Nicholas Crown

Nicholas Crown represents clients in complex appellate and trial matters nationwide. He 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. A former assistant to the solicitor general and lawyer in the Civil Appellate Staff at the DOJ, Nick helped shape the federal government’s prevailing legal strategies—often on expedited timelines—in cases involving novel questions of constitutional, administrative, and IP law. 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. He also maintains a pro bono practice focused on federal constitutional law and habeas corpus appeals. 

Nick is similarly experienced at the trial level. He has drafted pleadings, taken dozens of fact-and-expert depositions, and authored and argued dispositive motions in bet-the-company cases spanning antitrust, breach-of-contract, class-action, IP, and tort disputes. Nick has helped win or defeat claims worth hundreds of millions of dollars for both industry-leading companies and individuals.  

Nick served as a law clerk to the Hon. Sonia Sotomayor of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Hon. Stephen A. Higginson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Hon. T.S. Ellis, III, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.  

Nick coaches an undergraduate trial advocacy team that recently captured its fourth national title. He also teaches a law school seminar on appellate advocacy. Nick holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and a law degree from Yale Law School.