Appellate Advocacy

Hudson & Watts, L.L.P., has extensive experience in appellate litigation and advocacy. One of the firm's partners, William W. Watts, III, has devoted a significant part of his practice to the preparation and argument of appeals in nearly one hundred cases before the appellate courts in both the state and federal systems. These cases have concerned areas as diverse as environmental law, insurance law, civil rights, real property, constitutional law, oil and gas law, commercial law, domestic relations, administrative law, creditors rights, and general tort and contract law.

Mr. Watts has attended, moderated and taught at numerous seminars on appellate practice and is a member of the Mobile Bar Association Appellate Practice Committee.

Benefits of an Appellate Advocate

Retaining the services of an experienced appellate litigator can be an invaluable benefit to the client faced with litigation, at either the trial or appellate level. Numerous rulings of the trial court, either before, during, or after trial, can potentially be appealed. Whether to appeal these rulings, and how to challenge them are critical concerns that an appellate litigator can address.

Among the benefits provided by the firm's appellate litigation division are the following:

• An Experienced Guide

  An appellate advocate can give you comfort in navigating the unfamiliar waters of appellate procedure, and avoid dismissals on procedural grounds.

• A Fresh Perspective

  An appellate advocate can identify appealable error in the record, identify and select the important legal issues to be raised on appeal and provide you with a fresh perspective on the merits of your case.

• A Well-Crafted Brief

  An appellate advocate can craft, or assist in crafting, a concise, compelling a brief designed to present the legal issues most likely to succeed on appeal and in a manner most likely to persuade the appellate advocate's unique audience - an appellate bench.

• Persuasive Oral Argument

  An appellate advocate can effectively use the 15 to 30 minutes afforded to you at any oral argument, communicate the essence of the appeal, and answer with confidence any questions from the bench.

• Adequate Preservation of Error

  An appellate advocate can ensure that you have preserved any error for review on appeal and help you establish the best record for a successful appellate result, by assistance at the trial court level in preparing or reviewing pre-trial or post-trial dispositive motions, jury charges, trial briefs, or other written materials.

• Solid Advocate

  In short, an appellate advocate, with a mastery of the law applicable to your case, can creatively apply that law to the facts of your case, effectively expose the fallacies of your opponent's legal arguments, and finally persuade an appellate court that the law, correctly applied, dictates a result in your client's favor.

The law firm of Hudson & Watts, L.L.P., is willing to assist trial counsel to whatever degree is desired, from a limited consulting role to the complete handling of any appeal.