Peter B. Siegal
Partner
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
Related services and key industries
Biography
Peter B. Siegal is a first-chair appellate lawyer and a partner in Norton Rose Fulbright's Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses principally on complex, high-stakes litigation in the Supreme Court of the United States and the federal courts of appeals. He also routinely practices before federal agencies and trial courts, where he is often called upon to develop case-dispositive strategy and oversee briefing in his clients' most significant matters. Among Peter's clients are nationwide leaders in the transportation, energy, pharmaceutical, technology, and insurance sectors; an array of nationwide business groups, most notably in the financial-services industry; and various sovereign nations, including major U.S. allies. In service of those clients and others, Peter has successfully briefed and argued matters in areas including class-action law, data security, arbitration, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), the Securities Exchange Act, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, the Patent Act, the Federal Power Act, and federal employment law. In recognition of his accomplishments in these and other areas, Peter has repeatedly been named a "Rising Star" for appellate litigation by Super Lawyers Magazine.
Peter also maintains an active and consequential pro bono practice. He has been counsel of record for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in numerous cases in the Supreme Court and has also played a critical role in an array of civil rights cases in the lower courts, including matters with far-reaching consequences. For instance, in 2021, Peter successfully represented Patricia Rolfingsmeyer, the same-sex spouse of a deceased former servicemember, in her federal appellate challenge to the Government's determination that she did not qualify for spousal death benefits because her marriage occurred too shortly before her spouse's death. Based on Peter's briefing, which highlighted that Ms. Rolfingsmeyer's marriage occurred when it did largely because of an unconstitutional state law banning same-sex marriage, the Biden administration not only confessed error, but also reversed federal policy regarding the duration-of-marriage requirement for same-sex couples going forward. In recognition of his commitment to pro bono work, Peter was awarded Norton Rose Fulbright's highest pro bono honor, the Jaworski Award, in 2021.
Peter is also a participant in The Appellate Project's Mentorship Program, which is the first national effort focused on empowering law students of color to pursue appellate work, and a member of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court, which is the principal bench-bar organization for appellate judges and lawyers in the Washington area. He joined Norton Rose Fulbright's appellate practice in 2018, after practicing at a litigation boutique in Washington, D.C., and serving as a law clerk to the Honorable William J. Kayatta, Jr., of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife and young daughter.
Professional experience
Collapse allJD, magna cum laude, Northwestern University School of Law
BA, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Peter is admitted to practice in the following courts and jurisdictions:
- District of Columbia
- Supreme Court of the United States
- United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
- California (inactive)
- District of Columbia Bar
- Argued and won Federal Circuit appeal challenging adverse ruling by Patent Trial & Appeal Board.
- Argued and won D.C. Circuit appeal challenging adverse ruling by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
- Argued $380M tax case in Second Circuit. (Decision pending.)
- Briefed numerous successful petitions for immediate review of class-certification orders in nine- and ten-figure class actions.
- Briefed numerous successful motions to dismiss patent appeals on Article III grounds for major technology company.
- Briefed successful motion for total summary judgment in $500M civil RICO case.
- Drafted dozens of merits briefs, amicus briefs, and petitions for certiorari for a wide range of clients in the Supreme Court of the United States, including as counsel of record.
- Successfully briefed Federal Circuit challenge to award of nine-figure aerospace-defense contract.
- Represented group of former United States Attorneys and Assistant United States Attorneys, as well former United States district judge, in en banc proceedings before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
- Washington, DC Rising Stars, Appellate, Thomson Reuters, 2017-2024
- Benchmark Litigation, US 40 and Under List, Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, 2024
News
Norton Rose Fulbright obtains Fifth Circuit affirmance of dismissal for Southwest Airlines
August 07, 2024
Five Norton Rose Fulbright partners named to US 2024 Benchmark Litigation 40 and Under List
August 07, 2024
Eight Norton Rose Fulbright lawyers named 2024 Washington, DC Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
April 23, 2024