Lawrence S. Ebner

Founder, Capital Appellate Advocacy

Topics: Administrative Law & Regulation • Constitution • Federal Courts • Federalism • First Amendment • Jurisprudence • Litigation • Separation of Powers • Supreme Court • Federalism & Separation of Powers

I am a Washington, D.C.-based appellate specialist who wears two hats:

At my independent, nationwide, appellate litigation boutique, Capital Appellate Advocacy PLLC, I handle appeals for individual companies, and write amicus curiae briefs for industry trade associations and nonprofit advocacy groups, primarily in the Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals. I charge appellate litigation clients a flat fee rather than bill by the hour.

At the Atlantic Legal Foundation, a national, nonprofit, public interest law firm, I am Executive Vice President & General Counsel. I conduct the Foundation’s amicus curiae program by writing Supreme Court and lower court briefs in cases involving  individual liberty, free enterprise, protection of property rights, limited and responsible government, sound science in judicial and regulatory proceedings, and effective education, including parental rights and school choice.

My volunteer professional activities include chairing the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel's Appellate Law Section and serving as a vice chair of its Amicus Committee. I also am immediate past chair of the DRI Center for Law and Public Policy, and a past chair (and a senior member) of DRI's Amicus Committee.

In October 2024 DRI awarded me its Tom Segalla Excellence In Education Award. The award is given to a “member of DRI whose contributions through legal scholarship exemplify the highest educational standards of the organization and further its mission of improving the skills of the defense practitioner.”

I am proud to be a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School.

My legal career began in 1972 as an Honors Program attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Two years later I joined what morphed into a now-global law firm, where I founded and headed its appellate litigation practice group. Launching my own law firm in 2016 was the best decision of my legal career.

Barbara Ebner and I have been married for 52 years. We enjoy traveling throughout the United States, especially Hawaii, and spending as much time as possible with our two daughters and their families.

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