Concentration

Summary

Aaron Streett practices in state and federal appellate courts. He maintains an active practice in the Supreme Court of the United States, representing parties in merits cases in each of the past three Terms, as well as filing numerous amicus briefs and certiorari-stage briefs. Mr. Streett’s practice covers all substantive areas of the law, including securities and commercial litigation, statutory interpretation, constitutional law, administrative law and white-collar criminal defense.

Following graduation from law school, Mr. Streett served as a law clerk to the Honorable David B. Sentelle of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist of the United States Supreme Court.

Law360 named Mr. Streett one of its “Rising Stars” in Appellate Law for 2011, a designation given to the “top five lawyers to watch under 40.” He is listed as a “Fifth Circuit Litigation Star” for 2013 in Benchmark Appellate and was recognized on National Law Journal’s Appellate Hot List in 2008 and 2011.

Representative Engagements

United States Supreme Court

• Served as co-counsel with Court-appointed amicus in support of judgment below, securing rare affirmance where United States declined to defend criminal sentence (Setser v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 1463 (2012))
• Represented respondent in litigation addressing requirements for achieving class certification in securities class actions (Erica P. John Fund, Inc. v. Halliburton Co., 131 S. Ct. 2179 (2011))
• Represented mutual-fund adviser in litigation establishing favorable standard for challenges to adviser compensation under the Investment Company Act (Jones v. Harris Associates, L.P., 130 S. Ct. 1418 (2010))
• Filed amicus brief for American Legion that was named a “Brief of the Week” by National Law Journal (United States v. Alvarez, 132 S. Ct. 2537 (2012))
• Co-authored amicus brief for Veterans of Foreign Wars that was cited 12 times in the plurality and concurring opinions of the Court (Salazar v. Buono, 130 S. Ct. 1803 (2010))
• Successfully opposed U.S. Solicitor General’s petition for certiorari in case involving method for calculation of estate tax on stock in closely-held companies (Comm’r v. Estate of Jelke, 129 S. Ct. 168 (2008))

Federal Appeals

• Obtained Tenth Circuit affirmance of dismissal of multibillion-dollar dispute among energy companies over rights to Ecuadorean mineral concessions (Grynberg v. Ivanhoe Energy, Inc., 2012 WL 2855777 (10th Cir. July 12, 2012), cert. denied, --- S. Ct. --- (Jan. 14, 2013))
• Represented asylum applicants in multiple Fifth Circuit appeals challenging BIA’s test for “social group” persecution claims, one of which resulted in reversal of BIA deportation orders (Orellana-Monson v. Holder, 685 F.3d 511 (5th Cir. 2012))
• Persuaded D.C. Circuit to reinstate constitutional challenge to federal tobacco statute, resulting in statute being preliminarily enjoined on remand (Gordon v. Holder, 632 F.3d 722 (D.C. Cir. 2011), on remand, 826 F. Supp. 2d 279 (D.D.C. 2012)
• Successfully represented Fortune 500 company in $28 million dispute with hedge fund over payments required under convertible indentures (Fluor Corp. v. Citadel Equity Fund, Ltd., 2011 WL 661547 (5th Cir. Feb. 22, 2011))
• Successfully represented telecom, grocery, and data-management companies in persuading Fifth Circuit to reject multibillion-dollar claims in case of first impression under the Drivers Privacy Protection Act (Taylor v. Acxiom Corp., 612 F.3d 325, (5th Cir. 2010), cert. denied, 131 S. Ct. 908 (2011))
• Persuaded Fifth Circuit to reverse bench-trial verdict in fiduciary-duty dispute over oil and gas leases (Fisher v. Miocene Oil & Gas Ltd.,335 Fed App’x 483 (5th Cir. 2009))
• Successfully represented domestic energy company in ERISA stock-drop class action presenting issues of first impression in the Fifth Circuit (Kirschbaum v. Reliant Energy, Inc., 526 F.3d 243 (5th Cir. 2008))
• Assisted in persuading Second Circuit to reverse injunction against Remote Storage DVR under various provisions of Copyright Act (Cartoon Network LP v. CSC Holdings, Inc., 536 F.3d 121 (2d Cir. 2008), cert. denied, 129 S. Ct. 2890 (2009))
• Represented foreign energy company in obtaining dismissal of a multibillion-dollar lawsuit for lack of personal jurisdiction (Moncrief Oil Int’l Inc. v. OAO Gazprom, 481 F.3d 309 (5th Cir. 2007))
• Persuaded Ninth Circuit to reject United States’ interlocutory appeal of key evidentiary ruling in criminal prosecution against domestic energy company, resulting in ultimate dismissal of all charges on favorable terms (United States v. Reliant Energy Servs., Inc., 188 Fed. App’x 629 (9th Cir. 2006))

