The Appellate Practice Group provides exceptional written and oral advocacy at every level of litigation in the broad spectrum of jurisdictions and substantive areas of the law in which the firm practices. In addition to its traditional function of handling appeals, the group serves our clients by becoming involved in their most difficult and complex cases at the early stages of litigation. The group routinely provides assistance with developing litigation strategy, drafting dispositive motions, monitoring trials, and crafting post-trial motions. The group enjoys a well-earned reputation for creative, nuanced, and thorough legal analysis, and is frequently at the forefront of developing areas of the law.

Pre-Trial, Post-Trial, and Appellate Advocacy

We provide appellate expertise at all levels of litigation, including:

• Counseling: While trial attorneys properly focus on winning the trial, appellate attorneys focus on the larger goal of winning the case through the pre-trial, trial, post-trial, and appellate processes. Our attorneys assist in the development of litigation strategy to position issues for appeal or, in some cases, to avoid an appeal altogether.
• Motions Practice: In complex trials, our attorneys identify and develop the important legal issues through pre-trial motions, trial briefs, oral argument, and interlocutory appeals.
• Trial Monitoring: In high-exposure cases, our attorneys monitor the trial to ensure preservation of the record, identify trial court errors, and, if necessary, facilitate settlement.
• Post-Trial Intervention: At the critical post-trial stage, where the appeal issues are identified and developed, our attorneys take over cases to provide a fresh perspective of the record and an objective evaluation of the appeal prospects.
• Appeals: Our attorneys craft creative and persuasive appellate arguments, drawing upon our nuanced understanding of the appellate rules and thorough knowledge of the record in each case. Our expertise in appellate practice and procedure often provides us a strategic advantage over our opponents, and we regularly use this advantage to obtain a successful result for our clients.

We endeavor to do this in a cost-effective manner that is collaborative - and not duplicative - of the efforts of litigation counsel.

As an added service for the firm's clients, the Appellate Practice Group publishes Court Crier, a weekly e-newsletter that monitors the state and federal appellate courts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States, to report breaking appellate decisions. To review Court Crier's recent discussion of cases affecting your business or industry, click here. To subscribe to Court Crier, please visit the Contact Us page. Be sure to provide your contact information, including email address, and include "Court Crier" in the message box.

Recent Noteworthy Successes

Recent Articles/Publications