Appellate Representation

Federal and state appeals, from preservation through argument

Showalter PLLC handles federal and state appeals at every stage, from issue preservation through merits briefing and oral argument. The firm’s appellate lawyers trained in the appellate groups of Gibson Dunn, Wiley Rein, Jones Day, and Orrick, and they have clerked on the Seventh and Ninth Circuits, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and the Supreme Court of California.

Showalter PLLC’s appellate work

In its first year, Showalter PLLC has represented clients in the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Michael Showalter’s appellate experience

Matters predating the founding of Showalter PLLC were handled at Michael’s prior firms.

U.S. Supreme Court. Michael has drafted merits and certiorari-stage briefs for a defense contractor in a statutory-interpretation case, an automobile company in a retirement-plan case, an energy company in a Takings Clause case, an energy company in an administrative-law case, and a fitness company in a personal-jurisdiction case.

U.S. Courts of Appeals. Michael has drafted dozens of briefs in the federal courts of appeals and has been the lead drafter in cases before the D.C., Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits. His cases span constitutional law, administrative law, complex commercial litigation, statutory interpretation, and contract interpretation.

Oral argument. Michael presented oral argument before a D.C. Circuit panel for a broadband provider challenging an FCC order. The panel took the unusual step of praising his argument in its opinion.

Arguments others had rejected. Michael identified, developed, and drafted a statutory-interpretation argument that the hornbooks and all six courts to address it had rejected, and it won in federal district court.

Charles Tyler’s appellate experience

Charles Tyler, of counsel, has written dozens of merits and certiorari-stage briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court, the federal courts of appeals, and state courts of last resort. At prior firms, his clients included an indigent criminal defendant in a successful Fourth Amendment challenge to a conviction in the U.S. Supreme Court; a foreign drywall manufacturer in a Fifth Circuit appeal arising from multidistrict litigation seeking more than $1.3 billion; a global investment firm in a Ninth Circuit challenge to a municipal bankruptcy plan; and a global law firm in a certified question to the California Supreme Court. His article The Adjudicative Model of Precedent won the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers’ Eisenberg Prize for the best publication on appellate law.

Bar and court admissions

Michael Showalter is admitted in the District of Columbia, the Supreme Court of the United States, and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the D.C., Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits.

Charles Tyler is admitted in California and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Ninth Circuits.