Appellate and Supreme Court

Anthony Franze is a member of Arnold & Porter LLP's Appellate and Supreme Court and Litigation practice groups and has handled significant cases and appeals before state and federal courts across the country.

Mr. Franze has represented clients in numerous cases at the petition, amicus, and merits stages in the United States Supreme Court. Since 2011, he represented clients  in four merits cases -- each a unanimous victory for the firm's clients. The Legal 500, in ranking the firm as having one of the best Supreme Court and appellate practices in 2012, noted Mr. Franze's "excellent reputation." 

Mr. Franze also represents clients in complex litigation matters, including multiple civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) cases, parallel state and federal putative class actions alleging price fixing, and various government investigations. He has represented an agribusiness in several antitrust class actions, successfully defended US corporations in a series of RICO cases brought by foreign governments alleging contraband abroad, and an automobile insurance company in a discrimination class action.

For the past decade Mr. Franze also has been an adjunct professor of law.  From 2001 to 2003, he was an adjunct professor at American University, Washington College of Law. Since 2004, he has been an adjunct Professor of Law for Michigan State University's semester-in-DC program, where his courses have included Federal Jurisdiction and Appellate Practice. He also has participated in MSU's foreign faculty exchange program, teaching US law at a European law school.

Mr. Franze has published several articles in leading law journals, including the Harvard Journal of Law and Policy Review Online, the Notre Dame Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, and many others.  The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and other prominent news outlets have quoted or cited Mr. Franze about his research on the Supreme Court.  He also has been a commentator for Bloomberg, SCOTUSblog, and the Supreme Court Insider.

Mr. Franze is a magna cum laude graduate of Notre Dame Law School where he was a member of the Law Review.

Appellate and Supreme Court Representative Matters

Appellate

Merits stage

• Henderson v. Shinseki, 562 U.S. ___ (2011).Successfully represented petitioner at the petition and merits stages. Unanimous decision in favor of the firm's pro bono client holding that deadline for filing appeal in Veterans Court is not jurisdictional. 
• Astra USA, Inc. v. Santa Clara County, 563 U.S. ___ (2011). Unanimous decision in favor of the firm's client and other pharmaceutical manufacturers holding that plaintiffs have no private right of action to sue as third-party beneficiaries of contracts that implement a federal price control statute.
• Thompson v. North American Stainless, 562 U.S. ___ (2011). Unanimous decision in favor of the firm's client holding that Title VII protects employees' close relations from unlawful dismissal. Co-counsel with Prof. Eric Schnapper.

Amicus stage

• Maples v. Thomas, 132 S. Ct. 912 (2012). Counsel for amicus NACDL et al. The National Law Journal noted that "although Franze would not say so, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's majority opinion seemed to draw inspiration from his brief, especially in its critique of the Alabama indigent defense system."
• Turner v. Rogers, 131 S. Ct. 2057 (2011). Counsel of record on behalf of former head of state social services department in case involving due process and right to counsel for civil contemnors.
• Rothgery v. Gillespie County, 554 U.S. 191 (2008). Counsel of record on behalf of the Brennan Center, NAACP Legal Defense Fund and other amici. Majority opinion quoted and relied on the amicus brief.
• Panetti v. Quaterman, 551 U.S. 930 (2007). Represented legal historians as amici concerning death penalty issue. Brief was partial focus of National Press Club briefing.
• Kowalski v. Tesmer, 543 U.S. 125 (2004) and Halbert v. Michigan, 545 U.S. 605 (2005). Counsel of record on behalf of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and other amici. The majority and dissenting opinions in these companion cases quoted and relied extensively on the amicus briefs.

Representative Litigation

• Schoenbaum v. E.I. Dupont De Nemours and Co. Represented Monsanto in 13 consolidated antitrust putative class actions in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
• Amos v. GEICO Corporation, 2008 WL 4425370 (D. Minn. Sept. 24, 2008). Defeated certification of national class action and secured dismissal of case challenging as discriminatory GEICO's consideration of occupation and education level in underwriting.
• Pullen Seeds and Soil v. Monsanto Co. and Wade Farms, et al.v. Monsanto Co., 2007 WL 2071752 (D. Del. July 18, 2007). Co-counsel, successfully obtained dismissal of putative class actions at pre-trial stage.