Jan. 30, 2014
John A. Polito
See more on John A. PolitoBingham McCutchen LLP | San Francisco | Litigation
In March 2013, he filed an amicus brief on behalf of the parties in a challenge to the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
The brief held that the law's ban on federal recognition of lawful marriages between same-sex couples created hardships for employers trying to administer tax, benefits and other human resources matters. United States v. Windsor, 12-307 (2013).
Among Polito's tasks was studying the decisions related to same-sex marriage in jurisdictions spanning the United States and Mexico to Brazil and American Indian tribes.
"I also researched the effect of those decisions on U.S. businesses that wanted to provide equal benefits to legally married people of the same sex," he said.
There was a lot of fact-gathering to make sure "we were talking about the world accurately," Polito said.
"I learned a lot about managing the expectations of a large field team. It was like painting a bunch of moving trains."
While most of the parties never met, Polito said, "We had the same feeling of having gone through something remarkable together. It took a lot of courage for them and helped move the needle."
Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that legally married same-sex couples deserve equal rights to benefits under federal law.
A former software engineer, Polito also represents such clients as eBay Inc., Oracle America Inc., BlackBerry Ltd. and Amazon.com Inc., advising them on intellectual property matters.
"I have to understand so much of how the world of technology has evolved over time - the then and the now," he added. "I enjoy that."
- PAT BRODERICK
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