APPELLATE LITIGATION
Several attorneys in our firm focus their practice, in whole or in part, on appeals in the federal and the state systems. Our appellate lawyers have extensive experience in both civil and criminal appeals, having practiced before the Supreme Court of the United States and the Second, the Fourth, the Fifth and the Ninth Federal Courts of Appeal. They regularly appear in the Fifth Circuit as well as both in the Supreme Courts and the intermediate appellate courts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Florida. We are fortunate to have within our ranks a former clerk for a Justice of the United States Supreme Court, several clerks for Judges of the Fifth Circuit, a former member of the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules to the Judicial Conference of the United States, a former member of the Rules Advisory Committee of the Fifth Circuit, two former Justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court, the author of the leading text on Louisiana Insurance Law, and the former head of the Mississippi Capital Penalty Resource Services Center. The head of our Louisiana appellate practice group personally has briefed and argued more than 150 cases in the past 20 years in the federal and the state courts of appeal.
Our appellate lawyers defend the firm's trial court judgments, seek review of judgments adverse to our clients, and handle appeals and applications for review for clients represented by other counsel in the trial courts. Technological innovations link the firm's offices and allow our clients to take advantage of our appellate lawyers on a firm-wide basis.
Recent federal appeals in which our firm was involved include: a decision defining the rights of the holders of school lands leases worth approximately $30 million; a case defining jurisdictional amount on removal of a punitive damages claim; a commercial lease dispute; a multi-million dollar legal malpractice action; and a products liability suit involving very serious injuries.
In the Mississippi Supreme Court, we recently acted as lead appellate counsel in asbestos, tobacco, satellite financing, and NORM appeals. We also aided a client in securing state guaranty association coverage for a substantial annuity policy, and obtained a ruling that affirmed a judgment in favor of an insurer in an "advertising injury" case.
In the Supreme Court of Louisiana, our attorneys have briefed and argued a number of cases involving the Constitution, major personal injury claims, and significant insurance coverage issues. Our appellate lawyers have handled commercial disputes, insurance policy interpretations, conflict of law issues, and questions of allocation of fault in all of Louisiana's intermediate appellate courts.
