We have successfully prosecuted and defended appeals in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Our appellate practice includes cases that we handled in the trial court, matters in which we were engaged to take a lead or consulting role in a reviewing court, original proceedings filed in the Illinois Supreme Court or federal circuit courts of appeals, and preparation of amicus curiae briefs
Distinguishing Features of Our Appellate Practice
We are especially proud of our extensive appellate work in cases raising cutting-edge constitutional or statutory interpretation issues. Many of our most gratifying victories have occurred in cases in which we were retained on appeal following a disappointing result in the trial court. Our deep bench and broad experience give us the ability to identify the key issues—which frequently differ from those that dominated the trial court proceedings—that have the greatest chance of resonating with appellate judges.
Precedent-Setting Victories
Among our success stories are:
- A landmark precedent setting the time limitation for claims under federal and state securities laws;
- A winning claim that the Fair Credit Reporting Act preempts common-law claims against credit information furnishers;
- Establishing the viability of litigation to establish property tax exemptions that bypasses the normal administrative exemption application process;
- Vindicating the paramount First Amendment and common law interests in access to the courts in a proceeding from which the media and the public had been excluded; and
- A rare victory in an environmental challenge to an airport expansion project.