Josh Halpern

Josh Halpern

Partner
Washington, DC
About

Josh Halpern is a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department, where he focuses on high-stakes commercial disputes at every stage of litigation. He has presented oral argument in state and federal appellate courts across the country, including the US Courts of Appeals for the Second, Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits, as well as state courts in Florida, New York, and Delaware. His work spans a variety of subject matters, covering antitrust, securities, bankruptcy, intellectual property, constitutional law, and administrative law.

Prior to joining AKD Partners, Josh clerked for Justice Neil M. Gorsuch of the United States Supreme Court.  Earlier in his career, Josh served as a Bristow Fellow in the US Office of the Solicitor General, where he drafted briefs to the US Supreme Court and represented the US government before the federal courts of appeals.

Areas of FocusLitigation, Arbitration and Investigations
Bar admissionsNew YorkDistrict of Columbia
CourtsSupreme Court of the United StatesUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Seventh CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Tenth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

EXPERIENCE

Josh has represented leading companies in defensive and offensive litigation against consumers, competitors, and governments.  Before joining DLA, some of his notable representations included:

  • Regeneron v. Novartis (2d Cir. 2024): Successfully represented Regeneron in securing reversal of a decision dismissing a major patent-antitrust suit against a competitor.
  • FTC v. Meta (N.D. Cal. 2023): Helped Meta secure a complete victory against the FTC in its attempt to block Meta’s acquisition of a virtual reality company.
  • Sanofi-Aventis US v. Mylan (10th Cir. 2022): Briefed a multi-billion-dollar monopolization appeal on behalf of Sanofi against a competitor.
  • Chabot v. Walgreens (M.D. Pa. 2024): Represented Walgreens against a securities class action arising from the FTC’s review of its proposed acquisition of Rite Aid.
  • Represented companies facing investigations for use of no-poach and non-compete agreements.
  • Promptu Sys. Corp. v. Comcast (Fed. Cir. 2024):  Represented Comcast in patent-infringement and IPR appeals involving speech-recognition technology. 
  • Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski (2023), Morgan v. Sundance (2022): Represented the Chamber of Commerce as amicus in multiple arbitration cases before the US Supreme Court.
  • Ateres Bais Yaakov v. Town of Clarkstown (2d Cir. 2023): Successfully briefed and argued an appeal to reinstate multi-million-dollar tortious-interference claims against a local government.
  • Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections (5th Cir. 2023), Walker v. Baldwin (7th Cir. 2023):  Briefed and argued novel issues of constitutional law and statutory interpretation arising under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act on behalf of religious inmates shaven against their will.
  • United States v. Lague (9th Cir. 2020): Successfully defended the criminal conviction of California’s leading opioid prescriber.
 

Pro Bono

Josh has developed a significant pro bono practice focusing on religious liberty.  Previously, he spearheaded strategic litigation on behalf of incarcerated individuals across the country who had been shaven bald against their will and in violation of their religious beliefs. Through that work, he sourced multiple clients, recruited amici, and argued appeals across the circuits—ultimately teeing up the issue for Supreme Court review.   That work has been covered by the New York Times, USA Today, Tablet Magazine, and National Review.  Josh has also successfully represented more than a dozen of victims of housing discrimination.  More recently, after clerking for the US Supreme Court, Josh founded the Israel Legal Fellowship, a program that brings outgoing US Supreme court law clerks and federal judges to Israel to study the country’s legal and political institutions.
Education

  • J.D., Harvard Law School

    magna cum laude

    Harvard Law review, Notes Editor

    Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Editor

  • B.A., Yeshiva University

    magna cum laude

Publications

  • Author, "An Economic Critique of Modern Tort Adjudication," 24 Texas Review of Law & Politics 395, (2020)

Media Mentions

Clerk Experience

Josh was a law clerk to Justice Neil M. Gorsuch of the United States Supreme Court, and to federal appellate judges on the Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and D.C. Circuits.

Prior Experience

Earlier in his career, Josh served in the US Department of Justice as a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General.  He was also a Fellow and Lecturer at Harvard Law School, where he taught and wrote about cutting-edge issues in antitrust and constitutional law. 

My latest insights

News
abstract white building

AKD Partners guides Trump Media & Technology Group in successfully dismissing counterclaims...

18 July 2025 .2 minute read

Connect

Phone

+1 202 799 4406
(Work, Washington DC)