Overview
No litigation practice is complete without strong appellate capabilities. Gunster is committed to offering clients quality appellate counsel. Our attorneys are dedicated to serving as effective trial counsel by offering insightful strategy when called upon to identify, preserve and advocate issues for appeal. Gunster litigators seek a collaborative approach to handling appellate matters. Our litigators are able to draw from the firm’s diverse team of highly experienced appellate advocates. Appellate proceedings require a much different approach than trial proceedings, and only an advocate familiar with the nuances of the appellate forum can effectually present a case on appeal.
No victory is safe and no defeat is final until avenues of appeal are closed. Gunster’s state and federal court Appellate team is focused on assisting with the development of strategy from the early stages of litigation through the appeals. Gunster seeks to understand the challenges that surface throughout the litigation and appeals processes. Our Appellate practitioners team with trial lawyers to work through and assist in resolving difficult issues of record development and preservation in order to position the case for either the defense or prosecution of an appeal.
Gunster’s collective litigation and appellate skills allow our attorneys to focus on crafting polished, assertive briefs. Our team consistently strives to present each case with precision and strength. When it comes to oral argument skills, our mission is to obtain the best advantage of face-to-face discussion of the issues and merits with the judges who will decide the case. The firm’s Appellate practice includes a broad spectrum of substantive law issues, including:
- Complex business and contractual disputes
- Estate and trust matters
- Professional liability issues
- Governmental and regulatory challenges
- First Amendment claims
- Federal preemption of state laws
- Property rights, eminent domain, regulatory takings and property tax issues
- White-collar crime and criminal appeals
- Medicare, bank and securities fraud
- Employment discrimination and noncompetition
- Corporate ownership and shareholder matters
- Antitrust claims
- Intellectual property matters
Our attorneys also take on appeals brought to the firm after another firm has previously litigated the case in trial court proceedings. However the matter comes to Gunster, a decision to appeal must be properly analyzed. Whether the firm’s charge is to defend an appeal or to initiate one, how likely the court is to reverse on appeal and on what grounds are critical considerations that should be based on sound legal theory and practical experience.
Gunster believes that experience matters when it comes to appeals. The firm’s Appellate team is home to a former Florida Supreme Court Justice, a former appellate judge who authored over 500 opinions, past chair of the Florida Bar’s appellate practice section who is board-certified in appellate practice, and other attorneys noted for property rights advocacy in trial and appellate forums. Our Appellate team continually seeks to cultivate a wealth of knowledge about the appellate courts and judges before whom they practice, as well as aspires to a high skill level and reputation for professionalism and effectiveness.
Gunster attorneys also file amicus curiae briefs in matters affecting Florida business. Our goal is to deliver multi-dimensional capabilities in appellate matters by executing amicus briefs that have the potential to impact or change legal policy or alter the legal landscape for businesses throughout Florida.
