Devin Sikes Quoted in Legal Media on Federal Circuit’s Wallach Taking Senior Status

Akin Gump international trade counsel Devin Sikes has been quoted in the legal media regarding Judge Evan Wallach of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit taking senior status. Sikes clerked for Wallach from 2015 to 2017.

The National Law Journal, in the article “Federal Circuit Judge Takes Senior Status: ‘A Good Time to Create a Place for Someone Else,’” reported that Wallach is known for setting high standards for lawyers appearing before the bench.

“If he thinks people are overstating their case or the facts, he wants to explore that during argument,” said Sikes, who noted that Wallach contributed decisions that helped set rules around the America Invents Act and that helped maintain consistency in the court’s international trade jurisprudence. In addition, the article says, Wallach wrote two dissents that led to a Supreme Court decision expanding damages available for foreign sales of patent-infringing products.

Sikes added that Wallach, who joined the Federal Circuit in 2011 after 16 years on the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT), brings to his role at the court the values of discipline and preparation from his time in the Army, such as always having a draft opinion prepared before hearing oral argument. He echoed those remarks in the Bloomberg Law article “Federal Circuit Seat Opens for Biden as Wallach Goes Senior,” attributing Wallach’s work ethic to his service in Vietnam as well as his early work as a trial attorney.

“Applying these lessons as a jurist, Judge Wallach prepares intensely each month in the cases assigned to him, much like he would when preparing for a mission in the field or a week-long trial,” said Sikes. “He fully prepares, and then some.”

As the first judge elevated from the CIT to the Federal Circuit, Sikes said Wallach took special care to maintain consistency in the court’s international trade jurisprudence.