Federal Court Appeals

Appeals are not trials with different clothes. They are argued from a closed record to judges who have read the briefs, on issues that were either preserved below or lost forever.

Our appellate practice covers direct criminal appeals, civil appeals, petitions for review of agency action, interlocutory and mandamus petitions, and certiorari practice in the Supreme Court of the United States. We appear in the regional courts of appeals and the Federal Circuit, and we regularly serve as appellate counsel in cases tried by other firms.

The first work in any appeal is diagnostic and unsentimental. We read the record — the whole record — and identify which issues were preserved, which are reviewable only for plain error, what standard of review governs each one, and which of them a panel might actually be persuaded to reverse on. Most appellate briefs fail because they raise eight issues instead of two. A client is better served by a candid assessment that the strongest argument is a sentencing issue than by a brief that treats every adverse ruling as equally meritorious.

We also engage before judgment. Appellate counsel brought in during trial preparation can preserve objections that would otherwise be waived, shape jury instructions with the standard of review in mind, and make the offers of proof that create a reviewable record. That involvement costs a fraction of what a lost issue costs on appeal.

Beyond merits briefing, we handle the surrounding practice: motions for release pending appeal, stays and injunctions pending review, petitions for rehearing and rehearing en banc, supplemental authority under Rule 28(j), and amicus coordination. Where a case presents a genuine circuit split or an issue of national importance, we evaluate certiorari honestly — including the frequent answer that a petition is not warranted.

What we handle

• Direct criminal appeals in all circuits
• Civil and commercial appeals
• Petitions for review of agency action
• Interlocutory appeals and mandamus petitions
• Petitions for rehearing and rehearing en banc
• Supreme Court certiorari and merits practice
• Release, stay, and injunction pending appeal
• Record and issue-preservation consulting during trial
• Amicus brief drafting and coordination
• Appellate opinion assessment and second-opinion review

Who we represent

• Criminal defendants after conviction or sentence
• Civil litigants after adverse judgment
• Parties challenging or defending agency action
• Trial counsel seeking appellate co-counsel
• Amici and interested organizations
• Clients evaluating whether an appeal is worth taking