Sopen Shah is co-managing partner of the firm's Madison office and leader of its Critical Motions & Appeals practice. An award-winning writer and experienced oral advocate, Sopen has handled appeals in the Supreme Court of the United States and other federal and state courts nationwide. She also litigates complex trial-court matters; for example, she recently obtained dismissal of a $950-million lawsuit for lack of personal jurisdiction in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Chambers USA ranks Sopen among Wisconsin's leading commercial litigators, and The Best Lawyers in America recognizes her in both appellate and commercial litigation. She has received the State Bar of Wisconsin's best-brief award and was nominated by the President of the United States to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin.
Before entering private practice, Sopen served as Deputy Solicitor General of Wisconsin, where she prevailed on the merits in every decided case. She clerked for Judge Debra Ann Livingston of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Amul Thapar during his time on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Sopen earned her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she served as managing editor of the Yale Law Journal, and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College. Before law school, she worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and an on-air financial analyst at Bloomberg.
She teaches at the University of Wisconsin Law School and is an elected member of the American Law Institute. She also serves as board chair of the Clean Lakes Alliance, treasurer of the State Bar of Wisconsin's Appellate Practice Section, and member of the Law Forward board.