Education:

J.D., Yale Law School, 2006

Book Reviews Editor, Yale Law Journal

Potter Stewart Prize (moot court winner)

Edgar M. Cullen Prize

Judge John R. Brown Award

U.S. Foreign Language & Area Studies Scholarship (Arabic)

A.M., Stanford University, 2000 

A.B., with honors and distinction, Stanford University, 2000

Phi Beta Kappa

Firestone Medal

President’s Award

Ariel N. Lavinbuk is a trial and appellate litigator whose practice largely focuses on intellectual property and international legal disputes.  He also counsels clients on matters related to government ethics, and has represented elected officials, their staff, and lobbyists in criminal actions and congressional investigations.

In recent years, Ariel has argued or briefed cases in numerous federal and state trial courts, and in nearly every federal court of appeals—including the Second, Fourth, Ninth, and D.C. Circuits. His Supreme Court experience includes petition and merits-stage briefing in seven cases, including most recently Costco v. Omega and Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, both of which concern the applicability of the Copyright Act's first-sale doctrine to copies made abroad.

Ariel began his career at McKinsey & Co., where he advised technology and media companies on a wide variety of strategic and organizational issues.  He also spent time on the management staff of Teach For America, where he placed nearly 2,000 teachers in over twenty school districts nationwide and disbursed millions of dollars in financial aid.

Ariel clerked for Judge Stephen F. Williams on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  He is widely published, with works appearing in the Harvard Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, and Slate, among other publications.  He is also a proud principal and founding board member of the Truman National Security Project, and is a frequent panelist at Georgetown Law School’s Supreme Court Institute.

Representative matters include:

• Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (No. 11-697):  Representing Costco Wholesale Corp., as amicus curiae in support of Petitioner, in a Supreme Court case addressing whether the Copyright Act’s first-sale doctrine reaches copies made abroad by a U.S. copyright holder.  A decision is expected by June 2013.

• Big Vision Pvt. Ltd. v. E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co. (No. 11 Civ. 8511, S.D.N.Y.):  Representing plaintiff in a suit alleging breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets in the global market for commercial banner technology.

• Moradi, et al. v. Adelson, et al. (No. 2:11-CV-490, D. Nev.) and Kohanim v. Adelson, et al. (No. A-11-636656-B, Nev.):  Representing the Board of Directors of Las Vegas Sands Corp. in state and federal shareholder-derivative suits alleging violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in Macau, China.

• Representing Freedom House, an international democracy-promotion organization, in connection with the criminal prosecution of seven employees, in Egypt, for distributing foreign aid and assistance to Egyptian political and civil society groups.

• Costco Wholesale Corp. v. Omega, S.A., 131 S. Ct. 565 (2010):  Successfully secured Supreme Court review, despite the contrary recommendation of the U.S. Solicitor General, of a Ninth Circuit decision holding that the Copyright Act’s first-sale doctrine does not apply to copies made outside the United States.  The decision below was affirmed without opinion by an equally divided Supreme Court.

• Atlantic Recording Corp., et al. v. Project Playlist, Inc. (No. 08 Civ. 3922, S.D.N.Y.):  Represented major record label plaintiffs in a copyright infringement suit against a streaming-music website.  The matter settled after defendant’s motion to dismiss was denied.

• Pegasus Imaging Corp. v. Northrop Grumman Corp., et al. (No. 8:07-CV-01937, M.D. Fla.) and Pegasus Imaging Corp. v. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., (No. 8:2010-CV-01617, D. Mass.):  Represented defendant Northrop Grumman in suits alleging copyright infringement and breach of software license.  The matters settled after defendants secured a mistrial in one action.

• Advised a major financial-services firm on ICANN’s expansion of the World-Wide Web’s general Top-Level Domains (gTLDs).

• Represented a sitting Member of Congress, during a high-profile Senate campaign, in connection with an investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE).  The investigation was ultimately dropped without becoming public.

• Represented two lobbyists for a major financial-services firm in connection with a criminal investigation of lobbying disclosure irregularities.  The investigation was ultimately dropped without charges and without becoming public.