Eric Konopka represents clients in high-stakes, complex federal and state appellate litigation.
Eric thrives in litigation involving complex, technical statutory and administrative law issues, including bankruptcy, tax, and energy regulatory. He regularly represents clients in the US Supreme Court; briefs and argues appeals in federal and state appellate courts around the country; and appears in federal and state trial courts, the US Tax Court, and administrative agencies, preparing dispositive motions and advising on appellate strategy.
Eric maintains a robust pro bono practice, including acting as lead counsel in cases implicating important and novel constitutional and statutory rights.
Before joining Latham, Eric clerked for Judge Raymond Kethledge of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Justice Leondra Kruger of the Supreme Court of California, and Judge Carlos Bea of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Prior to his legal career, Eric worked in investment banking and private equity, focusing on financial institutions and esoteric financial products.
Experience
Eric’s representative experience includes:
Briefing and arguing bankruptcy appeals involving third-party releases of liability, including consensual and nonconsensual releases and related issues of statutory and equitable mootness
Representing the debtor in a direct appeal concerning whether defensive setoff rights are claims under the Bankruptcy Code
Defending decisions in a Chapter 15 bankruptcy case by refining merits arguments and developing a novel mootness strategy, which ultimately led to a favorable settlement
Invalidating a tax regulation that attempted to rewrite the effective date of a statute
Successfully urging the Sixth Circuit to hold — contrary to indications from its own precedent — that the deadline to petition the Tax Court for redetermination of a deficiency is not jurisdictional and is subject to equitable tolling
Obtaining a favorable Tax Court decision in one of the largest transfer pricing cases in history
Successfully defending a Tax Court victory regarding the deductibility of certain patent infringement litigation costs in the Third Circuit
Convincing a state high court that a city was misinterpreting the state’s real property tax law
Persuading a state tax appeals tribunal that an administrative law judge’s interpretation of state law was incorrect, leading to a US$150 million tax refund
Convincing the Supreme Court to take the unusual step of denying a petition for certiorari by the Solicitor General in a tax case, despite an evident circuit split
Persuading the D.C. Circuit that FERC’s interpretation of a FERC-approved settlement agreement was incorrect, resulting in a refund of costs paid under that agreement to Latham’s client
Successfully challenging a method for allocating the costs of high-voltage projects in the D.C. Circuit, which is expected to result in substantial refunds to the petitioner group
Persuading the D.C. Circuit to uphold FERC’s decision to allow certain entities to give up certain rights to avoid substantial future allocations of costs for high-voltage projects
Successfully defending FERC’s decision to require a power plant to upgrade its equipment to ensure the reliability of the electric grid
Defending FERC orders authorizing liquefied natural gas projects from environmental challenges
Persuading the Ninth Circuit to reverse the dismissal of an antitrust action
Securing vacatur of the dismissal of constitutional claims by the Ninth Circuit, facilitating a settlement of the action
Recent Speaking Engagements
Panelist, ABA Tax Section Midyear Meeting, “What Happens If Chevron Is Overturned?” (Jan. 2024)
Panelist, ABA Tax Section CLE Webinar, “Chevron Overruled: A New Legal Landscape for Agency Deference” (July 2024)
Panelist, Federal Bar Association, Western District of Michigan, Annual Bankruptcy Section Seminar, “Supreme Court/Purdue Pharma Update” (July 2024)
Presenter, IRS LITC Annual Grantee Conference, “Equitable Tolling in the US Tax Court” (Dec. 2024)
Presenter, ABA Tax Section Administrative Practice Committee, Recent Developments Regarding Equitable Tolling in the US Tax Court (Sept. 2025)
Qualifications
Bar Qualification
District of Columbia
New York
Education
J.D., Columbia Law School, 2015
B.Sc. in Management Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005
Latham litigators recognized for securing a seismic decision in New York’s high court, the Court of Appeals, for Tax Equity Now NY (TENNY), which is expected to lead to systemic changes to address the long-standing disparities in New York City's property tax system.
Members of Latham’s Supreme Court & Appellate Practice discuss significant cases from the most recent Supreme Court term, and business implications of the Court’s decisions. MCLE credit offered.
Pro bono client ran for student council in hopes of remedying its lack of diversity while in high school, but instead experienced harassment and cyberbullying.
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