Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Appellate lawyers on the move

Today's Recorder has Looking to Expand High-Stakes Appellate Work, Bryan Cave Takes Sidley's West Coast Practice Head -- Jean-Claude Andre has joined Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner as a partner in Los Angeles and co-head of the appellate and Supreme Court group as the firm expands its national appellate team. [And see here and here.]

Other BigLaw appellate moves recently include Kirk Jenkins going to Arnold Porter (here) and MC Sungaila joining Buchalter (here).

Also, on Monday the DJ profiled former certified appellate specialist Susan Gill, who is now a judge on the Kern County Superior Court. The article was titled "Daddy's Gill" -- which prompted a letter to the editor from appellate lawyer Holly Whately who was "dumbfounded" by the "tone-deaf word play" of a "demeaning headline pun."

Looking for a nice reversal to brighten your day? Here's one (unpub'd from 4/3) where the defendant sought fees and costs over $160K. The trial court "awarded $1,000 in attorney fees, was silent as to costs, and contained no findings, calculations, or explanation for the court’s decision." That's no haircut! That's an abuse of discretion. Reversed and remanded for reconsideration.