National Association of Attorneys General Announces Winners for 2021 Supreme Court Best Brief Awards

Washington, D.C. — The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) has announced the winners of the 2021 Supreme Court Best Brief Awards. The Best Brief Awards are given annually to honor appellate practitioners from state attorney general offices who have exhibited superb work in representing their states before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The winners were selected by a panel of independent Supreme Court experts who are members of the Supreme Court bar and are experienced Supreme Court practitioners.

The 2021 Best Brief Award winners are:

California: Opening Brief for the Petitioners in California v. Texas, No. 19-840. The authors were Solicitor General Michael J. Mongan, Deputy Solicitor General Samuel P. Siegel, Associate Deputy Solicitor General Amari L. Hammonds, Supervising Deputy Attorney General Kathleen Boergers, and Deputy Attorneys General Nimrod Pitsker Elias and Neli N. Palma.

New Jersey: Respondents’ Brief in PennEast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey, No. 19-1039. The authors were State Solicitor Jeremy M. Feigenbaum, Deputy State Solicitor Angela Cai, Assistant Attorney General Michael C. Walters, and Deputy Attorneys General Mark Collier, Erin M. Hodge, Kathrine M. Hunt, Kristina L. Miles, Daniel Resler, and Jamie M. Zug.

New York: Brief for State of New York and Other Government Appellees in Trump v. New York, No. 20-366. The authors were Solicitor General Barbara D. Underwood, Deputy Solicitor General Steven C. Wu, Senior Assistant Solicitor General Judith N. Vale, Special Counsel Eric R. Haren, Chief Counsel for Federal Initiatives Matthew Colangelo, Deputy Chief of Civil Rights Bureau Elena Goldstein, and Assistant Attorney General Fiona J. Kaye.

Washington: Brief in Opposition to Motion for Leave to File Complaint in Montana and Wyoming v. Washington, No. 22O152. The authors were Solicitor General Noah G. Purcell, Deputy Solicitor General Alan D. Copsey, and Senior Counsel Thomas J. Young.

“Attorney general offices play an active role in the nation’s highest court. These awards recognize the excellence of state attorneys who collectively handle more Supreme Court cases than anyone else in the legal community,” said Dan Schweitzer, chief counsel of the NAAG Center for Supreme Court Advocacy. “Congratulations to the recipients on their outstanding work.”

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