Appellate Litigation

Athan serves as appellate counsel or consults on civil appeals in Washington state and federal courts, including the Washington State Supreme Court, Courts of Appeals (Division I, II, and III), and the United States Courts of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit. Athan also advises on interlocutory appeals, motions for discretionary review, and/or motions for direct review.

Why hire an appellate lawyer?

• Appellate lawyers bring an appellate perspective to cases.
• Appellate lawyers know how to bring focus to the issues on appeal, craft briefs and oral arguments that persuade appellate judges, and know how to keep good judgments and how to flip bad rulings.
• Although a trial lawyer may have lived with a case for years, appellate lawyers are trained to pour over the whole record from a big-picture perspective.  Like the appellate court, we start fresh with the ruling and look backward to find support for affirming the ruling, or to identify where the judge erred so the ruling can be reversed.  Appellate lawyers know how to find the procedural error that can win the appeal or the spot in the trial where the opponent waived a crucial issue.

Associating with trial counsel

Trial counsel associate with Athan to help with motions’ practice, including:

• Drafting and framing dispositive motions;
• Providing persuasive research to resolve unsettled areas of law; and
• Establishing trial court record and/or filing motions for reconsideration before appeal.