Appellate and Supreme Court

Reeves Anderson is an associate in Arnold & Porter's Appellate & Supreme Court and Litigation practice groups in Washington, DC. 

Mr. Anderson's practice focuses on complex questions of constitutional, statutory, and international law. He recently has handled trial and appellate litigation in cases involving the First Amendment, the False Claims Act, the Copyright Act, and the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. Mr. Anderson also represents and counsels foreign governments, foreign officials, and multinational corporations on various matters of transnational law, including sovereign immunity, the Alien Tort Statute, and the enforcement and recognition of foreign judgments. 

As a member of the firm's Appellate group, Mr. Anderson has served as co-counsel for amicus and merits clients in nineteen cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, and has litigated multiple cases in the federal courts of appeals. He represented parties in four cases argued in the Supreme Court this term (three wins, one pending).

Mr. Anderson also maintains an active pro bono practice and was appointed to the firm's Pro Bono Committee in 2011. He represented Georgia death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis. 

Mr. Anderson graduated as valedictorian from North Carolina State University with degrees in political science and chemistry, and earned a Master's degree from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. At Yale Law School he served as the managing editor of the Yale Journal of Law & Technology. Mr. Anderson's research on the Supreme Court has been published by the National Law Journal and cited in the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and other prominent news outlets.

From 2008 to 2009, Mr. Anderson served as a law clerk for the Honorable Stephen C. Robinson in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Appellate and Supreme Court Representative Matters

Briefed before the Supreme Court

• Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, No. 12-399 (argued Apr. 16, 2013). Represented petitioners at the certiorari and merits stages in an adoption dispute under the Indian Child Welfare Act.
• Tarrant Regional Water Dist. v. Herrmann, 569 U.S. ___ (2013). Represented respondents in an water rights dispute between Oklahoma and Texas over the Red River Compact, in which the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Oklahoma's water statutes are neither preempted by the Compact nor prohibited by the Commerce Clause.
• Marx v. General Revenue Corp., 133 S. Ct. 1166 (2013). Represented respondent at the merits stage, where the Supreme Court affirmed the right of prevailing defendants to seek litigation costs under the federal debt collections statute.
• Kloeckner v. Solis, 133 S. Ct. 596 (2012). Represented petitioner at the certiorari and merits stages, where the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a federal employee who claims that an adverse employment action violates an antidiscrimination statute should seek judicial review in district court, not the Federal Circuit.
• Henderson v. Shinseki, 131 S. Ct. 1197 (2011). Represented petitioner at the merits stage, where the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the deadline for filing a notice of appeal with the Veterans Court does not have jurisdictional consequences.
• Sample amicus briefs in argued cases:
  • Fisher v. University of Texas, No. 11-345 (argued Oct. 10, 2012). Represented the American Psychological Association setting forth social science research regarding the educational benefits of diversity and the use of race as a factor in student admissions by colleges and universities.
  • Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, 569 U.S. ___ (Alien Tort Statute). Represented multinational companies regarding the extraterritorial scope of the Alien Tort Statute.
  • Brown v. Plata, 131 S. Ct. 1910 (2011) (Eighth Amendment). Represented health care groups, including the AmericanPublic Health Association and the American Nurses Association, to clarify professional standards of required medical care in correctional facilities.
  • Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, 131 S. Ct. 2729 (2011) (First Amendment). Represented the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in opposition to California's law banning the sale or rental of violent video games to minors.
  • Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, 130 S. Ct. 2971 (2010) (First Amendment). Represented the National School Boards Association in defense of Hastings Law School's non-discrimination policy for student groups.

Recent Litigation

• Won dismissal of all claims against a South American government in a multi-billion dollar lawsuit over the rights to recover a sunken treasure ship. Sea Search Armada v. Republic of Colombia, 821 F. Supp. 2d 268 (D.D.C. 2011), aff'd 2013 WL 1729508 (D.C. Cir. Apr. 8, 2013).
• Successfully defended a leading financial service provider on appeal under the False Claims Act. United States ex rel. Batiste v. SLM Corporation, 659 F.3d 1204 (D.C. Cir. 2011).
• Secured dismissal of claims against high-ranking foreign officials in multiple suits brought under the Alien Tort Statute.
• Successfully represented television broadcasters on appeal in a copyright infringement suit to prevent unauthorized retransmission of TV programming over the Internet. WPIX, Inc. v. ivi, Inc., 691 F.3d 275 (2d Cir. 2012).
• Defeated a petition for international discovery relating to proceedings in a foreign tribunal. In re Application of Thai-Lao Lignite, 821 F. Supp. 2d 289 (D.D.C. 2011).