Appellate

James Bates has handled numerous significant and/or precedent-setting cases in Georgia’s appellate courts, several federal circuit courts, and the Supreme Court of the United States. 

The firm’s Appellate Practice Group offers the following services to its clients:

• Drafting appellate briefs and presenting oral argument.
• Preparing and opposing petitions for certiorari before the Supreme Court of Georgia and the Supreme Court of the United States.
• Advising clients on potential appellate issues both during and after trial.
• Handling agency appeals before Georgia’s various regulatory bodies.
• Preparing or assisting in the preparation of amicus curiae briefs.
• Providing advice and assistance in briefing and arguing significant legal issues at the trial level.
• Analyzing pending legislation and regulations to assess their constitutionality, and evaluating the viability of potential legal challenges.

Our approach to appellate practice.

The appellate process begins long before a case is docketed with an appellate court. In any type of litigation, it is crucial to anticipate, develop, and preserve issues of potential importance on appeal. At James Bates, our appellate lawyers work closely with our other litigators to ensure that these issues are indentified at the outset of a case, and that the trial record is developed in a manner that maximizes our clients’ chances of prevailing in any eventual appeal. Our appellate practitioners are also frequently brought into complex cases at the trial level to draft or edit “high stakes” motions, and to assist in the development of a global-litigation strategy.

Our appellate lawyers possess in-depth legal knowledge, creativity, and exemplary written and oral-advocacy skills. They are able to address complex questions of law and fact in simple and straightforward terms. These skills enable our appellate lawyers to present persuasive and compelling arguments to appellate tribunals.

Our appellate lawyers carefully monitor developments in Georgia’s state and federal appellate courts (and the Supreme Court of the United States), keeping abreast of the latest trends in the law. By doing so, they are able to serve clients not only in presenting their cases on appeal, but also in framing their legal arguments at the trial level and in deciding whether or not to pursue an appeal in the first instance.

Appellate Attorneys