Appeals

Home / Practices / Appeals
All practices
LitigationAppellate

Appeals can lock in a win or reverse a loss, and our appellate lawyers handle federal and state appeals across our practice areas, framing the record and the law to protect favorable outcomes and challenge adverse ones.

An appeal is a different kind of advocacy: no new evidence, a colder record, and judges focused on legal error rather than the equities of the moment. We write briefs that get to the point and argue them with command of the standard of review. When the dispute involves technology, our engineering background helps appellate panels grasp the facts that the legal arguments turn on.

Federal Courts Of Appeals

We handle appeals from federal district court judgments through the courts of appeals, along with interlocutory appeals and petitions where the rules allow. We frame the issues around the applicable standard of review, build the argument from the record below, and preserve the points that give you the best chance at the next level, including the path to seeking Supreme Court review.

State Court Appeals

State appellate practice has its own rules, deadlines, and preservation requirements, and missing them can forfeit an otherwise strong argument. We handle appeals through state intermediate and high courts, attending to the procedural details that decide whether an issue is even heard. We tailor each brief to the standards and tendencies of the particular court, building the argument the record will support.

Preserving Error At Trial

Most appeals are won or lost in the trial court. We work with trial teams to raise and preserve the objections, offers of proof, and motions that keep issues alive for review, and we spot the appealable errors others miss. Whether we tried the case or come in fresh, we focus the appeal on the errors most likely to change the result.

Frequently asked questions

Usually you appeal from a final judgment that resolves all the claims against all the parties, so you generally do have to wait for the end. There are narrow exceptions for immediate, interlocutory appeals, such as orders on injunctions, class certification decisions, and questions the trial court certifies under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) as controlling issues of law. Outside those, you wait for the final judgment.

It depends on the issue, and the standard of review largely drives your odds. Legal questions get reviewed fresh (de novo), factual findings only get overturned for clear error, and discretionary calls only for abuse of discretion. So a pure legal error is much easier to reverse than a trial judge's factual or discretionary ruling.

In a federal civil case, you generally have 30 days from entry of judgment to file the notice of appeal. Certain post-trial motions pause that clock until they're decided. Treat the deadline as hard: it's typically jurisdictional, meaning that if you miss it, the court usually can't hear the appeal at all.

You have to raise it in the trial court first, with a timely objection, motion, or offer of proof, or the appellate court usually won't consider it. If you don't preserve the issue, you're left arguing plain error, a much tougher standard that rarely succeeds. The takeaway is to object on the record at the time, not after the fact.

A reversal can send the case back for a new trial, direct that judgment be entered for your side, or remand with instructions to address specific issues. What happens depends on why the appellate court reversed and how detailed its directions are. Sometimes the win ends the case, and sometimes it just resets it for another round in the trial court.

Our team

People in this practice

Document products

Related document products

Order attorney-drafted documents related to this practice.

Browse all products

Bring our appeals team to your next matter.

Get in touch