Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Don Ayer focuses on constitutional, statutory, and regulatory litigation in trial and appellate courts and in appellate litigation covering virtually all subject matters. Don is the Firm's most experienced Supreme Court lawyer, with 17 arguments before the Court. He has argued more than 60 other appeals. His experience covers subject areas ranging from criminal appeals to business torts to a wide range of constitutional and technical statutory and regulatory issues. He also has been lead counsel in 20 federal court jury trials.

Don previously served as the deputy attorney general and principal deputy solicitor general of the United States and as the United States attorney for the Eastern District of California.

He has served as president of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court in Washington, D.C. (2006-2007) and was recently named president-elect of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. He currently teaches a course in Supreme Court advocacy at Georgetown University Law Center and a Supreme Court advocacy clinic at New York University School of Law.

Don is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (appellate practice), Who's Who in America, and Who's Who in the World. He is a member of the ALI, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and serves on the advisory boards of the NYU Institute of Judicial Administration, the Georgetown law school Supreme Court Institute, the State and Local Legal Center, and the Publications Committee of the Supreme Court Historical Society.

A partial list of matters Don has handled in the United States Supreme Court appears under "Experience."

Areas of Practice

• Government Regulation
• Issues & Appeals
• Appellate Advocacy in the U.S. Supreme Court
• Appellate Litigation in Other Federal & State Courts
• Trial Litigation in Federal & State Courts
• Statutory & Regulatory Litigation
• Product Liability & Tort Litigation

Representative Cases

• Barnhart v. Sigmon Coal. Co., 534 U.S. 438 (2002)
• Fred Haynes, et al. v. American Standard Inc., 2002 WL 1972281 (10th Cir.)
• AlliedSignal Recovery Trust v. AlliedSignal Inc., et al., 298 F.3d 263 (3rd Cir. 2002)
• AlliedSignal v. Breed Technologies
• Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington, 538 U.S. 216 (2003)
• Chappell v. McCargar, 152 Fed. Appx. 571 (9th Cir. 2005)
• Dimick, et al. v. Republican Party of Minnesota, et al.,No. 05-566 (U.S.S.C.)
• Eastern Enterprises v. Apfel (524 U.S. 498 (1998))
• Florence County School District Four v. Shannon Carter, by & Through Emory Carter, 510 U.S. 7 (1993)
• In re Client Z v. Ashcroft
• Kansas Judicial Watch, et al. v. Mike L. Stout, et al., 519 F.3d 1107 (10th Cir. 2008)
• Koons Buick v. Nigh, 543 U.S. 50 (2004)
• Lambirth v. Cambra , (2006)
• Lingle v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc., 125 S.Ct. 2074
• Mariner Health v. PricewaterhouseCoopers, Case No. 02VS037631-F
• Nigh v. Koons Buick, 125 S. Ct. 460 (2004)
• NTP, Inc. v. Research In Motion, Ltd., No. 3:01CV767, 2003 WL 23100881 (E.D. Va.)
• Ortega v. Star-Kist Foods, Inc., Case No. 04-79 (U.S.); Rosario-Ortega v. Star Kist Foods,Inc., 370 F.3d 124 (1st. Cir. 2004)
• People v. Cole, 38 Cal.4th 964 (2006).
• Poole v. Family Ct., 368 F.3d 263 (3d Cir. 2004); Poole v. Family Ct., No. 04-318 (U.S. 2004)
• R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Nilo D. Tuazon, No. 05-1525 (U.S.)
• State of Ohio v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 03-0860 (Ohio 2004)
• Taita Chem. Co. v. Westlake Styrene LP, 351 F.3d 663 (5th Cir. 2003)
• Turner v. Bagley, No. 03-3130 (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit) , (2005)
• U.S. ex rel Boisvert v. FMC Corp., No. C-86-20613 (N.D. Cal)
• Wilkinson v. Dotson, 2005 WL 516415 (U.S.)
• Woodford v. Ngo, No. 05-416 (U.S.) , (2006)

West Practice Categories

Alcoholic Beverages, Apparel, Asbestos, Bankruptcy Litigation, Chemicals & Cosmetics, Class Actions, Complex Litigation, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Claims Court, Federal Trial Practice, Firearms, Food & Agricultural Products, Food & Drug Administration, Government Agencies & Programs, Housing & Urban Development, International Trade Litigation, Law Enforcement Agencies, Litigation & Appeals, Machinery & Tools, Medical Products & Devices, Medicare & Medicaid, Military & Veterans Appeals, Motor Vehicle Defects, Multidistrict Litigation, Patent Litigation, Pharmaceutical Products, Products Liability Law, Recreational Products, Social Security -- Disability, Social Security -- Retirement & Survivors Benefits, State & Local Agencies, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, State, Local & Municipal Law, Tax Litigation, Tobacco, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, US Supreme Court, Veterans' Affairs, Welfare

Bar Admissions

• California
• District of Columbia

Education

• Harvard University

Published Works

• A Post-Aviall Circuit Split: A Chance for the Supreme Court to Decide Whether CERCLA § 107 Provides a Right to Contribution Under CERCLA, 2006
• Pro Bono Report 2005, 2006
• The Pro Bono Arena: Where A Lawyer’s Skills Can Mean The Difference Between Life And Death, The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, 2005

Address

51 Louisiana Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001-2113

Phones

1.202.879.4689 (Business Phone)

Faxes

1.202.626.1700 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com