William M Jay

Practice Areas

Willy Jay is a partner in Goodwin’s Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation practice. After ten years leading that practice, he recently became co-chair of Goodwin’s broader Complex Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice. Willy uses his deep experience litigating before the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals, including more than 75 oral arguments, to help clients formulate winning appellate strategy. His appellate skill led Benchmark Litigation to name him the nationwide Appellate Lawyer of the Year for 2020. A former Assistant to the Solicitor General and Supreme Court clerk, he has argued 17 cases before the Supreme Court, briefed more than 50 Supreme Court cases on the merits, and briefed more than 150 cases at the certiorari stage. In recent years he argued five of the most significant intellectual-property cases at the Court, involving patent, copyright, and trademark law.

Willy has handled cases in every federal court of appeals as well. He has filed more than 250 briefs in federal and state appeals courts and argued in 11 federal circuits. He has notable expertise in the Federal Circuit, where he has argued 26 times, filed more than 100 briefs in patent appeals, and been recognized as “Appellate Litigator of the Year" by Managing IP. Willy also regularly counsels clients on appellate strategy at the trial level, preparing and arguing key motions and post-trial briefing before district courts and federal and state administrative agencies.

Personal

JD, Harvard Law School 2001 (magna cum laude); AB, Harvard College 1998 (magna cum laude).