Appellate

Located steps away from Virginia’s highest courts and the main seat of the United State Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, our Appellate Team partners with clients to overcome upsetting trial court verdicts and defend the hard-won legal battles that impact their industries.

Our Appellate Team provides clients with the full range of appellate services, from litigation planning to direct appellate advocacy, at all levels of state and federal courts and administrative agencies.  Along with Sands Anderson’s decades of direct appellate experience, our team members are former law clerks from state and federal trial and appeals courts, including the Virginia Court of Appeals and the Virginia Supreme Court.

Our Clients

In addition to helping our clients with direct appeals from an agency or trial court, we regularly help:

• Individuals, businesses, and government entities seeking experienced appellate attorneys to provide a fresh perspective on their litigation options (before, during, and after trial or administrative hearing)
• Trial attorneys requiring experienced counsel to work with them collaboratively (with their clients) in appellate matters
• Those desiring to elevate an issue up to the appellate court or agency through targeted trial practice and appeal

Hallmarks of Our Appellate Practice

Facility with Appellate Practice Rules. Appellants often know what they hope to accomplish but may not grasp the rules appellate procedure. With experience navigating the procedural rules of each court and a thorough comprehension of the standards of review, we help our clients understand the process and effectively move appeals forward.

Concise, Persuasive Writing. We believe the most successful appellate briefs are succinct. We focus on a particular legal issue and skillfully present arguments that pique interest even as we provide the foundation for why those interests are justified.

Trial Record Fanaticism. Our appellate lawyers spend significant time preparing and reviewing every portion of the trial record. We become deeply immersed in the trial record to fluently answer virtually any question.

Subject Matter Knowledge.  Sands Anderson has broad, in depth experience in both the transactional and litigation side of the practice of law.  Our specialized, subject matter knowledge covers the spectrum of issues addressed by individuals, businesses, and government entities, which informs and enhances our appellate representation our of clients.

Strategic Thinking. A critical part of our appellate practice is the sophistication to know how to best present an argument to the judge or justice who will hear it. Of course, it also requires that we know what a judge has reviewed, specific cases that might be in play, and how to develop compelling arguments.