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AmLaw Daily named Professor Kathleen Sullivan Litigator of the Week. The blog post discusses Sullivan's win in the case of New York Governor David Paterson and his appointment of Richard Ravitch as lieutenant governor:
Kathleen Sullivan says she was never really worried about losing a landmark case for her client, New York governor David Paterson. She wasn't worried even though New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo had opined that Paterson's appointment of Richard Ravitch to the vacant post of lieutenant governor was unconstitutional. She wasn't worried when a state trial judge granted a temporary restraining order to stop Ravitch from assuming his duties. And, she says, she wasn't worried when a state appellate division panel ruled unanimously that the appointment was invalid.
All along, says Sullivan, she knew her team would prevail. And so they did Tuesday, when New York State's highest court, the Court of Appeals, ruled 4 to 3 that the appointment was constitutional. "Honestly, we always believed in the merits of our arguments," says the Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges partner, who made the argument to the high court.
We commend Sullivan--our Litigator of the Week--for the courage of her convictions, and her strong stomach. Because the case certainly didn't look like a slam dunk to many. Even the governor's counsel, Peter Kiernan, admits he had concerns. "You would have to be worried. We always thought we were right, but at best thought we had a fifty-fifty shot."
(You can find our earlier summary of Sullivan's arguments and the court ruling here.)