Appeals

Winning on appeal requires clear thinking, crisp writing and focused arguments. Robinson Bradshaw has the skills and experience that appellate work demands. We put our background and knowledge to work in the U.S. Supreme Court, the federal appellate courts, and state appellate courts in North and South Carolina. Our team includes:

• Two U.S. Supreme Court clerks,
• A recent solicitor general of North Carolina,
• Dozens of former clerks for appellate judges,
• Two state bar-certified specialists in appellate practice,
• Multiple members and the former chair of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Appellate Rules Committee, and
• A former chair of the American Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Committee.

Robinson Bradshaw’s appellate team often serves as new or additional counsel on appeal. We help appellants overturn unfavorable results, and we help appellees preserve favorable ones. We also craft amicus briefs for clients with an interest in pending appeals.

Although most clients retain Robinson Bradshaw for the full life cycle of an appeal, our appellate engagements have a flexible scope. We often advise clients on whether appeals are legally viable and strategically sound. We also serve as advisers during trial-court proceedings that can generate later appeals. In these roles, we can offer a fresh and objective viewpoint that reflects our deep experience in the appellate courts.

U.S. Supreme Court

• Argued before the Supreme Court and oversaw the briefing in a dispute over the constitutional limits on the taxation of trusts. The Court’s opinion announced favorable new reasoning.
• Successfully represented the plaintiffs in Moore v. Harper, a case about the constitutional standards for congressional redistricting.
• Defeated a cert petition in a trade association’s freedom-of-association challenge to a state statute. The Court denied the petition after receiving our response.
• Defeated a cert petition in a case about standing to sue for alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The Court denied the petition after receiving our response.
• Regularly file amicus briefs for clients such as trade groups and civil-rights organizations.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

• Overturned a decision that certified a class of more than 5,000 employees who asserted claims of off-the-clock work.
• Successfully defended a decision that set aside an $8 million judgment.
• Successfully argued an appeal opposing the issuance of a preliminary injunction in a putative ERISA and LMRA class action.
• Successfully defended a state official against a constitutional challenge to a state statute that bans the corporate practice of law.
• Defended a judgment that rejected antitrust and constitutional claims against a medical regulatory agency.
• Defended against individual shareholders’ lawsuits that challenged a merger between two national banks.
• Secured the affirmance of a summary judgment in favor of a public hospital system in a lawsuit that alleged retaliation in violation of the First Amendment.

North Carolina Supreme Court

• Won a high-stakes appeal on the application of medical malpractice statutes to medical practice groups.
• Won a unanimous decision on an issue of first impression involving the interpretation of an insurance statute.
• Represented the governor of North Carolina in expedited appeals in a dispute over ballot language for proposed state-constitutional amendments.
• Won appellate reversal of a decision that reassigned the ownership of a multibillion-dollar utility. The state supreme court’s decision held that a recent statute violated the North Carolina Constitution.
• Won an appeal for a technology company on the issue of personal jurisdiction in a business dispute.
• Won an appeal in a scope-of-practice dispute between two state regulatory agencies.

North Carolina Court of Appeals

• Won an appellate reversal of a billion-dollar judgment in a class action over health insurance coverage.
• Represented health care amici in an appeal on the constitutionality of a tort-reform statute.
• Overturned a COVID-19-related order requiring depositions to be taken by remote videoconferencing and preventing counsel from being physically present with their own witnesses or clients.
• Secured the affirmance of a judgment in favor of a national general-contracting firm in a dispute involving novel questions of municipal law.
• As new counsel on appeal in a departing-employee dispute, won partial reversal of a $10 million judgment that included a record award of attorney fees.
• Defended a judgment that reversed an $11 million tax assessment against business owners. 
• Won the affirmance of a summary judgment in favor of hotel developers whose former employer sued them for alleged violations of non-solicitation provisions in their employment agreements.

South Carolina Appellate Courts

• Filed amicus briefs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on tax and product-liability issues.
• Successfully represented a charter school in a challenge to the South Carolina Department of Revenue’s attempt to charge property taxes on the school’s leased campus.
• Represented a national bank in an appeal that upheld the dismissal of shareholder claims against the bank and its directors.
• Represented a regional retailer in a landmark shareholder dissent and appraisal lawsuit under the South Carolina Business Corporations Act.
• Represented a business group as an amicus curiae before the South Carolina Supreme Court in a landmark case on the effect of employee handbooks.

Note: This list includes cases handled by members of the firm before they joined Robinson Bradshaw.

Honors & Recognitions

• Best Law Firms, Charlotte Tier 1 for appellate practice, 2012-26; Raleigh Tier 1 for appellate practice, 2024-26

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