Emily J. Taft

Emily is an associate in the Vorys Columbus office, a member of the litigation group, and a member of the appellate practice and intellectual property subgroups.  She has a diverse practice representing clients in federal and state courts at both the trial and appellate levels.  Emily has significant experience litigating matters involving federal and state constitutional issues, extraordinary writs, land use and eminent domain matters, and the energy sector.  She also has experience representing clients in a variety of industries in connection with the prosecution and defense of their intellectual property rights, including cases involving patent, trademark and copyright infringement. 

Notable experience includes:

• Successfully presenting oral argument in the Southern District of Ohio and obtaining summary judgment on behalf of client in a constitutional challenge to aspects of Ohio’s three-tier alcohol importation and distribution system
• Serving on the appellate team that obtained a 7-2 decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of client, the petitioner, in Marietta Mem’l Hosp. Emp. Health Ben. Plan v. DaVita Inc., 142 S. Ct. 1968 (2022)
• Obtaining affirmance from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on behalf of a developer in a land use matter
• Representing renewable energy clients in direct appeals to the Supreme Court of Ohio from decisions of the Ohio Power Siting Board
• Successfully defending against a petition for review in the Supreme Court of Texas on behalf of a non-profit organization on a matter of statutory interpretation
• Serving as second chair in a guardianship action and successfully defending against the imposition of an involuntary guardianship

Emily served as a law clerk to the Honorable Barbara Lagoa on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and as a law clerk to the Honorable Stephen J. Murphy, III, on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Emily received her J.D. from Duke University School of Law, where she was the managing editor for the Duke Journal of Constitutional Law and Public Policy.  She received her B.A. summa cum laude from Colgate University, where she was Phi Beta Kappa.