Preparing to argue in front of the U.S. Supreme Court for the first time is taking up most — but not all — of Schneider Wallace Cottrell Brayton Konecky partner Todd Schneider’s time these days.
“The bottom line is, the preparation is the same for any appellate arguments,” Schneider said. “You sit down and read and read and refine arguments until you’re so comfortable with the subject matter that you can have a real academic discussion with the court.”
Schneider is arguing Nov. 10 in a wage and hour case, The Hertz Corporation v. Melinda Friend, et al, that tackles diversity jurisdiction — the question of whether the class of Californians in the case can sue under California law in California court even though Hertz is incorporated in a different state and argues that California isn’t its principal place of business.
An upshot to preparing for the Supreme Court is all of the help that academics send, Schneider said. Stanford, UC-Irvine and American University have all offered to do moot courts.
One of the biggest challenges, Schneider said, is to “marshal what is a very large and complicated record in the case and the case law of every circuit — trying to reconcile all that into an argument that best approximates congressional intent.”
“One certainly feels the gravity of the argument,” he said.
— Kate Moser
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