Anthony J. Franze | People | Arnold & Porter

Anthony Franze is a member of the firm's Appellate & Supreme Court practice and has earned national recognition for his work in the U.S. Supreme Court and appellate law. He focuses on high-stakes cases requiring creative advocacy, is a regular media commentator, and critically acclaimed novelist.

High-Stakes Cases. Anthony has represented clients in more than forty cases before the U.S. Supreme Court as well as appeals in federal and state courts across the country. He has served as a national appellate counsel for some of the largest litigations in the country, and been recognized as a "superb advocate" (The Legal 500), a high court "aficionado" (National Law Journal), and was selected to DC Super Lawyers for appellate law. Beyond appellate matters, Anthony regularly provides strategic counseling on large scale litigation requiring both legal acumen and creative advocacy.

Public Service. Anthony also frequently represents clients in pro bono matters, advocating for the right to counsel, and for systemic judicial reform. In a Supreme Court death penalty case involving a defendant's right to federal habeas review, the National Law Journal commented 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."

Teaching & Scholarship. For more than a decade, Anthony was an adjunct professor of law at American University Washington School of Law and Michigan State's semester-in-D.C. program, teaching courses in Legal Rhetoric, Federal Courts, and Appellate Practice. He currently participates in a European faculty exchange program.

His "excellent annual reviews of Supreme Court amicus practice" have been cited by The New York Times, Washington Post, and numerous law reviews and textbooks (American Legal Process, 2d ed. 2020). His legal research and commentary have appeared in the Notre Dame Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, and the Harvard Journal of Law and Policy Review, and he has been individually profiled by The American Lawyer, Above the Law, The Vault, and The Huffington Post.

Critically-Acclaimed Novelist. Outside the office, Anthony is a critically acclaimed novelist of crime fiction. Writing under his own name and a pen name, his novels have been translated into more than twenty languages and have been optioned, or are in development, for major television series and films.

Focus Areas

Experience

Counterman v. Colorado, 143 S. Ct. 2106 (U.S. Supreme Court, 2023). Successfully represented client in landmark First Amendment case.
State of Arkansas v. Purdue Pharma L.P. et al. (Arkansas Supreme Court, 2021). Lead counsel obtaining dismissal of State's appeal.
Effler v. Purdue Pharma et al., (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2020). Lead counsel obtaining reversal in favor of all defendants in mass action.
Chen v. Dunkin' Brands, Inc., 954 F.3d 492 (2d Cir. 2020). Lead counsel in successful consumer class action appeal concerning personal jurisdiction and consumer advertising claims.
Dassey v. Dittmann, No. 17-1172 (Supreme Court, 2018). Counsel of record for amici former prosecutors in case profiled in the documentary Making a Murderer. The brief was featured in stories by The New York Times, Bloomberg, and The National Law Journal.

Marx v. General Revenue Corp., 133 S. Ct. 1166 (2015). Successfully represented client at the merits stage, where the Supreme Court held that defendants have the right to seek litigation costs under the federal debt collections statute.
ABC v. Aereo, 134 S. Ct. 2498 (2014). Counsel for amici the National Football League and Major League Baseball. Brief was subject of The Washington Post and numerous other media stories.
Henderson v. Shinseki, 131 S. Ct. 1197 (2012). Successfully represented petitioner at the petition and merits stages, where the Supreme Court held that the deadline for filing an appeal in Veterans Court is not jurisdictional.
Astra USA, Inc. v. Santa Clara County, 131 S. Ct. 1342 (2011). Successfully represented pharmaceutical manufacturer, where the Supreme Court held that plaintiffs have no private right of action to sue as third-party beneficiaries of contracts that implement a federal price control statute.
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.