Deanne Maynard, co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Appellate and Supreme Court practice, is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading appellate advocates. She has argued 14 cases before the United States Supreme Court and 75 times in appellate courts across the country.

In ranking Deanne in Band 1, Chambers USA reports that she is described as a “magnificent and top-notch lawyer” who is “wicked smart.” She is “extremely thoughtful, even-keeled and has a wonderful presence in the courtroom." Legal 500 calls Deanne “one of the finest advocates in the Supreme Court bar,” remarking that “if she is on your team, great. If she’s on the other side, be ready.”

Deanne’s winning Supreme Court arguments involve a wide range of issues and industries, including life sciences (Sandoz v. Amgen), intellectual property (MedImmune v. Genentech), antitrust (Pacific Bell v. linkLine), financial services (Ransom v. FIA Card Services), and bankruptcy (RadLAX v. Amalgamated Bank). In Sandoz v. Amgen, the Supreme Court ruled for her client in a closely watched case involving the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act, which provides an approval path for biosimilars. Law360 named Deanne to its exclusive list of Appellate MVPs for this “big victory,” dubbing her a “Legal Lion” three separate times for her work on appeals in this case. LMG Life Sciences also named Deanne Appellate Litigator of the Year.

Deanne argues complex, high stakes cases in courts of appeals nationwide. Clients turn to Deanne for crisp, clear briefs and exceptional oral advocacy. Her appellate wins run a gamut of issues from arbitration to antitrust, class actions to contracts, copyright to Commerce Clause, infringement to invalidity, and securities law to statutory interpretation. Clients praise her as “an incredible oral advocate, very prepared and formidable” (Chambers USA), and “a tireless advocate with sterling client skills” (Legal 500).

Deanne has particular experience in the Federal and Ninth Circuits. She has argued more than 40 appeals in the Federal Circuit, including wins for both patentees and defendants on a wide range of technologies. Chambers USA ranked Deanne in Band 1 for Intellectual Property Appeals, describing her as “renowned for her track record in bet-the-company disputes.” She also serves as Chair of the Federal Circuit’s Advisory Council, which is a conduit between the Court and the public. In the Ninth Circuit, her many wins include a decision from the en banc Court holding large parts of a California statute unconstitutional as well as a panel decision vacating a $60 million jury verdict.

Deanne is annually recommended as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA, Chambers Global, Legal 500 US, and Best Lawyers in America. She is President of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, an invitation-only organization recognizing distinguished appellate lawyers. Deanne also serves on the Board of Trustees of the U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society and is a Master in, and Past President of, the Coke Appellate Inn of Court.

Deanne is a leader within Morrison Foerster as well, chairing its partner compensation committee and serving on the firm’s leadership team.

Before joining the firm, Deanne served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice for five years. She previously was a partner at another major law firm.

After law school, Deanne clerked two terms on the United States Supreme Court, one for Justice Stephen Breyer and another for Justice Lewis Powell (Ret.) and Justice John Paul Stevens. Before that, Deanne clerked two years for Judge Stanley Harris on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Deanne graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. She earned a B.A. in English, with distinction, from the University of Virginia.

