Best Lawyers in America for Appellate Practice
Select a location from the list below to find the best legal talent for your needs.
State
Spencer G. Scharff represents and advises businesses, nonprofits, and individuals in complex litigation in state and federal courts. He is admitted to practice in California, Arizona, New York, and the District of Columbia, and has extensive experience in high-stakes commercial litigation, regulatory disputes, and appellate advocacy. Before founding Scharff PC, Spencer was a member of Goddard Law Office PLC, where he practiced alongside former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard. He previo...
Robert T. Haar is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense: White-Collar and Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants. Robert T., who practices law in St. Louis, Missouri, has been recognized since 2011. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Robert T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Mary has commanded a robust career guiding legal issues that have left lasting impacts on government authority, election campaign finance and election law. As a former Solicitor General for the State of Arizona, she has a mastery of public law issues and has led an extensive set of complex, high-profile lawsuits and appeals in state and federal courts. Her experience handling this complex litigation positions her well to get to the core of the issue in a dispute and provide critical strategic...
Donna Greenspan Solomon is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice. Donna Greenspan, who practices law in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Donna Greenspan is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
D. Andrew Portinga has been practicing law since 1996. He is a litigator, and has extensive experience in both federal and state courts. He has represented both Fortune 500 companies and family owned businesses, and Mr. Portinga has handled complex cases involving myriad issues. General Commercial Litigation Mr. Portinga has handled a wide variety of complicated commercial cases. His clients have included oil and gas producers, a manufacturer of implantable medical devices, a national communi...
Terrence J. Campbell is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Trusts and Estates and Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Terrence J., who practices law in Lawrence, Kansas, has been recognized since 2012. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Terrence J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Anne M. Johnson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice and Commercial Litigation. Anne M., who practices law in Dallas, Texas, has been recognized since 2010. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Anne M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Mary H. “Molly” Tolbert is a litigator, with a focus on antitrust, securities, constitutional, and appellate matters. She has appeared on behalf of clients before numerous state and federal courts, as well as in administrative and regulatory proceedings. She has significant experience in drafting and arguing critical motions and appellate briefs, with recent successful oral arguments before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second and Ninth Circuits, as well as the Southern Distr...
Kevin Dubose has a BA in English from Rice University, and a JD from the University of Texas Law School. He began his career in a small litigation firm, primarily doing insurance defense work, and tried about 25 jury trial in his first 6 years of practice. He began specializing in appellate advocacy in 1985, first in a solo practice, then as the appellate specialist for a prominent plaintiff's personal injury practice. Since 1994 he has practiced in an appellate boutique environment. Kevin ha...
Michael J. Hutter is a Professor of Law at Albany Law School of Union University, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1976. He is also Special Counsel to the Albany law firm of Powers & Santola, LLP. Professor Hutter is an honors graduate of Brown University and Boston College Law School. In law school, he was the Editor-In-Chief of Boston College’s law review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. After graduation, Professor Hutter served as law clerk to Judge Matthe...
James Ribaudo is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice and Insurance Law. James, who practices law in St. Louis, Missouri, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which James is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Ashley Ward has practiced in the Lexington office's Torts and Insurance Service Group since 1986 and is a co-leader of that group. He has tried more than 20 jury trials to verdict. He focuses on product liability, personal injury, medical malpractice, telecommunications and contractual disputes. Ashley also has considerable experience litigating will contests and other fiduciary disputes. More Than Stites & Harbison Upon graduation from law school, Ashley served as a law clerk for United ...
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.