State Appeals

• Represented incumbent utility in stranded-costs litigation arising out of deregulation of Texas electric industry, resulting in recovery of additional $1 billion over amount awarded by court of appeals (State v. Pub. Util. Comm’n of Tex., 344 S.W.3d 349 (Tex. 2011))
• Secured affirmance of summary judgment in antitrust litigation between pharmaceutical manufacturers alleging pre-merger conspiracy in violation of California’s Cartwright Act (Asahi Kasei Pharma Corp. v. Cotherix, Inc., 204 Cal.App.4th 1 (Cal. Ct. App. 2012))
• Assisted in obtaining reversal of $1.7 billion jury verdict in securities-fraud case (Morgan Stanley & Co. v. Coleman (Parent) Holdings Inc., 955 So. 2d 1124 (Fla. App. 2007))

Publications, Speeches and Presentations

Publications

• “What Really Goes at the United States Supreme Court” (with Evan Young), University of Texas Conference on State and Federal Appeals, 2010
• “The Twenty-First Century Texas Supreme Court: Pro-Law, Pro-Prosperity” (with Evan Young), Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy, 2010
• “The Supreme Court of Texas: A Balanced Court,” Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy, 2008
• “Can Privilege Rulings Be Immediately Appealed?” National Law Journal, February 27, 2006

Speeches and Presentations

• “Summary Judgment Appellate Issues in Texas,” Civil Appellate Practice Course 101, State Bar of Texas, Austin, September 2012
• “U.S. Supreme Court’s 2011 Term in Review,” Panelist, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, September 2012; Panelist, St. Mary’s Law School, San Antonio, August 2012; Moderator, Houston Federalist Society, July 2012
• “The Legacy of Chief Justice Rehnquist,” University of Chicago Law School, April 2012; Texas Tech University Law School, Lubbock, November 2007
• “Religious Speech in Public Schools,” Panelist, University of Houston Law School, March 2012; Golden Gate University Law School, San Francisco, October 2011
• “U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Term in Review,” Panelist, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, October 2011; University of Kentucky School of Law, Lexington, September 2011; Moderator, Houston Federalist Society, July 2011
• “U.S. Supreme Court Update,” The General Counsel Forum, Houston, April 2011
• “The State of Capital Punishment,” Panelist, Houston 8, Houston PBS (aired January 21, 2011)
• “U.S. Supreme Court’s 2009 Term in Review,” Panelist, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, October 2010; Moderator, Houston Federalist Society, July 2010
• “Religious Liberties and the Roberts Court,” Louisiana State University School of Law, Baton Rouge, October 2010
• “Practice in the Fifth Circuit—An Attorney’s Perspective,” Panelist, Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit, Lubbock, September 2010
• “The Supreme Court’s Decisions: How They Affect Us,” Panelist, Houston 8, Houston PBS (aired July 8, 2010)
• “What Really Goes at the United States Supreme Court” (with Evan Young), University of Texas Conference on State and Federal Appeals, Austin, June 2010
• “An Educated Observer’s Guide to the Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings” (with Jeff Oldham), Houston Bar Association Appellate Section, Houston, July 2009; University of Houston Law School (with Jeff Oldham), October 2009 
• “U.S. Supreme Court’s 2008 Term in Review,” Moderator, Houston Federalist Society, July 2009; Panelist, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, September 2009
• “The U.S. Supreme Court: A Look Inside From Former Clerks,” Panelist, Texas Bar Bill of Rights CLE Course, Houston, May 2009
• “The Supreme Court’s Decision in Boumediene v. Bush,” Panelist, Ave Maria School of Law, Ann Arbor, April 2009
• “The Debate Over Federal Preemption,” Panelist, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, February 2009
• “The Upcoming Term of the Texas Supreme Court,” Panelist, Dallas Federalist Society, October 2008
• “New Media and the Courts,” Panel Moderator, University of Arizona’s Rehnquist Center for Constitutional Structures, Tucson, September, 2008
• “U.S. Supreme Court’s 2007 Term in Review,” Fund for American Studies’ Legal Studies Institute, Washington, D.C., June 2008; Thomas Cooley Law School, Lansing, April 2008
• “The 2006 Term and the Future of the Roberts Court,” Fund for American Studies’ Legal Studies Institute, Washington DC, July 2007; St. Mary’s Law School, San Antonio, September 2007
• “U.S. Supreme Court’s 2006 Term in Review,” Panelist, Houston Federalist Society, June 2007; University of Texas Law School, Austin, August 2007
• “What to Expect From the Roberts Court,” Baylor Law School, Waco, April 2007; University of Georgia Law School, Athens, April 2007
• “Separation-of-Powers Tug of War in the Supreme Court’s Terrorism Cases,” Georgia State University Law School, Atlanta, April 2007