Sullivan & Cromwell LLP has announced that Michael R. Huston, Jonathan Y. Ellis and Nicholas S. Crown will join its Supreme Court & Appellate Practice as Partners in the Washington, D.C. office. Each is a former Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States and together, they have argued more than 20 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Messrs. Ellis and Huston will co-head the Firm’s Supreme Court & Appellate Practice.
“Michael, Jonathan and Nick are three of the most accomplished appellate lawyers of their generation and adding them together will strengthen our market-leading appellate practice,” said Robert Giuffra and Scott Miller, Co-Chairs of Sullivan & Cromwell. “Our clients increasingly face bet-the-company challenges that turn on complex questions of constitutional and administrative law, and Michael, Jonathan and Nick have an extraordinary record of winning those cases at every level of the federal and state judicial systems. They will complement our trial, appellate and regulatory strengths and will help our clients advance the law in the cases that matter most.”
The arrivals build on S&C’s position as one of the U.S.’s premier litigation firms. S&C has received awards for its recent high-stakes appellate wins, including for reversing an $18 billion judgment against the Argentine Republic; reversing the grant of class certification in major securities cases against The Boeing Company, FirstEnergy and Goldman Sachs; and reversing the Delaware Chancery Court and reinstating the incentive compensation package for Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk. Last month, The New York Law Journal named S&C “Litigation Department of the Year — Finance.”
“Jonathan, Michael and Nick have briefed, argued and won some of the most consequential appeals decided by the Supreme Court and the federal circuit courts in recent years,” said Amanda Davidoff, Managing Partner of S&C’s Washington, D.C. office. “Their arrival will deepen the appellate, administrative-law and constitutional-law capabilities that we offer to our clients from Washington and will allow us to continue to grow our office.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to join Sullivan & Cromwell’s extraordinary litigation practice,” said Jonathan, Michael and Nick in a joint statement. “As former colleagues at the Office of the Solicitor General, we’re grateful for the opportunity to again be working closely together. We are exceedingly proud to be asked to lead S&C’s appellate practice and can’t wait to get to work with the Firm’s clients on their most significant appeals and trial-court work.”
Michael R. Huston
Mr. Huston has argued 12 cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and has secured precedent-setting victories in federal and state appellate courts across the country. His recent appellate victories include successfully defending Scouting America’s multi-billion-dollar Chapter 11 reorganization plan before the Third Circuit and persuading the Supreme Court to deny certiorari, as well as a landmark Ninth Circuit win for Resolution Copper that unlocked a multi-billion-dollar critical minerals project. Mr. Huston’s Supreme Court representations have involved administrative law, intellectual property, civil procedure and federal jurisdiction, ERISA, constitutional law and more. He has also won appeals in high-profile cases for Boeing, Weyerhaeuser, Google and Reddit, and he currently serves as lead appellate counsel to Uber in a complex multi-district litigation.
Mr. Huston was formerly an Assistant to the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice, representing the federal government before the Supreme Court. He clerked for Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. Of the Supreme Court of the United States and for Judge Raymond M. Kethledge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Mr. Huston is ranked nationwide by Chambers USA for Appellate Practice and has been recognized by Benchmark Litigation and Law360 for his appellate work. He graduated first in his class from the University of Michigan Law School.
Jonathan Y. Ellis
Mr. Ellis has argued nine cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, has filed hundreds of briefs at the merits and certiorari stages, and has challenged and defended federal agency actions at every level of the federal judiciary. His Supreme Court victories include cases concerning securities law, intellectual property, international arbitration, constitutional law, administrative law and ERISA. He has also obtained significant appellate victories in other courts for Humana, Cooke, Wells Fargo and Duke Energy, among others.
Mr. Ellis was an Assistant to the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice and previously as a Bristow Fellow in that office. He clerked for Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. Of the Supreme Court of the United States and for Judge A. Raymond Randolph of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He is ranked nationwide by Chambers USA for Appellate Practice. He graduated summa cum laude, first in his class, from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.
Nicholas S. Crown
Mr. Crown has briefed and argued appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court, the D.C. Circuit, an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit and several other federal and state appellate courts. His oral arguments have produced precedent-setting decisions on the copyrightability of AI-generated works, the availability of monetary remedies for trademark infringement, the standards for expert witness reports and the constitutionality of state laws governing independent-contractor relationships. Mr. Crown also maintains an active trial-level practice; he has briefed and argued dozens of dispositive motions, regularly takes critical depositions and advises on trial strategy. He has achieved significant appellate, pretrial and trial victories for clients such as Boeing, Resolution Copper and Uber.
Mr. Crown was an Assistant to the Solicitor General and worked in the Civil Appellate Staff at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he received a Special Commendation for Outstanding Service. He clerked for Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the Supreme Court of the United States, Judge Stephen A. Higginson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Judge T.S. Ellis, III of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He is a member of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court and an adjunct faculty member at a leading law school. A Fulbright scholar, he holds a law degree from Yale Law School, where he served on the Yale Law Journal.
