Practices

Appellate Law

Fraser Trebilcock has a long and distinguished history of successful representation of clients in appellate proceedings before all levels of the state and federal appellate courts. Everett R. Trebilcock, one of the Firm's founding partners, was instrumental in establishing the Firm's appellate practice, and his accomplishments in this area are still legendary among Michigan's appellate practitioners. Today, Fraser Trebilcock’s appellate attorneys continue to build upon this legacy by maintaining a consistently high standard of excellence in all aspects of appellate representation.

Many litigation matters do not end with the final judgment of the trial court or administrative agency. Legal victories must be sustained against an appellate challenge in many cases, and a failure of justice in the lower court or tribunal can often be remedied by a persuasive appeal to a higher court. In either case, appropriate protection of the client’s rights requires the highly specialized knowledge and skills of an experienced appellate practitioner.

Fraser Trebilcock’s appellate attorneys apply their knowledge and experience to achieve the client's goals in the most cost-efficient manner possible, while vigorously protecting the client's interests at every stage of the appellate proceedings. This includes careful evaluation and planning of appellate strategy; preparation and presentation of post-trial motions; obtaining a stay of proceedings when necessary; preservation and thorough review of the lower court record and exhibits; preparation of high quality appellate briefs and appendices; and forceful presentation of well-prepared oral arguments before the appellate court. When appellate review of the lower court or tribunal’s judgment is anticipated, the appellate specialist is often consulted before and during the proceedings in the trial court or administrative tribunal to ensure that evidence and legal arguments are properly presented and preserved for review on appeal.

Fraser Trebilcock’s appellate attorneys also prepare and submit amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs on behalf of associations and other interest groups that seek to achieve their goals by "lobbying" of the appellate courts in cases presenting broad-reaching questions of law or public policy.