Appellate
The attorneys at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP understand that the need for appellate expertise begins in the trial court. At every step of litigation, the firm's litigators keep in mind the possibility of appellate review. For example, many rulings by the court before judgment cause prejudice to the client that cannot be corrected without the extraordinary relief of a writ petition. Sheppard Mullin attorneys have filed and defended against countless writ petitions, and have developed the judgment to counsel a client when a writ petition is warranted and to determine the odds of its success. Other errors before judgment can only be corrected by a post-judgment appeal, but in the meantime the record must be preserved or the issue is waived. All of Sheppard Mullin's litigators, not just the firm's Appellate attorneys, are trained on techniques to properly preserve the record in the trial court.
Whether the client selects Sheppard Mullin during trial or immediately following as appellate counsel, we have lawyers with both the experience and expertise required to preserve a hard fought victory or reverse an unfair judgment. On the other hand, our attorneys also have the wisdom to know when a matter might settle favorably on appeal.
A commonly held myth is that any litigator can handle a matter on appeal. Effective advocacy skills in the trial court, however, do not necessarily transfer to the appellate arena. The appellate process requires specific written and oral advocacy skills, as well as a strong working understanding of the appellate process. Sheppard Mullin has attorneys with this level of expertise. Our attorneys can evaluate effectively the potential merits of an appeal or writ and persuasively advocate our client's position both in written briefs and at oral argument, all the time integrating knowledge of the appellate process. Our high level of expertise allows us to deal with complicated and sophisticated legal matters on appeal. At the same time, we strive to provide the appellate court with a fresh look at the issues, as well as work to persuade the court to rule in our client's favor.
Sheppard Mullin has attorneys who are admitted to practice at every level of the California and federal appellate court system. Our expertise in briefing and arguing appellate cases, both for parties and as amicus spans all levels of the state and federal systems and up to the United States Supreme Court. The firm also has attorneys experienced in bankruptcy and tax appeals.
In fact, Sheppard Mullin has provided appellate counsel for a broad range of clients spanning diverse areas of litigation, including:
- General business
- Professional malpractice
- Labor and employment
- Financial services
- Intellectual property and technology
- Securities
- Product liability
- Wrongful death
- Healthcare
- Real estate
- Antitrust
- Civil procedure and discovery
- Unfair competition
- White collar crime
- Tax
- Bankruptcy