About Brian P.
Brian P. Goldman earned his law degree from Stanford Law School in 2010 after completing undergraduate studies at Yale University in 2005, where he read political science and international studies. He arrived in the legal profession prepared for appellate work. His education placed him at institutions known for heavy emphasis on writing and analysis, and those skills have shaped the arc of his career.
He began his post‑law school work in government service. In 2011 he joined the Civil Division’s Appellate Staff at the U.S. Department of Justice, handling federal appeals for the government. The following year he served as a law clerk to Justice Sonia Sotomayor at the Supreme Court of the United States, a formative experience that exposed him to the mechanics of the nation’s highest court.
After the clerkship Goldman moved into private practice. He joined Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and by 2018 was a partner in the firm’s Supreme Court & Appellate Practice. In that role he has taken on matters across multiple appellate forums. He is admitted to practice in California and in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, and he holds admission in the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits.
Goldman’s record reflects work both for the government and in private practice. At the Department of Justice he handled appellate briefs and oral arguments on behalf of federal agencies. At Orrick he has managed appeals and petitions in federal courts of appeals and the Supreme Court. Colleagues note the amount of appellate courtroom exposure he has amassed over a relatively short period, and his docket has included matters that required strategic briefing and coordinated litigation across multiple courts.
He remains active in bar and appellate circles. He is a current member of the California State Bar and has served as Chair of the Appellate Lawyer Representatives to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference since 2020. He was also a New Leaders Council fellow in 2014, a program that brings together emerging leaders across sectors.
Goldman works out of The Orrick Building and continues to practice as a partner in Orrick’s Supreme Court & Appellate Practice, handling appellate litigation and Supreme Court petitions in federal and state courts.
