Appellate

 As appellate specialists, we partner with trial teams inside and outside our firm to develop successful legal strategies and present compelling arguments in our clients’ most important trials and appeals. 

And we are among the best at what we do. Chambers USA describes our team as “a destination appellate practice” and “pretty widely recognized as number one” in Texas. We’re one of three firms to receive the highest rating (Band 1) in Texas appellate litigation in the Chambers USA (Chambers and Partners) 2024 directory.

That is no accident. We have earned those accolades and the trust of our clients through decades of dedicated client service, seamless collaboration with trial lawyers, and briefs that are hard to ignore. We have delivered precedent-setting victories in bet-the-company appeals across a wide variety of subject matters. And we have earned the respect of judges across the country along the way. While we litigate cases from coast to coast, our practice is especially strong in these forums:

Texas/Fifth Circuit Our foundation is litigation in Texas state and federal courts. Many of our appellate lawyers have clerked at the Fifth Circuit or the Texas Supreme Court (or both), and we’ve led countless appeals in those courts and other Texas intermediate appellate courts. For any civil appeal in Texas or the Fifth Circuit, there’s a good chance we’ve been there and done that.  

U.S. Supreme Court We also have one of the nation’s leading U.S. Supreme Court practices, led by Daniel L. Geyser. Listed among the “veritable who’s who of the Supreme Court bar” (Empirical SCOTUS, 2018), Dan has argued 17 Supreme Court cases in private practice, notching “rare victor[ies]” (SCOTUSblog, 2021) in cases that industry experts said could not be won. In the past three Terms, our group has had five writs of certiorari granted, argued six merits cases, and secured multiple wins in business disputes—a uniquely strong national record.

Federal Circuit Bolstering the firm’s prominence in intellectual property, our group also boasts a top-notch Federal Circuit appellate practice, adept at handling appeals from both district courts and the Patent Office on defining questions of law. The group is led by Debbie McComas, who ranks third in overall performance in the Federal Circuit according to Patexia’s CAFC Intelligence Report (2023), and is stocked with other lawyers who clerked at the Federal Circuit and in trial courts with active patent dockets.

A primary reason for that record is our deep bench of talented lawyers. Like any strong group, the standard for excellence starts at the top, with three legends of the Texas appellate bar—Nina Cortell, Lynne Liberato, and Mike Hatchell—each of whom has received the Texas Bar Foundation’s prestigious Gregory S. Coleman Outstanding Appellate Lawyer Award (in 2015, 2016, and 2019).

Further, with one of the largest full-time appellate teams of any firm in Texas, our group stands out for having outstanding appellate lawyers in every generation. In addition to the three legends above, Chambers USA recognized six other members of our group as leaders in Texas appellate litigation in its 2024 directory—lawyers in the prime of their careers. And working right with them are up-and-coming young partners, counsel, and talented associates who are positioned to grow with your business for decades to come.

Another differentiator is our group’s ability to jump in and contribute long before the appeal, when the case is still in the trial court. What we bring to the table there is often as important as what we do on appeal. Through a laser-focused approach to shaping litigation strategy, preserving error, crafting and arguing the jury charge, and preparing all manner of legal briefing, our appellate lawyers can help you achieve your goals in the trial court—or at least make sure that an adverse result is well-positioned for reversal on appeal. To assist in that work, we use cutting-edge empirical studies we conceived and conducted to evaluate the likely outcome of the appeal and guide our trial and appellate strategy.

For all these reasons and so many more, our Appellate Practice Group is here to help with your most important trials and appeals.