Experienced and Highly-credentialed Team
Our appellate team is well-recognized and highly sought after; it includes former assistant attorneys general and several attorneys who held federal appellate clerkships before joining the firm.
We have handled high-stakes appeals in courts throughout the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court and nearly all U.S. Courts of Appeals, and we routinely collaborate with others to devise appellate and impact litigation strategies around particular issues.
The members of our team also have significant experience in the trial courts and before administrative agencies. Many worked in government, “Big Law” firms, and nonprofits before joining Pollock Cohen. This comprehensive understanding of the entire legal system ensures that our clients receive the best possible advice at every stage of the litigation process.
Our attorneys frequently write and present on appellate and constitutional issues, have been appointed to serve on the Criminal Justice Act panels to represent indigent defendants on appeal in the First and Sixth Circuits, and are often sought out for their expertise by the press, including the Washington Post, USA Today, The Hill, and SCOTUS blog.
Broad Range of Subject Matter Expertise
Our attorneys have represented individuals, non-profits, companies, and government entities in appeals in state intermediate and supreme courts, the federal circuit courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court. They have won precedent-setting appeals in both civil and criminal cases.
Our appellate experience covers a wide range of subject matters, and spans all areas of our practice—from whistleblower and public impact cases, to federal and state constitutional disputes, to complex regulatory and commercial litigation.
U.S. Supreme Court
We frequently litigate at the U.S. Supreme Court and our attorneys have represented parties before the Court at both the certiorari and merits stages.
We are routinely called upon to author amicus or “friend-of-the-court” briefs in landmark cases at the Court. Recently, our attorneys filed briefs at the Court on behalf of members of Congress, a coalition of business groups, an international non-profit, respected academics, and a state government.
Our Appellate Services
Appellate counseling is a critical part of an overall litigation strategy. The services our appellate attorneys can provide clients include:
- Writing appellate briefs;
- Presenting oral argument;
- Seeking or opposing discretionary appellate review in state supreme courts and the U.S. Supreme Court;
- Amicus briefs;
- Collaborating with other attorneys and firms on complex, high-stakes appellate litigation;
- Consulting with trial counsel in trial court proceedings to assist with case strategy, issue framing and preservation, and motion-writing;
Whether your case is currently on appeal or headed there, our attorneys have the experience and expertise needed to maximize your chances of a successful outcome.
An appeal is a request to a reviewing office / different court to review a decision. It is not a retrial or a new trial of the case.
When filing an appeal, you must identify any erroneous conclusions When an appeal is filed, it will be reviewed to ascertain whether the reviewing office can take it on Generally appeals are decided on written briefs alone, although some cases are selected for an oral argument before the court.
You must file an appeal within 30 days from the date of the decision.
The appeals process varies not only between the federal and state courts but within the states themselves as well.
- Representing estate and family at Second Circuit in lawsuit arguing that health insurance company owed duty of care under New York law when conducting a prior authorization that denied decedent’s access to needed medical care.
- Representing New York City retirees in First Department (NY) appeal of lawsuit challenging City’s attempt to change retirees’ health insurance coverage.
- Represented whistleblower in First Department (NY) in successful appeal reversing dismissal of retaliation claim, in a case of first impression confirming that New York Civil Service Law § 75-b protects public-employee whistleblowers from post-employment retaliation like blacklisting and defamatory job references.
- Filed mandamus petition in the Federal Circuit on behalf of patent owner seeking to prevent due process violations from resulting in unconstitutional deprivation of petitioner’s rights in pending agency proceeding.
- Represented a class of investors defrauded by defendants in a Ninth Circuit appeal of a motion to dismiss.
- Successfully defended a Rule 23(f) appeal at the Third Circuit on behalf of a class of defrauded investors.
- Represented aggrieved Bernie Madoff investors in multiple Second Circuit appeals.
- Secured voluntary dismissal of appeal from multi-jurisdictional estate litigation involving various conflict-of-law issues between France and the United States.
- Obtained reversal of immigration court’s adverse credibility finding on behalf of asylum-seeker before the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”).
- Brought constitutional challenge to overbroad state terrorism statute on interlocutory appeal to the New Jersey Appellate Division.
- Representing indigent defendants in appeals and/or collateral challenges to criminal convictions, on constitutional and other grounds, in both federal and state appellate courts.
Representative amicus briefs:
- Submitted amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of 192 Members of Congress in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
- Submitted amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the American Sustainable Business Network, National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association, Ecological Restoration Business Association, and a group of craft brewers in support of the EPA’s efforts to protect wetlands under the Clean Water Act.
- Submitted amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of economic research organizations in support California law regulating animal welfare conditions for pork sold in the state.
- Submitted amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the National Disability Rights Network and the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, supporting OSHA’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for large employers.
- Submitted amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence in Gonzales v. Google, an important case about the scope of immunity for tech companies under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
- Submitted amicus brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of independent human rights research agency, Forensic Architecture, in support of ACLU of Oregon and environmental organizations’ National Environmental Protection Act lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s failure to conduct an environmental analysis prior to the unprecedented use of tear gas and other chemical munitions on protesters.
- Submitted amicus brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on behalf of legal scholars supporting plaintiffs who had won a trial court verdict against DuPont in a water contamination case.
Practice Contacts
Talk to Us in Confidence
Contact our experienced attorneys today at (212) 337-5361 or email us at connect@pollockcohen.com to arrange a free, confidential consultation.