Holland & Hart LLP

Clients turn to Holland & Hart's Appellate Practice Group when the stakes are high and first-rate briefing and argument are essential. Our appellate practitioners excel at appellate advocacy, both written and oral, and possess broad experience in complex appellate litigation. Our attorneys have handled appeals in all of the federal and state appellate courts in the Mountain West, numerous other federal circuit and state appellate courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Appellate Experience Overview
Our appellate lawyers have substantial experience not only in appellate practice and procedure but also in a wide range of substantive legal issues including commercial litigation, constitutional law and civil rights, construction law, election law, employee benefits, employment and labor litigation, environmental litigation, family law, oil and gas law, products liability, real estate, tax, and torts and insurance litigation.

The attorneys in our Appellate Practice Group also have access to the vast resource of substantive legal knowledge held by the many other attorneys at the firm. We represent a diverse array of clients, including clients the firm represented at trial and clients represented by other counsel at trial. In either case, we provide a fresh perspective and in-depth experience on appeal.

Trial Briefing
Our appellate attorneys frequently brief complex or dispositive matters at the trial court level. We add a valuable perspective at trial by participating in the development of strategy for the presentation and briefing of key issues, assuring that an adequate record is made, fashioning and writing persuasive arguments on central legal issues, and providing guidance for perfecting an appeal.

Oral Argument
Because oral argument is another key component of an appeal, our appellate practitioners are prepared to present the oral argument or work closely with trial counsel in preparing for argument. In either circumstance, Holland & Hart's state-of-the-art mock trial room provides a realistic venue for mock arguments before panels of experienced appellate attorneys and other attorneys. Our clients also have access to the experience of Holland & Hart's in-house trial consultants, Persuasion Strategies, in the art of effective oral communication.

Amicus briefing
A persuasive brief from an amicus can influence an appellate court's resolution of novel or particularly significant legal issues. The attorneys in our Appellate Practice Group have extensive experience in the art of amicus briefing. See our list of representative appeals for a sampling of cases in which we have filed amicus briefs.
 

Holland & Hart's Statement of Commitment to Diversity
We are proud of our tradition of fostering and maintaining a work environment in which the diversity of each individual is valued and celebrated. We believe that the contributions of each individual are essential to our continued growth and to our ultimate goal of providing excellent quality legal services to our clients, with greater creativity and innovation. We are committed to taking full advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of our people and to promoting a greater diversity whenever and wherever possible.

Diversity Pledge
Holland & Hart is committed to promoting diversity by:

• Making every possible effort to recruit, hire, retain, and promote diverse persons at all levels of employment.
• Promoting greater sensitivity to the value of racial, ethnic and other forms of diversity, through diversity and sensitivity coaching or training for law firm members.
• Inviting to partnership diverse attorneys who meet the requisite criteria.

Diversity Initiatives
The following are additional examples of our commitment and efforts toward supporting and achieving diversity:

• We make a conscious effort to ensure that women and diverse attorneys are included as voting members of our committees of importance within the firm.
• We work closely with law school deans and placement directors in an effort to identify women and diverse law students who are interested in working at Holland & Hart.
• Holland & Hart offers medical and other benefits to partners of gay and lesbian employees on the same terms as it does to spouses of employees.
• We created an Indian Law Practice Group and actively recruited Native American law students and lateral hires.
• Each year we contribute to such scholarship funds as the Colorado Native American Indian Scholarship Fund, the Sam Cary Scholarship Endowment Fund, the Colorado Asian American Bar Scholarship Fund, the Colorado Hispanic Bar Scholarship Fund, and the Colorado Women's Bar Association Scholarship Fund.
• In partnership with the University of Idaho School of Law, we sponsor a "Law by Day, Jazz by Night" each year for undergraduate minority students who have an interest in law.
• We took a leadership role in organizing and supporting the Colorado Pledge Group's Minority First Year Law Student Summer Clerk Program. Through this program, law firms agreed to add at least one diverse first year law student to their summer clerk program.
• We were involved in the creation of the Cross-Professional Business Networking Group, where diverse attorneys in our community can meet and network with non-attorney professionals of color. We view this as a way to help diverse attorneys increase their business development possibilities.

For more information regarding Holland & Hart's commitment to diversity, please contact Peter Houtsma at (303) 295-8259.