They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40 - Z.W. Julius Chen of Akin Gump

Please describe two of your most substantial, recent wins in practice.
One of my proudest professional moments came when Eric Friedman—a former commercial airline pilot who was forced to stop flying after developing insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM)—told me he was “headed to the line” again. Eric and the American Diabetes Association entrusted me with the responsibility of challenging the FAA’s half-century-old, medically outdated ban on ITDM pilots flying commercially. Through two D.C. Circuit arguments for Eric and a mandamus petition for another former pilot, Mitchell Mitchell, we methodically chipped away at the ban until the FAA finally opened the skies ...