Sullivan & Cromwell has named Jonathan Ellis and Michael Huston as incoming co-heads of its Supreme Court & Appellate Practice, with Nicholas Crown also joining the firm as a partner in Washington, D.C.
The firm announced the appointments on October 5, saying all three lawyers previously served as Assistants to the Solicitor General of the United States. Collectively, they have argued more than 20 cases before the Linklaters Hires FIFA Pair from Paul Weiss | Lawyer Monthly, adding substantial appellate and public-law experience to Sullivan & Cromwell’s litigation practice.
Ellis joins from McGuireWoods, where he co-led the firm’s Appeals & Issues Practice Group. He has argued nine cases before the Supreme Court and filed hundreds of briefs at the merits and certiorari stages. His practice has included securities law, intellectual property, international arbitration, constitutional law, administrative law and ERISA.
Huston moves from Ashurst Perkins Coie, where he chaired the firm’s Appeals, Issues & Strategy practice. He has argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court and has handled matters involving administrative law, intellectual property, federal jurisdiction, ERISA and constitutional law. His appellate work has included representations involving Boeing, Google, Reddit and Uber.
Crown also joins from Ashurst Perkins Coie, where he was senior counsel. He has briefed and argued appeals before the Supreme Court, the D.C. Circuit and an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit, with experience spanning constitutional, administrative and intellectual-property disputes. He previously worked in both the Office of the Solicitor General and the Justice Department’s Civil Appellate Staff.
The three appointments give Sullivan & Cromwell a concentrated group of lawyers with experience both inside the federal government and before the country’s highest court. Ellis and Huston both clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts, while Crown clerked for Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
For Sullivan & Cromwell, the hires strengthen a practice extending beyond Supreme Court advocacy into federal and state appellate litigation and Sullivan & Cromwell Adds London M&A Duo | Lawyer Monthly. The firm’s appellate team also handles petitions for review, interlocutory appeals, amicus briefs and administrative appeals.
The appointments come amid Linklaters Hires FIFA Pair from Paul Weiss | Lawyer Monthly. Appellate practices can have a significant role in disputes involving regulatory authority, constitutional questions and federal agency action, particularly where a case has implications beyond the immediate parties.
The departures also reshape the practices the three lawyers leave behind. McGuireWoods loses a co-leader of an Appeals & Issues Practice Group recently recognised as a finalist for the National Law Journal’s 2026 Appellate Hot List, while Ashurst Perkins Coie loses its Appeals, Issues & Strategy chair and a senior appellate lawyer.
For law firm leaders, Sullivan & Cromwell’s appointments underline the premium attached to appellate lawyers who combine private-practice experience with time inside the Solicitor General’s office. With Ellis and Huston taking joint leadership and Crown joining alongside them, the firm has made a significant investment in its Supreme Court, constitutional and administrative-law capabilities.