Appellate

Montgomery McCracken’s Appellate Practice includes attorneys who have won appeals in the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Courts of Appeal for the Third Circuit and most other circuits, the Supreme, Superior, and Commonwealth Courts of Pennsylvania, and the appellate courts of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and other states. Many attorneys in the group had judicial clerkships in federal and state courts and have served on the law reviews or faculties of leading law schools.

Excellence in appellate advocacy demands a particular combination of skills that even the most skilled trial lawyers may not possess. The likelihood of prevailing on appeal increases significantly when a party’s briefs are compelling, carefully researched, and well-written. At oral argument, advocates with appellate experience understand how to answer judges’ questions persuasively—a different skill than delivering an impassioned speech to a jury. In deciding what arguments will best serve our clients’ interests on appeal, we capitalize on existing precedent, differentiate less favorable cases, and provide solutions to appellate judges concerned about how their rulings will apply in future cases.

Attorneys in our Appellate Practice regularly handle appeals after our colleagues ably represented clients in a trial court or before an administrative agency. Our task is to convince the appellate court to uphold our client’s victory below. Other times, clients may retain us when their cases reach the appellate stage, either to contest a disappointing result or defend a successful outcome. In those cases, we work cooperatively with the client’s other lawyers to seek the best possible outcome on appeal.

In addition to traditional appellate work, attorneys from the group serve as extra hands at trial to focus on preservation issues, evidentiary proffers, motions in limine, and bench briefs. We also provide extra support to busy trial attorneys before trial by handling significant briefing like summary judgment and class certification.

Experience