Appellate Advocacy
Massachusetts appellate law practice is an art requiring superb research abilities, strong legal analysis, clear and concise brief writing and effective oral presentation before a panel of highly intelligent appellate judges. Successful appellate counsel must not only select and emphasize the case’s strongest points but also deal straightforwardly with the case’s greatest vulnerabilities. Since our founding partner first argued successfully before the Massachusetts Appeals Court as a 24 year old first year associate, our attorneys have enjoyed a solid record of success in appeals before the Massachusetts Appeals Court and Supreme Judicial Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. We handle appeals not only for our own clients, but through referrals from attorneys who need assistance with an appeal.
We have been counsel or involved in the following appeals:
• North American Expositions Co. v. Corcoran, 452 Mass. 852 (2009) and 70 Mass. App. Ct. 411 (2007) (leading case on the anti-SLAPP Act in the business and political lobbying context; upholding dismissal of claims and $80,000 award of attorneys fee in client’s favor).
• Hadfield v. McDonough, 407 F.3d 11 (1st Cir. 2005), cert. denied by U.S. Supreme Court (employment termination and violation of procedural due process for political affiliation of deputy sheriff)
• Portland Natural Gas Transmission System v. 19.2 Acres of Land, 318 F.3d 279 (1st Cir. 2003)(eminent domain taking involving natural gas pipeline)
• Private Lending & Purchasing Inc. v. First American Title Ins. Co., 54 Mass. App. Ct. 532 (2002)(leading Mass. case on title insurance policies).
• South Boston Betterment Trust Corp. v. Boston Redev. Auth., 438 Mass. 57 (2002)(landmark case on the validity of community benefits negotiated by South Boston elected officials for mitigation of Seaport District development
• Iffland v. City of Cambridge, 49 Mass. App. Ct. 1108 (2000) (issues of legal standing to challenge permits for commercial development)
• Ben v. Shultz, 47 Mass. App. Ct. 808 (1999)(civil procedure)
• Fields v. Revolution Trust Corp., 49 Mass. App. Ct. 1116 (1999)(defeating challenge to corporate deed alleged to have been forgery).