Supreme Court Arguments

• Sandoz v. Amgen (audio recording) Involving the Supreme Court’s first foray into the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act
• RadLAX v. Amalgamated Bank (audio recording) Whether a debtor can sell a secured asset free and clear without permitting the lienholder to credit-bid
• Pacific Bell v. linkLine (audio recording) Whether Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act permits a price squeeze claim in the absence of a duty to deal
• MedImmune v. Genentech (audio recording) Whether a patent licensee must breach a license agreement before seeking a declaration of patent invalidity
• Ransom v. FIA Card Services (audio recording) Involving when a debtor without lease payments may take a car-ownership deduction
• EC Term of Years Trust v. U.S. Whether the federal tax code relegates a trust to a wrongful levy action as its exclusive remedy
• Marshall v. Marshall Involving the scope of the probate exception to federal jurisdiction
• U.S. v. Olson Involving the federal government’s sovereign immunity under the Federal Tort Claims Act
• Wilkinson v. Austin Whether the procedures governing placement of prisoners in supermax prison satisfied due process
• Greenlaw v. U.S. Involving the power of the court of appeals in the absence of a cross-appeal
• Dean v. U.S. Whether the accidental discharge of a firearm during a robbery results in a mandatory minimum prison term
• Carcieri v. Salazar Involving the Secretary of the Interior’s authority to take land into trust for Indians
• Boulware v. U.S. Whether a profitless corporation’s diversion of funds to a shareholder was nontaxable
• Watson v. U.S. Whether trading drugs for a firearm was “using” a firearm “during and in relation” to a drug trafficking crime

Representative Appellate Arguments

• In re Cirba (Fed. Cir.) (audio recording) Successfully defeated attempt to revive a jury’s patent infringement verdict against VMware
• Phigenix v. Genentech (Fed. Cir.) (audio recording) Secured noninfringement judgment for Genentech
• Zabriskie v. Fannie Mae  (9th Cir.) (video) Won reversal for Fannie Mae of a Fair Credit Reporting Act judgment
• Washington University v. Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (3d Cir.) (audio recording) Obtained reversal for Washington University in suit for royalties due under contract with WARF
• Nevro v. Boston Scientific (Fed. Cir.) (audio recording) Won reversal of district court judgment of invalidity for indefiniteness
• National Business Aviation Assoc. v. Huerta (D.C. Cir.) (audio recording) Successfully defended the City of Santa Monica against a challenge to its settlement with the FAA about its municipal airport
• C.R. Bard v. Angiodynamics (Fed. Cir.) (audio recording) Won reversal of district court judgment of noninfringement, no willfulness, and invalidity, reviving client’s infringement case on three patents
• Flores v. UPS & Pocino Foods v. UPS (Consolidated) (9th Cir.) (video) Secured judgment for UPS on two putative RICO and breach-of-contract class actions about its Next Day Air services
• Residential Capital v. Federal Housing Finance Agency (2d Cir.) Successfully obtained a remand in a case stemming from the ResCap bankruptcy
• BASF v. Johnson Matthey (Fed. Cir.) (audio recording) Won reversal of an invalidity ruling against patentee BASF, reviving its patent claims
• Holl v. U.S. District Court (9th Cir.) (video) Defeated a mandamus petition against UPS, successfully defending its arbitration provision containing a class-action waiver
• Interactive Digital Software Association v. St. Louis County, Missouri (8th Cir.) Successfully argued a First Amendment challenge to an ordinance regulating video games
• In Re: Tremont Securities Law (2d Cir.) Secured dismissal for a major accounting firm of a putative class action regarding a Madoff-related fund
• Estate of Graham v. Sotheby’s (9th Cir.) (en banc) (audio recording) Won invalidation under the Commerce Clause of parts of a California artist resale royalty law
• In re ATM Fee Antitrust Litigation (9th Cir.) (audio recording) Prevailed in a putative nationwide antitrust class action against one of the largest U.S. ATM networks
• Augme Technologies v. Yahoo! (Fed. Cir.) (audio recording) Secured a noninfringement judgment for Yahoo! in a suit involving Internet display advertising
• Lower Elwha Klallam Indian Tribe v. Lummi Nation (9th Cir.) (video) Won a reversal for the Lummi Nation, reclaiming its historic treaty rights
• Warsaw Orthopedic v. NuVasive (Fed. Cir.) (audio recording) Obtained vacatur of a jury’s $101 million patent damages award
• Momenta v. Amphastar (Fed. Cir.) (audio recording) Successfully argued for a patentee that conduct was unprotected by the Hatch-Waxman Act safe harbor
• Neurovision Medical Products v. NuVasive (9th Cir.) (audio recording) Obtained vacatur of a jury’s $60 million trademark verdict