Pre-suit litigation analysis. Develop pre-suit strategies for claims, defenses, parties, forum selection, and settlement. Insurance and indemnity opinions. Review insurance contracts for coverage analysis; provide opinions about indemnity agreements. Contract review. Analyze contracts to identify strengths and weaknesses of contractual claims and defenses.
Case manager. Manage teams of lawyers handling complex litigation in an effort to coordinate strategy, focus efforts, control costs, and identify and achieve desired outcomes.
Post-verdict motions. Preserve and develop potential appellate arguments by preparing and responding to post-verdict motions. Record preservation. Work with trial counsel to make sure the appellate record includes all necessary rulings, trial exhibits, and transcripts. Supersedeas and stays. Assist trial counsel with superseding the judgment and staying execution during the appeal.
Amicus briefs. Prepare amicus briefs for clients including industry trade associations, as well as private corporations or public institutions that may be affected by the outcome of appellate litigation in which they are not direct parties. Amicus advice. Provide advice on amicus efforts, and assist with locating sources of amicus support.
Law-based motions. Handle law-intensive motions addressing jurisdiction, venue, and choice-of-law, and motions for summary judgment. Discovery and evidentiary issues. Handle motions, hearings, and mandamus proceedings involving discovery disputes, evidentiary matters, and expert issues. Case management. Provide objective advice about claims and defenses to narrow the focus of discovery and control costs.
Lead counsel on appeal. Serve as lead counsel in all appellate proceedings in state and federal civil courts. Co-counsel on appeal. If there are reasons for others to be lead appellate, we are willing to provide advice and support as co-counsel while others have primary responsibilities. Collaboration on briefs. Circulate briefs before filing to an in-house team of… Read more »
Moot court judging. Conduct moot courts in which we read briefs, simulate a mock appellate oral argument, and ask questions that we think the appellate judges will ask. Moot court coaching. Provide coaching and advice for an upcoming appellate oral argument based on our experience as Appellate Advocacy professors in law schools, law school moot court coaches,… Read more »
Represent clients in mediation. Participate in post-trial mediations, present appellate arguments in mediation memoranda and joint sessions, and provide an informed evaluation of likely appellate outcomes. Serve as appellate mediators.
Preservation of error. Assist trial counsel with preserving error during jury selection, presentation of evidence, closing argument, and the receipt of the verdict. Trial court briefing. Draft trial briefs addressing legal issues that arise during trial and present and respond to motions for directed verdict. Jury charge matters. Prepare and argue the jury charge.