Sylvia O. Tsakos

Sylvia O. Tsakos

Associate, Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation

Bio

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 victories in a standing case before the en banc Eleventh Circuit and a major tax transfer-pricing case before the Sixth Circuit.

Ms. Tsakos’ work ranges from tax and administrative law to constitutional law, federal Indian law, federal securities law, the Federal Arbitration Act, 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.

Credentials

Education

  • J.D., The George Washington University Law School, 2015 (summa cum laude; Order of the Coif; Notes Editor, The George Washington Law Review)
  • B.A., Emory University, 2012

Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • Maryland

Experience

  • Hon. Barbara Milano Keenan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (2016-17)
  • Hon. Kathleen Cardone, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (2015-16)

Sylvia O. Tsakos

Associate, Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation
sylvia.tsakos@skadden.com