Caroline Cease is a litigator in the firm’s Investigations, Compliance and Defense Practice; its Appellate and Supreme Court Practice; and its Government Controversies and Public Policy Practice.  Her work centers on managing large-scale matters that often touch on high-profile and sensitive issues.

Ms. Cease has significant experience advising clients in internal and external investigations, as well as counseling companies on matters of public policy.  In addition, she has significant experience, including leadership roles, in vetting individuals for high-profile appointments, including assessing potential conflicts of interest those appointments might pose.  Further, Ms. Cease litigates at the trial and appellate level, and she has been the primary author of appellate briefs filed in state and federal courts nationwide, as well as trial-level briefs filed with federal district courts and regulatory agencies.  She also regularly represents clients as amici in the Supreme Court and federal Courts of Appeals in cases involving qualified immunity and government overreach.

Ms. Cease maintains a robust pro bono practice, with a focus on civil rights and criminal defense issues.  She is part of a team that represents Sarah Collins Rudolph, the “fifth little girl” who was seriously injured in the 1963 16th Street Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama.  The team’s work, including their letter to Governor Kaye Ivey and the governor’s response apologizing to Ms. Rudolph, has been featured in numerous news reports including in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and on CNN. 

Ms. Cease received her JD from the University of Alabama School of Law, where she graduated first in her class, served as an executive editor for the Alabama Law Review, and was a Hugo L. Black Scholar.  She graduated magna cum laude from the University of South Carolina with a BA in political science and in sociology.

Prior to joining Jenner & Block, Ms. Cease clerked for Judge Peter W. Hall of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, then-Chief Judge Ed Carnes of the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and Judge L. Scott Coogler of the US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.