Appellate

Unlike many law firm appellate practices, which are made up of lawyers who only occasionally handle appeals, Haynes and Boone's appellate practice encompasses 20 full-time appellate practitioners. No firm in Texas has more full-time appellate lawyers than Haynes and Boone.

What that means for our clients is an enviable breadth of appellate experience. For example, one of our appellate lawyers concentrates on jury submissions in areas where no pattern jury charge exists. Another focuses on the enforcement of judgments pending appeal. A third is the foremost expert in Texas on summary judgments and summary judgment appeals. Because we are well-versed in every area of appellate practice, we provide more than general appellate proficiency - we provide specialized appellate knowledge that matches the needs of each case.

Part of the Trial Team
In the trial court, Haynes and Boone’s appellate lawyers are known for supporting trial lawyers, not second-guessing them. Because we excel at our jobs, trial lawyers are free to focus on theirs - developing the evidence and persuading the jury.

As a result, we are often retained on the recommendation of trial lawyers at other firms who recognize our expertise in the following areas:

• jurisdictional disputes 
• summary judgment motions 
• expert witness challenges 
• preservation of error 
• jury charges 
• post trial motions 
• interlocutory appeals, and 
• writs of mandamus.

Evaluating the Potential Appeal 
Persuading trial and appellate judges is only part of what we do. We also help our clients make sound business decisions about their cases.

We understand that after judgment, a client must make critical decisions. To help our clients make the right choices, we use tools that no other firm can offer, including an empirical study in which our appellate lawyers examined the types of judgments that are most frequently reversed in Texas appellate courts. And, we use our collective judgment and years of experience when assessing a potential appeal. One measure of this experience is that nine of our ten partners have been appellate lawyers at Haynes and Boone for more than ten years each. In addition, our lawyers have served as president of the State Bar of Texas, president of the Houston Bar Association, chair of the ABA Council of Appellate Lawyers, and chairs of the Appellate Sections of the State Bar of Texas, the Dallas Bar Association, the Tarrant County Bar Association, and the Houston Bar Association.

Proven Results in High-Stakes Appeals
We tackle cutting-edge legal issues in high-stakes cases. Our cases have set precedent in all areas of civil litigation - including contracts, business torts, intellectual property, bankruptcy, oil and gas, products liability, financial services, health care, insurance coverage, and family law.