3d 66, (1st Cir. 2006), aff'd, 128 S. Ct. 989 (2008).
Klein & Co. Futures Inc. v. Board of Trade
(U.S. Supreme Court). Successfully petitioned for a writ of certiorari, and, after Supreme Court granted petition, briefed for Klein & Co. Futures Inc. regarding whether the Commodity Exchange Act confers a private right of action to futures commission merchants that suffer losses as a result of a board of trade's bad faith failure to adhere to its own rules, the Commodity Exchange Act, or federal regulations. (2007)
Kearney v. Foley & Lardner LLP
(U.S. Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit). Oral argument and brief for appellee Foley & Lardner regarding constitutional and statutory limits on suing attorneys under RICO and common law for conduct undertaken in prior litigation on behalf of governmental entity. (2009)
Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited v. International Game Technology
(Amicus brief on behalf of Neurotechnology Industry Organization regarding power of Patent and Trademark Office to revive "unintentionally abandoned" applications. (2008)
Sole v. Wyner
(U.S. Supreme Court). Argued and briefed in U.S. Supreme Court regarding the proper interpretation of a statutory provision authorizing the award of attorneys' fees. (2007)
Goodman v. Georgia
(U.S. Supreme Court). Petitioned for a writ of certiorari and, after Supreme Court review was granted, briefed on petitioner\'s behalf regarding congressional authority under the Fourteenth Amendment to enact the Americans with Disabilities Act. (2006)
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