They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40 - Ishan Bhabha of Jenner & Block

Please describe two of your most substantial, recent wins in practice.
One of the most meaningful wins of my career was as part of the team representing Princeton, a Princeton student, and Microsoft, in successfully challenging President Trump’s attempted rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The case was both intellectually fascinating but also deeply emotionally compelling because of the lives of over 700,000 DACA recipients that would have been thrown into disarray if the program had been ended. (The DACA decision came down in June 2020.) Another important victory was our successful First Amendment defense of the University of Illinois’s bias response team. These teams play a critical role in supporting all students’ ability to thrive while also fully respecting free expression and academic debate. This win in July 2020 was thus important not merely for my own client but for institutions nationwide.

What is the most important lesson you learned as a first-year attorney and how does it inform your practice today?
In my first year of practice I was teamed up with a senior lawyer to work on a complex contractual dispute. Working at his side, I quickly appreciated the extent to which he truly immersed himself in the case, learning the facts to an extent that far exceeded the client (who had lived with the matter for years) and digging into every precedent that had any relevance to our matter. Because he knew the facts and the law cold, he could then come up with startlingly innovative solutions to the problems the case presented. Learning from him I realized that while creativity in the law requires big ideas and new approaches, it begins by truly digging deep into your matter and understanding its every contour. This type of attention to details is exciting because once you know the details of your matter backwards you have far greater power in coming up with new ideas about how to argue your case. Today, whether dealing with a case at trial or on appeal, I always begin by digging as deep as I can into the details, knowing that is what will allow me to be innovative down the road.

How do you define success in your practice?
Success for me has two components. First, I want my clients to truly feel they had their day in court and, win or lose, their case was presented in the most powerful and persuasive way. Of course, I want to win every case, and I strive through creativity and hard work to do so. But there are times when no matter what, the facts or law are simply against you and, in those circumstances, success is knowing my client feels the court heard and understood the best version of their case and can be at peace with the result. Second, success means leading diverse teams and giving as much opportunity and mentorship to junior attorneys as I can. By empowering team members to truly take ownership of their part of a matter you not only have more fun working as a team but get far better results for your client.

What are you most proud of as a lawyer?
Two years ago, I argued my first case in the U.S. Supreme Court, a pro bono matter on behalf of a disabled Social Security recipient. Standing at that historic podium was one of my proudest moments, and the 30 minutes of defending my position in response to piercing questions was thrilling and incredible fun. I am also very proud of the higher education practice I’ve co-led over the last year. We’ve built a large practice servicing major public and private universities in their highest stakes matters. In a relatively short period of time we’ve become a go-to firm for complex disputes with the government and outside parties as well as sensitive issues arising with students and faculty. The problems are fascinating and the clients active and engaged. Finally, I am very proud of the work I’ve done with tech clients—and in particular, my client Shift Technologies Inc. That relationship began when I was a fourth-year associate and the company had two employees and was based in the CEO’s living room. Now, as a partner I led the team that took the company (which has hundreds of employees) public on the Nasdaq, and they are a major firm client.

Who is your greatest mentor in the law and what have they taught you?
My greatest mentor is now-Attorney General Merrick Garland. I clerked for him over 10 years ago, and the year I was at his side was, without doubt, the year I learned the most about the type of lawyer I aspire to be. First, Judge Garland treated every case with the same focus and dedication. He knew that the ideal of equal justice could only be achieved if lawyers and judges treated every case, no matter how small, with seriousness, care, and commitment. Second, I was constantly struck by Judge Garland’s integrity and ethical compass. The idea of not doing the right thing, no matter how difficult it was, never crossed his mind. And in a profession in which a lot of ethical rules depend on self-regulation, I’ve tried to emulate Judge Garland’s single-minded approach to acting with integrity in every situation.

Just for fun, tell us your two favorite songs on your summer music playlist.
Two favorite summer pieces of music are [Otis Redding’s] “(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” and [Felix] Mendelssohn’s [String] Octet [in E-flat major, Op. 20.] The first evokes for me some of my favorite times during family vacations in Maine where multiple generations of my family are sitting by the water joking, skipping rocks, and letting the day slowly pass. The second is one of my favorite pieces of music of all time. I love listening to it while reading the newspaper during rare moments of peace early on summer mornings when the sun is up but my 4- and 5-year-olds are still asleep.