Alice E. Loughran

Alice Loughran is a partner in Steptoe's Washington office, where she is a member of the Litigation and Regulatory & Industry Affairs Departments.

Alice has more than two decades of appellate experience, often in high stakes cases. She has worked on several cases before the US Supreme Court, both at the certiorari and merits stages. She has briefed cases in every federal circuit and many state appellate courts. She has argued in the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits—often several times. She also argued in the Supreme Court of Iowa, as well as the Texas, Minnesota, and Kansas appellate courts. 

In 2018, Alice prepared a petition for writ of certiorari on the taxability of a lost wages award under the Federal Employers Liability Act. After the US Supreme Court granted certiorari, Alice took the lead on briefing the merits. A seven-member majority of the Court adopted our statutory interpretation and reversed the Eighth Circuit. See BNSF Ry. Co. v. Loos, 139 S. Ct. 839 (2019). She briefed and argued before the seven-member Supreme Court of Iowa, which sustained the client's win on the pleadings in a putative class action seeking more than $6 billion dollars. Griffioen v. Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Ry. Co., 914 N.W.2d 273 (Iowa 2018). 

Many of her cases raise questions of statutory interpretation, the amount of deference owed to administrative agencies, federal preemption defenses, limitations on punitive damage awards, and federal jurisdiction. In recognition for her work for the railroad industry, she was rated by Law360 as "most valuable player" in the transportation industry (2019). 

Alice has acted as the on-site appellate attorney during trials, both in the state and federal courts. This includes a three-week trial in Missouri and a three-and-half month trial in Chicago. As part of her work at the trial level, she has handled a significant number of cases resolved at the pleading and summary judgment stages. She often acts as coordinating counsel on recurring legal issues of significant importance to an industry. Her work in assisting railroad trial counsel led to her being named the first appellate lawyer to receive the Recognition of Excellence Award by the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel (2008).