Sylvia O. Tsakos

Sylvia Tsakos has briefed high-stakes cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and federal and state appellate and trial courts. She has served as a core drafter for Supreme Court cases at the merits and certiorari stages and helped the firm’s practice achieve significant appellate victories, including in a standing case before the en banc Eleventh Circuit, a major tax transfer-pricing case before the Sixth Circuit, and a precedent-setting D.C. Circuit case about the scope of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act’s arbitration exception.

Ms. Tsakos’ work ranges from tax and administrative law to constitutional law, federal Indian law, federal securities law, the Federal Arbitration Act, international arbitration, and various regulatory issues. She has represented clients across various industries, including the health care, financial services, technology, energy, and education sectors. Ms. Tsakos’ experience representing individuals and private and public companies in investigations and inquiries before the U.S. Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Trade Commission, and FinCEN help inform her administrative law appellate practice.

Ms. Tsakos maintains an active pro bono practice, including authoring briefs in civil rights and habeas corpus cases and briefing and arguing cases on behalf of victims of domestic violence and domestic violence organizations.

Before joining Skadden, Ms. Tsakos clerked for Judge Barbara Milano Keenan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and Judge Kathleen Cardone of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.