Washington lawyer Tom Goldstein leaves Supreme Court practice, law firm

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A worker arrives at his office in the Canary Wharf business district in London
REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

(Reuters) - Longtime Supreme Court advocate Tom Goldstein, who has argued more than 40 cases before the high court, said Wednesday that he is ending his practice and retiring from the Washington, D.C., law firm he co-founded in 2011.

His firm, Goldstein & Russell, has relaunched without him as Goldstein, Russell & Woofter, led by partners Kevin Russell and Daniel Woofter.

Goldstein said in an email that his retirement is partly a response to the Supreme Court's evolving character.

"I have lots of business clients with cases that aren’t ideological. But in the important civil rights and social cases, the court’s conservative super-majority makes it very difficult for the little guy to win," he said.

Among his business cases before the Supreme Court, Goldstein was actively representing investors who sued software company Slack Technologies LLC over alleged misrepresentations in 2019. He said Goldstein, Russell & Woofter will now handle the case.

Russell described the firm as a new, distinct enterprise that still recognizes Goldstein's legacy.

Although he has left the firm that bears his name, Goldstein said he is not giving up his law practice entirely. He is still representing "Fortnite" video game maker Epic Games Inc in antitrust litigation against Alphabet Inc's Google and Apple Inc, challenging the rules of their respective app stores. He argued on Epic's behalf before the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in November.

"But I’m not joining another law firm. Instead, I’m interested in pursuing business opportunities; I’m an entrepreneur at heart," he said.

Goldstein, who was part of the team that represented Al Gore in Supreme Court litigation with George W. Bush over the 2000 presidential election, said he will continue on as publisher of SCOTUSblog, a website that tracks and analyzes cases before the high court, with his wife, Amy Howe.

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Reporting by David Thomas

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Thomson Reuters

David Thomas reports on the business of law, including law firm strategy, hiring, mergers and litigation. He is based out of Chicago. He can be reached at d.thomas@thomsonreuters.com and on Twitter @DaveThomas5150.

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