In the appellate courts
We have handled cases in the United States Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit, every appellate court in California, and the Supreme Courts of Alaska and Nevada. We have been counsel of record in over 400 published decisions and in many more hundreds of unpublished decisions, and we have represented amici curiae in many additional matters.
In addition to appeals, we have prepared and responded to countless petitions for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, petitions for review to the California Supreme Court, and petitions for extraordinary writ relief to intermediate appellate courts. We also frequently submit amicus curiae letters to the California Supreme Court urging it to take some action, such as granting review in cases presenting issues of statewide importance or "depublishing" intermediate appellate decisions that muddle the law.
In the trial courts
Although our practice is concentrated in the appellate courts, we serve our clients in the trial arena as well. Planning for an appeal often begins as early as drafting the complaint or answer, and sometimes even before that. Our clients frequently call upon us to assist their trial counsel in specific areas, including the initial formulation of a case, briefing and arguing dispositive motions, developing legal theories and trial strategy, preparing trial briefs and jury instructions, and briefing and arguing post-trial motions in anticipation of an appeal.
In short, we are lawyers who specialize primarily in written advocacy. What we do not do are the things trial lawyers do best – develop evidence through discovery and present and cross-examine witnesses.
As counsellors
Another substantial portion of our practice involves consultation with clients regarding complex legal issues, including issues involving insurance coverage and duties to insureds. Institutional clients frequently ask us to conduct legal research, formulate arguments, draft opinion letters, and prepare sample briefs on important issues for use by the client's trial counsel, enabling the client to obtain a consistent, focused and effective argument without unnecessary duplication of effort. When clients appear headed towards litigation, we are sometimes asked to draft crucial correspondence that may later become evidence in the litigation. On other occasions we have been called upon to formulate arguments in connection with settlement negotiations.
A particular benefit to our institutional clients is the quality and consistency they achieve by having a single firm provide appellate work and consultation on issues that surface repeatedly in their businesses.
Scope of issues
We do not limit ourselves to any particular substantive areas of the law. We have represented clients – both plaintiffs and defendants – in such diverse areas as constitutional law, civil rights, governmental torts and immunities, personal injury torts, insurance coverage and bad faith, complex business disputes, business torts, copyright, unfair competition, antitrust, RICO, securities, entertainment and environmental law, employment discrimination and wrongful termination, maritime law, family law, bankruptcy and probate.
Clientele
Our diverse clients include banks, national manufacturers, major liability, casualty and title insurance companies, state and local governments, hospitals, state universities, entertainment industry companies and talent and trial lawyers.
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We strive to provide the highest quality of legal services through painstaking research, critical analysis and interchange of ideas among our lawyers. We believe that, despite the talent of our associates, every case requires the intense and continuous involvement of a partner.