Lawyers like to brag about coming to their clients’ rescue in “bet-the-company” cases. And for the country’s top litigators, often it’s a fair boast.

Then there’s Aereo Inc., which both epitomized bet-the-company litigation and turned the formula inside out. Aereo’s lawyers weren’t rescuers as much as expert midwives, called on to ensure the company’s viability in the courts before there was even a proven market for its services. And on Wednesday, at the U.S. Supreme Court, Aereo lost the bet.