Thinking about appellate strategy early on—while a case is before the trial court or an agency—is a key part of how we approach litigation. Even if a case never ends up before an appeals court, clients need to be prepared, and a sharp appellate strategy makes for a sharper trial strategy.
Crowell & Moring’s appellate attorneys have represented clients in hundreds of cases before the United States Supreme Court, federal Courts of Appeals, and state appellate courts, in matters spanning a wide range of substantive practice areas including: antitrust, environment and natural resources, intellectual property, commercial law, health care, and administrative and constitutional law. Our team includes attorneys who have clerked on the United States Supreme Court or federal or state courts of appeals, as well as former Department of Justice appellate litigators.
In addition to representing both appellants and appellees in cases involving review of lower court decisions, we also represent parties in petitions for direct appellate review of agency action, such as federal rulemakings and guidance documents. We have represented both those challenging the rules as petitioners and those supporting the rules as intervenors; sometimes we take on both roles in the same case, challenging the rule on certain points, while supporting it against other challenges. We also file amicus curiae briefs on behalf of trade associations and other clients in the Supreme Court and other appellate courts, striving to offer the courts our clients’ unique perspectives.
We strive to integrate our appellate practitioners into case teams early in the litigation process in order to best position our clients to achieve lasting victories. Crowell & Moring’s team approach allows us to meld our deep knowledge of the substantive law and the appellate process to produce winning briefs and arguments.