Few cases reach the appellate level, but those that do shape the law.
Appellate work requires unique legal skills that enable litigators to effectively analyze the trial court’s record for errors, frame the pertinent legal issues, develop compelling briefs, and present persuasive oral arguments.
Our appellate team – all independently successful trial attorneys — applies these skills masterfully with time-tested experience and knowledge. We understand what it takes to win appellate cases and can handle every facet of an appeal.
In addition to a traditional appeal, our appellate services include consultations, assisting trial counsel in preparing motions, jury instructions, and bench briefs for matters originating within and outside the firm, and petitions for extraordinary writs while cases are pending in the trial court. Our experts are also available to monitor trials in significant, high exposure cases to help identify appellate issues.
Our appearances in appellate courts include the following cases:
State ex rel. Lorain Cnty. Bd. of Comm’rs v. Lorain Cnty. Court of Common Pleas, 143 Ohio St.3d 522. Obtained a Writ of Prohibition in the Supreme Court of Ohio on behalf of the Lorain County Commissioners against the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas Judges in response to orders that exceeded the Court of Common Pleas’ jurisdiction.
Skindell v. Madigan, 2017-Ohio-398. Obtained a dismissal of an appeal in the Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals in an open meetings case brought against the City of Lakewood. The appellate dismissal confirmed a dismissal we had obtained in the trial court. The Court of Appeals’ opinion can be found at Appellate briefing continued in the Supreme Court of Ohio, which ultimately refused to accept the appeal permitting the dismissals to stand.
Graham v. City of Lakewood, 2018-Ohio-1850, 113 N.E.3d 44. Successfully defended an appeal in the Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals in a taxpayer action brought against the City of Lakewood. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s dismissal we had obtained in the trial court.
State ex rel. Flores v. Will, 2020-Ohio-3473, 148 N.E.3d 563. Obtained judgment on the pleadings in a mandamus action in the Ohio Supreme Court in which a city council candidate sought a writ against the Lorain County Sherriff to investigate alleged voter fraud.