Joshua I. Hammack

Joshua is a skilled litigator who handles complicated commercial litigation and appellate matters, with a particular focus on statutory interpretation, constitutional rights, product safety, insurance, contracts, and Title IX discrimination.

Joshua counsels and defends his clients in state and federal courts and before regulatory agencies and has a particular skill in handling appellate litigation. With a passion and talent for writing briefs, Joshua identifies and researches critical issues in the matters he handles, developing a deep understanding of each case’s nuances and subtleties. Armed with that knowledge, Joshua persuasively writes about his matters with clarity and precision. He has drafted federal appellate briefs in a host of substantive areas, including constitutional challenges, statutory interpretation, class certification, habeas corpus, and illegal reentry. He has also written briefs to the Supreme Court, including a recent opposition that convinced the Court to deny Kentucky’s petition for certiorari.

Bailey Glasser clients trust Joshua’s passion, work ethic, strategic legal thinking, and ability to deliver in front of a judge, appellate panel, or jury.

Since 2022, Joshua has successfully briefed and argued appeals in the Second, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits. In Foresight v. Chandler, the Sixth Circuit reversed the district court’s order denying a preliminary injunction against enforcement of Kentucky’s SB 257. Read the Court's opinion here. That law required the Public Service Commission to evaluate the reasonableness of regulated utilities’ coal purchases differently depending on the producer’s state of origin. The Sixth Circuit held that the law discriminated against interstate commerce in practical effect and purpose, and thus violated the Dormant Commerce Clause. When Kentucky filed a petition for certiorari, the Supreme Court ordered Foresight to respond. And, to drive home why the Sixth Circuit got it right, Joshua turned to a timeless classic: George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Read the brief here. After the Supreme Court denied certiorari, Joshua helped secure permanent relief at the district court, which ultimately declared SB 257 unconstitutional and enjoined its enforcement.

In Salazar v. National Basketball Association, the Second Circuit became the first appellate court in the country to address the meaning of “consumer” in the Video Privacy Protection Act. The statute defines “consumer” to mean “any renter, purchaser, or subscriber of goods or services from a video tape service provider.” But the district court required consumers to rent, purchase, or subscribe to audio-visual materials. The Second Circuit flatly rejected this approach. It reasoned that the “VPPA’s text, structure, and purpose compel the conclusion” that the relevant statutory phrase “is not limited to audiovisual ‘goods or services.’” Thus, it held, a plaintiff who subscribed to an online newsletter was a statutory “consumer” entitled to the VPPA’s privacy protections. This precedent-setting decision will send ripples across the country, as multiple district courts had previously required consumers to rent, purchase, or subscribe directly to video materials. Read the Second Circuit's opinion here.

And, in Anders v. California State University, Fresno, the Ninth Circuit vacated the district court’s order denying class certification to a group of former women’s lacrosse athletes at Fresno State. The Court reasoned that the district court had abused its discretion by denying class certification based on a speculative conflict about remedies among class members. Read the Ninth Circuit's decision here.

Joshua has successfully argued appeals to the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals as well as the Illinois Appellate Court.

Joshua played an integral role in securing a $32.7 million jury verdict in Ramaco Resources, LLC v. Chubb INA Holdings Inc., a matter regarding a denial of insurance coverage of damages after the collapse of a coal storage silo. Joshua handled all case briefings, as well as deftly and convincingly addressed sophisticated and complicated issues surrounding the use of computer modelling and finite element analyses to predict metallurgical failures and to test structural stability—an issue central to the jury’s causation determination.

Joshua is a member of Bailey Glasser’s impactful Title IX team, a national leader in protecting collegiate student-athletes who have faced discrimination under the federal law prohibiting gender discrimination by educational institutions receiving federal funds. He has represented student-athletes at Fresno State, San Diego State, Michigan State, Oregon, and Clemson.

Joshua has a robust pro bono practice. He briefed and argued a prisoner's habeas case before the Sixth Circuit, and helped secure relief pursuant to the Convention Against Torture for a Jamaican immigrant in proceedings before the Eighth Circuit, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and an immigration judge. Joshua was also a member of the case team that represented a victim of police brutality, who, after trial, was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages.

Joshua is based in Washington, D.C., and licensed in the District of Columbia and Maryland.

Awards & Accolades

2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation, Commercial Litigation & Appellate

Benchmark Litigation, U.S. 2024 Benchmark 40 & Under Litigator, Northeast - Washington, D.C.

Best Lawyers Ones to Watch, Appellate Practice and Commercial Litigation, Washington, D.C. (2024)

Clerkships

• Law Clerk, Hon. Carlos T. Bea, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2012 - 2013)

Government Service / Previous Employment

• AmeriCorps (2008 - 2009)

Case Studies

Representative Matters

• Successfully briefed and argued a precedent-setting appeal to the Second Circuit regarding the meaning of the term “consumer” in the Video Privacy Protection Act.
• Successfully briefed and argued an appeal to the Ninth Circuit ensuring student-athletes could continue to seek class certification for program-wide Title IX claims.
• Successfully briefed and argued an appeal to the Sixth Circuit concerning the unconstitutionality of Kentucky’s SB 257, which required a state agency to evaluate the reasonableness of utilities’ coal purchases differently based on state of origin in violation of the Dormant Commerce Clause.
• Successfully brief and argued an appeal to the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals protecting summary judgment on statute-of-limitations grounds.
• Successfully briefed and argued an appeal to the Illinois Appellate Court protecting summary judgment regarding the construction of 100-year-old mineral deeds.
• Obtained, as co-trial counsel, a verdict on behalf of Ramaco Resources Inc. of approximately $32.7 million against Chubb-related insurance companies for breach of contract in a denial of insurance coverage case. The trial court subsequently reduced the verdict, but it was substantially reinstated by the Court of Appeals.
• Filed an amicus brief on behalf of a national association of faith-based organizations, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify that, at least in the absence of exceptional circumstances, religiously motivated institutions may not be excluded from otherwise neutral grant programs.

News & Insights