Winning high-stakes appeals requires
strategic-thinking, skill and experience.
1701 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20006
Lawrence S. Ebner
Larry Ebner, a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, is an accomplished appellate advocate, strategist, and analyst. His nationwide litigation practice is devoted to representing businesses and industries in high-stakes appeals. After 42 years at a law firm that evolved into the world’s largest, Larry decided to leave Big Law and start his own Washington, D.C.-based appellate litigation boutique, Capital Appellate Advocacy.
Clients and colleagues routinely praise Larry for his strategic thinking, as well as for his analytical, brief-writing, and oral advocacy skills, and his hands-on approach. He has authored hundreds of briefs for corporations and industry and professional organizations on complex legal issues in the Supreme Court, in every federal circuit court of appeals, and in state appellate courts, and has presented oral arguments in federal and state appellate courts throughout the United States. Much of Larry’s practice focuses on appeals that implicate significant federal interests—for example, cases involving federally regulated or procured products or services—and civil justice issues—for example, class-action fairness. Larry is a nationally recognized expert on constitutionally based pretrial defenses, such as federal preemption of state-law product liability suits involving pesticides, drugs, medical devices, and other federally regulated products.
Larry’s thought leadership is reflected in his prolific professional writing and speaking. He is active in DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar, where he serves as Chair of the Amicus Committee and a frequent author of Supreme Court amicus curiae briefs on behalf of the 22,000-lawyer organization. Following graduation from Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, Larry began his legal career as an Honors Program attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Harvard Law School
J.D. (1972)
Dartmouth College
B.A., with honors, Phi Beta Kappa (1969)
Fellow, American Academy of Appellate Lawyers
DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar
- Chair, Amicus Committee
- Publications Chair, Appellate Advocacy Committee
- Member, Center for Law and Public Policy
- Former Board Member, National Foundation for Judicial Excellence
The Federalist Society
Dartmouth Lawyers Association
District of Columbia Bar
Courts
- Supreme Court of the United States
- U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- U. S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U. S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U. S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U. S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U. S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- U. S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U. S. Court of Appeals for the TenthCircuit
- U. S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- U. S. District Court for the District of Maryland
Industries/Services
- Overview
Capital Appellate Advocacy
Capital Appellate Advocacy combines Big Law quality, experience, and prestige with Boutique Law flexibility and focus on client needs.
Capital Appellate's founder, Larry Ebner, departed Dentons, the world's largest law firm, in August 2016, to open his own Washington, D.C.-based appellate litigation boutique. Throughout his 45-year legal career, Larry has represented and counseled a multitude of businesses and industries on complex legal issues before the Supreme Court, federal courts of appeals, state appellate courts, trial courts, government agencies, arbitration panels, and other forums. He strategizes and drafts certiorari petitions and oppositions, merits and amicus curiae briefs, interlocutory appeals, dispositive motions, and many other types of advocacy documents.
Larry’s steadfast mission is to deliver high-quality written and oral advocacy and achieve civil justice for his clients.
- Chemicals & Other Manufacturing
- Class-Action Defendents
- Critical Infrastructure
- Drugs, Vaccines & Medical Devices
- Government Contractors
- Insurance & Financial
- Pesticides
- Trade Associations
- Law Practice
Capital Appellate Advocacy
Capital Appellate Advocacy combines Big Law quality, experience, and prestige with Boutique Law flexibility and focus on client needs.
Capital Appellate's founder, Larry Ebner, departed Dentons, the world's largest law firm, in August 2016, to open his own Washington, D.C.-based appellate litigation boutique. Throughout his 45-year legal career, Larry has represented and counseled a multitude of businesses and industries on complex legal issues before the Supreme Court, federal courts of appeals, state appellate courts, trial courts, government agencies, arbitration panels, and other forums. He strategizes and drafts certiorari petitions and oppositions, merits and amicus curiae briefs, interlocutory appeals, dispositive motions, and many other types of advocacy documents.
Larry’s steadfast mission is to deliver high-quality written and oral advocacy and achieve civil justice for his clients.
Chemicals & Other Manufacturing
- Defense of toxic & environmental tort litigation
- Pursuit of statutes of limitation & repose defenses
- Spoliation of evidence and related matters
- National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), & Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) compliance
- California Proposition 65 litigation
Class-Action Defendents
- Challenges to state court jurisdiction over out-of-state defendants
- Interlocutory appeal of adverse class-certification decisions
- Pursuit of mootness, commonality/predominance, and other class-action defenses
- Scope and applicability of arbitration provisions under Federal Arbitration Act
Critical Infrastructure
- Litigation opposing judicial interference with operation of telecommunications, transportation, and other national critical infrastructure sectors
- Industry challenges to environmental restrictions on construction & maintenance of transportation, energy, and other critical infrastructure
- Federal preemption of local government restrictions on interstate passenger rail operations
Drugs, Vaccines & Medical Devices
- Lack of state court jurisdiction over out-of-state drug manufacturers
- Advocacy of federal preemption defenses in drug, vaccine, and medical device product liability litigation
- Labeling, misbranding, & false advertising issues
- Product liability prevention
Government Contractors
- Pretrial defense of government contractors in False Claims Act qui tam suits
- Advocacy of political question, combatant activities preemption, qualified immunity, Defense Base Act, and other specialized pretrial defenses on behalf of war-zone contractors in wrongful death & personal injury litigation
- Boyle government contractor product liability defense
- State secrets doctrine
- Protection of privileged internal investigation communications
Insurance & Financial
- Constitutionality of SEC administrative enforcement proceedings
- Availability of arbitration to resolve insurance coverage disputes
- Scope and application of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
- Telephone Consumer Protection Act
Pesticides
- Representation of manufacturers, formulators, distributors, and users of agricultural, industrial, wood preservative, structural, landscaping, and consumer pesticides
- Pretrial defense of pesticide-related product liability & toxic tort suits, including the FIFRA (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act) preemption defense
- Industry intervention in public interest group suits against U.S. EPA and state regulatory agencies
- Joint data development group & individual registrant representation in cancellation, suspension, and other regulatory review proceedings
- Arbitration of FIFRA data compensation disputes
- Settlement & defense of enforcement proceedings
- Preemption of state & local regulation
- Prop 65 and other California issues
Trade Associations
- High-impact amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs on behalf of national trade associations & other pro-business groups in the Supreme Court, federal courts of appeals, and state appellate courts
- Solicitation & coordination of Supreme Court amicus briefs in support of certiorari petitions and on the merits in granted appeals, and on the merits and in support of rehearing petitions in federal courts of appeals
Law Practice
- Representation of in-house counsel bar association as amicus curiae in U.S. Supreme Court case involving application of state professional conduct rules to federal prosecutors who subpoena attorneys to present grand jury evidence about current or former clients
- Representation of in-house counsel bar association as amicus curiae in U.S. Supreme Court constitutional challenge to in-state physical office requirement applicable to nonresident members of the New York Bar
Insights
Publications & Presentations
view allNews & Events
view allAppellate Briefs
view all- Justice Gorsuch’s Exciting First Opinion
June 2017 - Two Supreme No-Brainers
June 2017 - Supreme Court Derails Forum Shoppers
June 2017
Connect
Washington, DC 20006
lawrence.ebner@capitalappellate.com
(202) 729-6337