Find Lawyers in Maryland, United States for Appellate Practice
Practice Area Overview
Appellate practice involves different skills and strategic considerations than trial practice. On appeal, the focus shifts from developing and proving facts (through discovery, examining witnesses, and trial) to the legal issues that decide the case. Effective appellate advocacy thus demands a formulation of the issues that is focused on what is important to a panel of appellate judges deciding the case.
In formulating the issues on appeal, an appellate lawyer conducts thorough legal research; analyzes the legal issues in light of the rule-making and policy considerations that shape the development of law; and then presents the facts and those issues and arguments selected for appeal concisely in a persuasive appellate brief.
The importance of a well-crafted appellate brief cannot be exaggerated. Appellate briefs receive greater judicial scrutiny than written materials prepared at trial because they are reviewed by a panel of judges, rather than a single judge, along with those judges’ larger legal staff, under comparatively less time pressure than exists in the trial court. As one appellate court has explained, appellate work is “most assuredly not the recycling of trial level points and authorities” but instead “entails rigorous original work in its own right” and “offers counsel probably their best opportunity to craft work of original, professional, and, on occasion, literary value.” In re Marriage of Shaban, 88 Cal. App. 4th 398, 408-10 (2001).
After the appellate briefing, oral argument is an opportunity to engage in a dialogue with the appellate judges regarding the issues in the case. To be effective, appellate oral advocacy must be keyed to the unique concerns of the appellate forum – avoiding emotional or fact-based pleas that may play well before a jury, but instead focusing on the dispositive legal issues, being sure to answer the judges’ questions.
In addition to the practice in the appellate courts, appellate lawyers play important roles in the trial courts. Appellate lawyers collaborate with trial counsel on strategic and tactical matters to raise all applicable arguments and make the appropriate trial record, identifying and preserving legal issues as they arise and crafting effective motions on substantive legal issues – before, during, and after trial.
Therefore, involving an appellate lawyer in a case as early as possible is important to ensure the best chance of success both at trial and on appeal.
Andy Freeman obtains justice for his clients. He has won numerous verdicts, judgments, and settlements of millions, tens of millions, and in one case over a billion dollars by mastering the relevant law and getting to know his clients, their problems, and the evidence in their cases. Other lawyers bring Andy cases that present complicated combinations of law and facts or that require making new law. After finding witnesses the defendant had failed to disclose, Andy won $7 million at trial for...
Andy Levy is widely regarded as one of Maryland’s premier trial and appellate lawyers, equally comfortable in civil and criminal courtrooms, before a jury, judge, or arbitrator. He is a Fellow of both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, one of the few lawyers in the country to have been inducted as a Fellow of both organizations. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America in nine categories: Appellate Practice, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Ci...
Dana McKee is one of Maryland’s foremost family law attorneys and a partner of Brown, Goldstein & Levy. She chairs the firm’s family law practice and has extensive experience representing clients with high net worth who are experiencing complex family law cases, including divorce, custody, and related financial issues. Clients turn to Dana for her leading expertise across all aspects of family law that affect their lives, with an emphasis on: Divorce and separation agreements ...
Meg McKee is Of Counsel to PK Law. She comes to the firm from Proctor & McKee, P.A. where she has practiced with Donald Proctor since 1999 and became a principal of the firm in 2003. Prior to that she was with Miles & Stockbridge and Smith, Somerville & Case. She has more than 25 years of experience representing clients in trials, arbitrations, mediations and appeals in matters involving complex commercial, corporate and business litigation, real property disputes and serious pers...
Stanley Reed is an attorney who heads Lerch, Early & Brewer's Litigation group in Bethesda, Maryland. His diverse law practice includes the representation of individuals and corporations in complex civil and employment litigation, white-collar criminal defense work, and the representation of lawyers and health care providers in professional responsibility matters. Stan also is noted for his adept handling of politically sensitive cases, grand jury investigations and parallel proceedings. ...
Lauren DiMartino joined Brown, Goldstein & Levy to represent clients across various areas of civil rights law, including fair housing, education and disability rights, police misconduct, and workplace discrimination. Her practice also includes appeals, commercial litigation, and criminal defense. Prior to joining BGL, Lauren was in Nashville clerking for Judge Martha Craig Daughtry on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She was previously the Legal Fellow at the University of Colorado Sch...
Neel Lalchandani represents individuals, nonprofits, and companies in a diverse array of civil rights and commercial matters. Among other victories for his clients, Neel has helped secure several of the largest payments in Maryland history for victims of police misconduct, including over $15 million in state compensation on behalf of innocent men imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. Neel has significant experience with complex litigation in both state and federal court as well as in arb...
Anthony J. May has represented clients in a variety of complex litigation matters including assisting employees with disabilities in obtaining accessible technology and accommodations in the workplace, representing individuals who have been wrongfully convicted, commercial litigation disputes, and fighting workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. Prior to joining the firm, Anthony was the Francis D. Murnaghan, Jr. Appellate Advocacy Fellow at The Public Justice Center, where he r...
Stephen Rigg joined Janet, Janet & Suggs, LLC after several years of representing individuals and companies at all stages of litigation. At JJS, his practice focuses on representing victims with complex cases requiring extensive pre- and post-trial proceedings. Stephen has brought to JJS his experience ranging from massive civil rights class actions to permitting disputes. In law school, Stephen served as a research assistant for several notable professors, including Donald G. Gifford and...
Jamie Strawbridge joined Brown Goldstein & Levy in February 2020. His practice includes cases involving civil rights, disability rights, housing discrimination, and commercial litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Jamie worked as an associate at Covington & Burling, where he represented clients in a wide variety of civil matters at the trial level and on appeal. Jamie has represented individuals and companies in cases involving discrimination, harassment, police misconduct, contractu...
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