Jon B. Eisenberg has more than four decades of experience in appellate litigation. He is the author of the leading treatise on California civil appellate practice, The Rutter Group’s “California Practice Guide: Civil Appeals
and Writs,” and is a Past-President of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers. Jon has argued a
dozen cases in the California Supreme Court and some 100 cases in the California Courts of
Appeal and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the District of Columbia Circuit.
Jon’s clients have ranged from Fortune 500 companies to nonprofit entities and to individuals of modest means in pro bono and public interest litigation. He has participated in numerous civil rights cases involving issues such as
the right to die, same-sex marriage, sexual orientation discrimination, free speech, national security, and
force-feeding of hunger-striking detainees at Guantánamo Bay. His 2006 book “The Right vs. The Right to Die”
is a nonfiction account of the Terri Schiavo case, in which he participated as one of the attorneys
representing Terri’s husband, Michael Schiavo. The Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal named
him one of the Top 100 California lawyers for 2021. In 2019, Jon became the second inductee into the California Lawyers Association "Appellate Lawyer Hall of Fame." In 2016, he received the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Pamela E. Dunn Appellate Justice Award for his “extraordinary contributions to appellate
justice.”In 2011, he received California Lawyer magazine’s “Attorney of the Year” (CLAY) award in constitutional law for his work on a lawsuit challenging President George W. Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program.
In 2010, he was featured in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal as one of ten
“Lawyers Who Helped Shape a Decade."
Jon is now retired from active law practice.
| Education |
University of California, Hastings College of Law,
J.D. 1979
University of California, Irvine, B.A. 1974
| Judicial Clerkships |
Hon. Winslow Christian,
California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District (1979-1980)
Hon. Donald B. King,
California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District (1983-1996)
| Bar Admissions |
California
U.S. Supreme Court
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. District Court, Northern and Central California Districts
| Professional Affiliations |
Member, California Academy of Appellate Lawyers
Fellow, American Academy of Appellate Lawyers
| Litigation Experience |
Law Office of Jon B. Eisenberg, 2018-2021
Horvitz & Levy LLP, 1996-2006 & 2012-2018
Eisenberg & Hancock LLP, 2006-2012
Farella, Braun & Martel LLP, 1978-1980 & 1982-1984
| Boards and Commissions |
California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, President 2016-2017
California Appellate Process Task Force (“Strankman Commission”),1997-2000
Alameda County Bar Association, board of directors, 1993-1995
| Teaching |
University of California, Hastings College of Law, Adjunct Professor, 2001-2011 (appellate process)
Frequent lecturer in Continuing Legal Education
