We have spent our careers in appellate litigation – as judicial staff attorneys with the California Court of Appeal; as civil practitioners with California’s largest civil appellate law firm, Horvitz & Levy, LLP; and now as partners in Eisenberg & Hancock, LLP, serving clients in all aspects of civil appellate and writ practice.

     We believe effective appellate advocacy requires a unique blend of talents. Appellate counsel must know:

!the special rules of appellate procedure, which make an appeal very different from work at the trial court level

!what sorts of arguments are most persuasive to appellate judges

!when to litigate relentlessly, but also when to forgo a losing argument

!how to evaluate the prospects for success on appeal

!how to negotiate a settlement during the pendency of an appeal

!when to pursue writ relief, and, perhaps more importantly, when not to pursue such relief

!how to work effectively with trial counsel, so that teamwork on appeal is synergistic, not duplicative

     With our extensive experience in appellate litigation as practitioners and as judicial staff attorneys, plus our training and experience in appellate mediation and Mr. Eisenberg’s authorship of the widely-used California Practice Guide: Civil Appeals and Writs (The Rutter Group), we bring a unique blend of these talents to our practice.

     The firm is also committed to devoting substantial resources to pro bono and civil liberties litigation, and is currently lead counsel in Al-Haramain v. Bush (challenging the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program) and has recently acted as co-counsel in a California Supreme Court case (North Coast Women's Care Medical Group, Inc. v. Superiour Court(Benitiz)) holding that the right of religious freedom does not exempt physicians from state civil rights law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Jon B. Eisenberg

William N. Hancock