Justin Nelson is the go-to lawyer for high-stakes litigation. Nelson’s practice centers on taking cases to trial, arguing key motions leading up to trial or the appeal, and positioning the case for victory. He brings an unparalleled combination of trial and appellate excellence.
Nelson represented Dominion Voting Systems in its litigation against Fox, culminating in April 2023 with a $787.5 million settlement—an amount that represented “vindication and accountability,” as Nelson stated. Watch the video here.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2026 | Litigation |
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2026 | Complex Litigation |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers | 2025 | Commercial Litigation |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2025 | Litigation |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2025 | Complex Litigation |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers | 2024 | Commercial Litigation |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2024 | Litigation |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2024 | Complex Litigation |
| The 2023 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers | 2023 | Commercial Litigation |
| Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2022 | Complex Litigation |
The Court in Dominion v. Fox publicly noted at the time of the settlement that “this is the best lawyering I’ve had, ever.” Nelson took the deposition of Rupert Murdoch, among other key witnesses. A CNN legal commentator stated about that deposition: “I’ve never seen anything like these admissions. This is one of the most damaging depositions I’ve ever seen in my thirty years practicing law.”
Nelson is one of the foremost leaders and experts in AI litigation. He was selected by the Court to serve as Interim Lead Class Counsel in MDL suits versus OpenAI and Microsoft, In re: Open AI Copyright Infringement Litigation (read more).
Nelson is co-lead counsel representing copyright owners against Anthropic, alleging Anthropic committed copyright infringement in its artificial intelligence systems. The case against Anthropic recently settled in “historic” fashion.
Nelson has a number of other cases regarding artificial intelligence, including other copyright matters along with patent litigation. He also is defending Media Matters against X Corp., a case that has received attention based on the implications for the First Amendment and for media organizations. Nelson also serves as an American Law Institute panel member on Civil Liability for Artificial Intelligence and speaks regularly on AI-related issues.
Nelson’s practice spans across other complex cases as well, from antitrust to bankruptcy to contractual disputes to fraud to patent litigation to trade secret theft.
Among other cases, Nelson was lead counsel for Green Mountain when it obtained a $64.5 million judgment against Ardagh in the Federal District Court of Delaware—a verdict upheld on appeal. Nelson won a $38 million judgment for repeat client, Fractus, (a case that later settled on appeal) and has led a strategy that has resulted in Fractus recovering over $100 million..
Dominion v. Fox was one of a number of high-profile cases for Nelson. In Dominion v. Fox, the summary judgment briefing in the case earned widespread praise from the legal community and the broader public alike. Nelson also represented a number of plaintiffs against a major car rental company that resulted in victories in court and ultimately a settlement. Nelson is also litigating refund claims on behalf of businesses against the United States for employee tax credit refunds (ERC). In addition, he is investigating tariff refund claims against the United States and has given interviews about it. Read more about that here.
Nelson previously represented various governmental individuals regarding the 2020 election. His clients included entities with both Republican and Democratic control. Among his clients, Nelson represented the Arizona Secretary of State in Bowyer v. Ducey and argued the successful motion to dismiss regarding the false allegations of election fraud. Nelson also successfully represented the Governor of Wisconsin in a series of litigations related to the 2020 election.
Nelson also represented a number of plaintiffs against a major car company that allegedly falsely reported its clients to the police for car theft. That case resulted in a combined nine-figure settlement across the hundreds of plaintiffs who had been injured by the false reports. The artificial intelligence cases and the ERC cases also have generated substantial attention given their intersection of law and policy—an area where Nelson often litigates.