Appellate

Morris & Morris’ appellate practice team offers a range of appellate services for clients involved in civil matters that may be appealed to the Supreme Court of Virginia, Court of Appeals of Virginia, or the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  Our team has the experience to get involved in whatever role our client needs.  We can advise trial counsel to enhance possible appellate points or to minimize those of our opponent.  After trial, we can develop or respond to post-trial motions.  Finally, and most significantly, we can pursue or oppose an appeal.

Our appellate practice team is comprised of a group of experienced appellate attorneys.  We regularly handle and argue appeals before the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and the Fourth Circuit.  These appeals have concerned many areas of state and federal law, including civil rights, contract law, employment law, insurance coverage matters, products liability, workers’ compensation, and tort law.  The appellate team also has experience handling appeals and petitions filed by prisoners, including mandamus petitions, habeas corpus claims, and civil rights claims.

We believe that an important strength of our appellate practice team is the experience our lawyers have trying cases in state and federal courts.  We know that trying cases can be challenging.  The strength or weakness of an appeal is often determined by aspects of the trial that may be overlooked, such as properly handling jury instructions and proffers of evidence.  Our experiences before juries and trial judges give us valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of an appeal, and they help us frame issues and then argue them in manner favorable to our client.

Representative Engagements:

Some examples of representative engagements include the following:

• We successfully opposed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia by a personal injury plaintiff who received a verdict in his favor but was awarded no damages.

• We assisted in successfully opposing a petition for appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia by a member of a Virginia LLC that had been expelled from the company.

• We successfully represented two jails against Petitions for Writ of Mandamus that were denied by the Supreme Court of Virginia.

• We successfully opposed an appeal to the Fourth Circuit by a student who had his claims against a university dismissed in the district court.

• We successfully opposed an appeal to the Fourth Circuit challenging a district court’s grant of a Rule 11 Motion for sanctions.

• We successfully opposed an appeal to the Fourth Circuit challenging a district court’s denial of a petition for writ of mandamus.

• We successfully opposed an appeal to the Fourth Circuit challenging a district court’s dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

• We successfully opposed an appeal to the Fourth Circuit challenging a district court’s decision that the defendants were entitled to immunity and that the plaintiff’s claims were frivolous.