Sri Srinivasan

Partner at O’Melveny & Myers, LLP

Sri has argued 16 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, and has briefed countless others in the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts on a broad array of legal and constitutional issues. Sri’s arguments in the Supreme Court have encompassed such areas as federal preemption, federal court jurisdiction, banking law, federal contracting law, administrative law, criminal law and procedure, immigration law, and education law. In addition his work in the Supreme Court, Sri is presently involved in a number of matters in federal and state court addressing a wide variety of subjects, including patent and intellectual property law, antitrust law, labor law, First Amendment law, federal preemption, and tax law.

Among the recent cases Sri has argued before the Supreme Court are four significant cases for business: Hertz Corp. v. Friend and Skilling v. US in the 2009 term; Watters v. Wachovia Bank, N.A. in the 2007 Term; and Wachovia Bank, N.A. v. Schmidt in the 2006 Term. In Hertz, Sri achieved a 9-0 victory in a case that addressed the question of what standards should apply in determining a company’s principal place of business for purposes of diversity jurisdiction. In Skilling, Sri recently argued that the federal statute prohibiting “honest services” fraud is unconstitutionally vague, and that Skilling did not receive a fair trial by an impartial jury. In Watters, the Supreme Court held that state regulation of operating subsidiaries of national banks is preempted by the National Banking Act, and the Comptroller of the Currency has hailed the ruling as a landmark victory for the national banking system. Schmidt concerned whether, for purposes of diversity jurisdiction, national banks are citizens solely of the State in which their main office is located or instead are citizens of every State in which they maintain a branch location.

Sri is a lecturer at Harvard Law School, where he co-teaches a course on Supreme Court and appellate advocacy. He has published articles on various subjects including the Supreme Court’s approach in cases involving business interests. He is also a frequent speaker on matters such as appellate advocacy and federal preemption, including at the ABA Section of Litigation Annual Conference.

Sri has received numerous awards and recognitions. In 2008, the National Law Journal named Sri one of the “50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America.” He has been named by Chambers USA, Legal 500, and The Best Lawyers in America as a leading practitioner in the appellate area. He has also been named Litigator of the Week by American Lawyer. In 2009, Sri received the North American South Asian Bar Association’s (NASABA) annual “Cornerstone Award,” given to individuals who “best exemplify through their legal work the objectives of NASABA,” and the South Asian Bar Association of Connecticut's (SABAC) Distinguished Legal Professional Award, which recognizes “exemplary professional accomplishments and contributions to the South Asian legal community as a whole.” Sri is also a member of NASABA’s National Advisory Council.

Before returning to O’Melveny in 2007, Sri was in the Office of the Solicitor General for a period of five years. While with the Solicitor General's office, Sri received two awards for his government service — the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Furthering the Interests of U.S. National Security in 2003 and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Award for Excellence in 2005.