“What’s next?” Greene Espel can guide you through the appellate process, providing an objective assessment of the pivotal issues, developing a strategy based on how appellate judges are likely to view a case in light of legal, institutional, and policy considerations, and advocating effectively.

We handle appeals in state and federal courts across the nation, with particular emphasis on the Minnesota appellate courts and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Greene Espel was one of only four firms in Minnesota that earned the “highly recommended” classification for Eighth Circuit appellate litigation in Benchmark’s most recent guide. Our attorneys are known for their exceptional brief writing, insightful analysis, and persuasive oral advocacy. Many of our appellate attorneys are former judicial clerks and hold leadership positions with the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Council, the Eighth Circuit Bar Association, and the Federal Bar Association. Our clients benefit from our knowledge of the inner workings of the appellate courts and our participation in judicial administration and policy.

We can be involved in your appellate case in several ways:

•             Consulting at the trial court level to properly prepare the case for potential appeal

•             Consulting at the appellate level with clients and existing counsel regarding case assessment, strategy, amicus support, brief preparation, oral-argument preparation, and moot-court rehearsals

•             Assuming full responsibility for all aspects of an appeal, including case assessment and appellate strategy, brief preparation, oral argument, preparing or responding to petitions for review, and post-appeal strategy

•             Writing amicus briefs

  • Successfully defended the constitutionality of a provision of the Minnesota Fair Campaign Practices Act that prohibits false claims of political endorsement, resulting in a unanimous published opinion from the Minnesota Court of Appeals
  • Obtained the early dismissal of [30-odd] municipalities from a Driver’s Privacy Protection Act lawsuit brought by 18 Plaintiffs, and successfully argued for affirmance before the Eighth Circuit
  • Successfully represented a city against a constitutional challenge to its rental-housing inspection ordinance, culminating in a unanimous Minnesota Supreme Court decision
  • Obtained reversal—by a unanimous Minnesota Court of Appeals panel in a published decision—of an order denying a city’s motion to dismiss a case related to the city’s building-permit fees, then successfully defended the city against an administrative appeal
  • Obtained summary judgment for city in lawsuit regarding display of a passive, decades-old monument on city property, then successfully defended that summary judgment on appeal to the Eighth Circuit
  • Successfully represented state’s largest school district in a lawsuit over the district’s placement of levy questions on the ballot and sending an informational brochure to voters, resulting in a favorable decision of a panel of administrative-law judges and a unanimous published decision by the Minnesota Court of Appeals
  • Obtained summary judgment for directors of a brokerage firm, then successfully defended that summary judgment on appeal to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. 
  • Obtained summary judgment on behalf of school district defending itself against allegations that it violated state law and subjected an employee to duress and successfully defended that summary judgment on appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals

 

 

News

Mark Johnson, Aaron Knoll, and Cliff Greene Recognized by Minnesota Lawyer as 2022 Attorneys of the Year
Award: Jenny Gassman-Pines Named 2022 Diversity & Inclusion Awards Honoree by Minnesota Lawyer
Best Lawyers Recognizes 14 Greene Espel Attorneys on the 2023 Best Lawyers and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch Lists
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