Jessica Ellsworth heads the firm's Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation practice. She has argued over 90 appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court, federal appeals courts, and a dozen state appellate courts, reflecting her deep experience and keen ability to help clients solve litigation challenges.
Her clients know her to be unflappable under pressure. She has won reversal of bench and jury trial verdicts and argued key trial motions when creating an appellate record is crucial. She is nimble across patent and trademark law, class actions, arbitrability, antitrust, statutory interpretation, and jurisdictional issues. Clients around the world look to Ellsworth to navigate U.S.-based litigation at all levels of courts.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2027 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2027 | Appellate, inc. Supreme Court |
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2026 | Appellate, inc. Supreme Court |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2025 | Appellate, inc. Supreme Court |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2024 | Appellate, inc. Supreme Court |
Ellsworth is a leader in administrative law, pursuing and defending Administrative Procedures Act challenges to agency action, and she has a niche practice in False Claims Act litigation. In all her matters, Ellsworth brings her appellate perspective to developing and managing case strategy to achieve her clients' goals.
Whether seeking cert, defending a trial court win, or aiming to overcome a trial court loss, Ellsworth crafts winning briefs and persuasively argues cases. Her favorite part of oral argument is rebuttal. Working in our Appellate practice, Ellsworth's clients and successful appeals span the technology, automotive, pharmaceutical, health, education, and financial services industries.
Ellsworth clerked for the Honorable Martha Craig Daughtrey (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit) and the Honorable Rebecca Beach Smith (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia). While in law school, Ellsworth was named Best Oralist by then-U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter in the Harvard Law School Ames Moot Court Competition.