Appellate and Critical Motions


An appellate powerhouse renowned for its award-winning appellate litigators, Dykema offers one of the largest and most experienced appellate practices in the nation. Clients quoted in Legal 500 US note the appellate team’s “increasingly robust bench combines with the wider firm’s broad US footprint to mark it as a key contender for major appeals.”

We built our reputation on almost a century of serving clients in “bet-the-company” litigation, making new law, and gaining the respect of courts across the country. Handling appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court, every federal circuit, and most states’ appellate courts, we have an outstanding track record of obtaining reversals of adverse decisions and preserving trial court achievements.

More than 650 appeals in the last decade.

We know our audience. In addition to experienced advocates, our team includes former appellate judges and former federal and state judicial law clerks, all of whom worked side-by-side with judges in the decision-making process and know how to present written and oral arguments that are most likely to persuade the courts.

It is not only our reputation that sets us apart, but also the high-caliber training of our appellate attorneys, widely regarded as among top litigators in the nation. Our skill has propelled our lawyers to positions of leadership, including positions on the Council of Chief Judges of State Courts of Appeals, the American Bar Association’s Council of Appellate Lawyers Executive Board and Standing Committee on Amicus Curiae Briefs, the Ninth Circuit Advisory Board, the Ninth Circuit Appellate Lawyer Representatives, as state bar association appellate practice section chairs, and as professors in top law schools across the country.

We are frequently brought in as embedded appellate counsel in trial court proceedings or for appeals after trial court resolution in matters handled by other firms. We work both on the frontlines and behind the scenes to advise our clients in:  

  • shaping overall litigation strategy
  • preserving the record and arguments for possible appeal
  • preparing and persuading the trial court to adopt proposed jury instructions and verdict forms
  • preparing key pre-trial, trial, and post-trial briefing, including dispositive motions, motions in limine, motions for JNOV or new trial, and oppositions to such motions
  • developing innovative approaches to emerging policies, legal questions, and trends across multiple cases and jurisdictions, creating an overall strategy on an issue of significance to the client or their industry

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