Akin Appellate Team Receives Litigator of the Week Shout-out from The American Lawyer

Four Akin lawyers are recognized by The American Lawyer’s Litigation Daily for securing a significant victory in the Fifth Circuit on behalf of the firm’s client MCR Oil Tools, LLC. The highly expedited case featured fifth-year associate Margo Rusconi’s first appellate argument. The Akin team led by appellate partner James Tysse included government contracts partner Susan Lent and litigation senior counsel Caroline Wolverton. Together, they earned recognition for successfully protecting a Texas small business’s ability to operate and the jobs of many of its employees – first in a comprehensive emergency stay decision, and then in a final judgement on the merits.

Akin filed for emergency relief on behalf of the client when a federal regulator within the Department of Transportation, PHMSA, barred MCR from being able to ship, and therefore sell, a flagship tool accounting for a large part of the company’s revenue. The court stayed the action after the team successfully argued that the regulator misread its own regulations and made faulty factual findings. The court’s decision cited MCR’s likelihood of success on the merits of the case.

Following the motion for expedited briefing, Margo’s debut oral argument convinced the Fifth Circuit to hold that the federal regulator’s action was “arbitrary and capricious thrice over.” The court’s final opinion further states the regulator’s determination misinterprets the law, lacks adequate substantiation and that the agency’s conclusion was contradicted by evidence.