Preserving a favorable result or contesting an unfavorable result on appeal presents a different set of challenges than faced in the trial court and often requires a different skill set to maximize the chances of a positive outcome.
Several attorneys in Godfrey & Kahn's Litigation Practice Group concentrate in appellate law. Many of the appeals they have handled have produced significant advances in the law governing our clients' businesses. Examples include a victory in the Wisconsin Supreme Court which established the parameters of the Economic Loss Doctrine (a doctrine which limits the use of tort law to evade the terms of written contracts); multiple cases defining the scope of the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law; and cases supporting and upholding tort reform measures, such as legislative caps on the recovery damages in medical liability actions.
Together, our appellate attorneys have comprehensive experience before the Wisconsin Supreme Court; all four districts of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals; the Illinois Appellate Court; the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (the federal appellate court to which most appeals from the federal trial courts located in Wisconsin and Illinois are taken); the Federal Circuit (the federal appellate court to which appeals of patent cases are taken); and the United States Supreme Court.