Tiernan Kane

About Tiernan

Tiernan is a member of SouthBank Legal’s Chambers-ranked commercial litigation team and focuses on resolving complex legal disputes. He has experience at every stage of litigation and in a wide range of cases under state and federal law, including appeals of multimillion-dollar verdicts. His representation has often included assertion of clients’ constitutional and civil rights.

Previously, Tiernan practiced at a leading commercial, regulatory, and constitutional litigation boutique in Washington, D.C. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he also completed a Ph.D. in political science at the University of Notre Dame and clerked for Judge Edith H. Jones on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Experience

In prior cases, Tiernan has:

Represented a Fortune 25 company in an action seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages from the United States for breach of contract to reimburse environmental remediation costs.
Represented a government contractor in appeals of multimillion-dollar jury verdicts on wage-and-hour claims brought by a class of workers and a state enforcement agency.
Represented a government contractor in an action challenging an unconstitutional state regulation of federal contractors’ operations.
Represented individuals and nationwide non-profit associations in an action challenging a state law restricting the exercise of constitutional rights.
Represented a medical-products company in a dispute with its top corporate customer regarding indemnification for damages caused by a third-party fraudster.
Defended a government contractor against state government efforts to obtain its records through subpoenas and to inspect its facilities.
Counseled a manufacturer on liability risks arising from its advertising materials.

Education

Harvard Law School, J.D.
- Deputy Editor in Chief, Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy
University of Notre Dame, Ph.D., Political Science
Princeton University, B.A., magna cum laude

Admissions

Indiana
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana

Practice Areas

Memberships & Affiliations

Indiana State Bar Association
Robert A. Grant Inn of Court

Clerkships

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Hon. Edith H. Jones

Publications & Presentations

“The Role of the Supreme Court in Our Federal Republic,” Hudson Political Studies Program, Hudson Institute, June 2022, June 2020.
Reevaluating Conscience Clauses, 46 J. of Med. & Phil. 297 (2021).
Recent Development, Right by Precedent, Wrong by RFRA: The “Substantial Burden” Inquiry in Oklevueha Native American Church of Hawaii, Inc. v. Lynch, 828 F.3d 1012 (9th Cir. 2016), 40 Harv. J. L. & Pub. Pol’y 793 (2017).