Best Lawyers in America for Appellate Practice
Select a location from the list below to find the best legal talent for your needs.
State
Joe Rainsbury has nearly 20 years’ experience representing clients before state and federal appellate and trial courts. Prized by clients and colleagues for his writing and oral advocacy skills, he has participated in appeals across the country on myriad legal issues. Over the years, Joe has been involved—either briefing the merits or arguing to a tribunal—in cases from nearly every corner of civil litigation. Joe successfully represented a bank on an appeal of the first Sar...
Bob Parsley practices civil litigation, focusing on appeals and written advocacy. He routinely represents clients in various federal and state appellate courts. Before joining Bradley, Bob litigated commercial disputes for nearly 20 years, and he served for over 10 years as chair of his previous firm’s Appellate Practice Group.
Dick’s litigation and appellate practice focuses primarily on business and commercial disputes, employment law, education law, and civil rights cases that are typically resolved in federal court. He frequently appears in the U.S. District Courts for the Districts of Maine and New Hampshire and in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Dick devotes a significant portion of his practice to the representation of individuals with disabilities and their families, often in cases ari...
Dominic E. Draye is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice. Dominic E., who practices law in Washington, District of Columbia, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Dominic E. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Jonathan Sternberg is an appellate lawyer based in Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri, representing businesses and individuals in civil and criminal appeals and related matters before state and federal courts nationwide. His practice is focused exclusively on appellate litigation, including briefing and arguing appeals and related actions and advising trial lawyers on procedural and strategic issues at all stages of a case. Since opening his practice upon his admission to the bar in 2007, Jo...
William E. Thomson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice. William E., who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which William E. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Ken Payson’s practice focuses on class action defense, other complex commercial litigation and appellate work, particularly with respect to claims under state and federal consumer protection laws. Ken represents clients from a variety of industries, including financial services, telecommunications, software, and digital media companies. He has obtained numerous orders dismissing putative class actions or denying class certification and has successfully defended them on appeal. He serves...
C. Allen Garrett, Jr. is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation and Technology Law. C. Allen, who practices law in Atlanta, Georgia, has been recognized since 2017. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which C. Allen is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Caren Beth Nichol is a member of Evans Petree’s Property Tax Group where she litigates commercial property tax appeals before state boards of equalization and state courts. From 2017-2018 she served as President of Evans Petree PC, a full-service law firm founded in 1907 that has grown to include 49 attorneys. Prior to being elected President, Caren served as the firm’s Secretary, as a Director for over 15 years, and as Chair of the Marketing Committee and Litigation Practice Grou...
Richard C. Stanley is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law, Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants, Litigation - Antitrust, Litigation - First Amendment, Litigation - Real Estate, Litigation - Securities and Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants. Richard C., who practices law in New Orleans, Louisiana, has been recognized since 2006. This recognitio...
Kendra G. Gjerdingen chairs the Appellate Law Group at Mallor Grodner Plummer LLP and handles the legal needs of private and business clients in civil litigation and family law. Her concentration includes family law and jurisdiction, interstate and international custody disputes, appeals, and civil litigation. Kendra is a leading family law and appellate lawyer in Indiana. She also has extensive experience in jurisdictional disputes. She has represented many clients in Hague Convention cases,...
A fifth-generation attorney with 40 years of legal experience, Bill’s practice at Helmsing Leach is focused on civil litigation with an emphasis on appellate advocacy. He has handled numerous appeals in state and federal courts resulting in more than one hundred published decisions. Bill’s practice also includes environmental law and insurance litigation, and he has represented clients in a variety of civil disputes in product liability, construction litigation and more. In additi...
Andrew Pappas is a nimble advocate and trusted counselor whose practice focuses on appeals, complex commercial disputes, and governmental and regulatory matters. Before joining Osborn Maledon, Andrew served as general counsel of the Arizona House of Representatives, where he was the principal legal advisor to the Speaker and members of the majority caucus. In that capacity, Andrew provided legal, policy, and strategic advice on a vast range of issues, with a particular focus on elections, red...
Benjamin Raybin is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice, Civil Rights Law and Criminal Defense: General Practice. Benjamin, who practices law in Nashville, Tennessee, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Benjamin is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.