I handle appeals and post-trial matters. I don’t take trial work, I don’t compete with you for your client’s other business, and I copy you on everything.
[Send me a case to look at] · 312.448.8491
Your client stays your client
The reason most trial lawyers don’t refer an appeal out is the fear of losing the client on the other end. That risk doesn’t exist here.
I have no trial practice. I don’t take civil litigation, I don’t take criminal defense at the district court level, and I have nothing to gain from a relationship with your client beyond your appeal. When the appeal is over, the client goes back to you — and if there is district court work on remand, it goes back to you as well.
You stay copied on every filing and every communication. If you want to be involved in strategy, you are. If you’d rather hand it off entirely and hear from me at the milestones, that works too.
How trial lawyers utilize me
A straight read on whether there’s an appeal. Before anyone commits to anything, I’ll look at the judgment and the record and tell you my thoughts. If there’s no issue worth taking up, I’d rather tell you that early than bill for finding out late.
Full appellate representation. Briefing and oral argument in the federal circuits and the Illinois appellate courts.
Post-trial and post-judgment motions. Rule 50, Rule 59, and the motions that shape what the record looks like when it reaches the court of appeals.
Emergency work. Stays, injunctions pending appeal, and interlocutory petitions, on the timeline those require.
When to reach out
Federal criminal — 14 days. The notice of appeal is due 14 days after entry of judgment.
Federal civil — 30 days, or 60 when the United States is a party.
Illinois — 30 days from the final judgment, or from the disposition of a timely post-judgment motion.
The best time to call me is before the verdict. The second-best is the day after. But if you’re already inside the window, call anyway — protecting the deadline is usually straightforward, and the assessment can happen after the notice is filed.
My background
I clerked for the Hon. William J. Bauer on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which is the closest thing there is to watching how a panel actually analyzes an appeal.
I’m admitted in the Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Tenth Circuits, the Supreme Court of the United States, and Illinois — so a referral from outside Chicago usually doesn’t require associating additional counsel.
I’ve spent roughly twenty years doing this work, and I write about it regularly in the Illinois Bar Journal, Indiana’s Res Gestae, and a dozen other publications.
Representative results
Safe Zone v. Linn-Mathes, et al., 2026 IL App (1st) 251219 (Ill. App. Ct. 2026) — Commercial litigation dispute against four separate defendants and four law firms. Won a reversal of summary judgment against all four defendants.
United States v. Watkins, 107 F.4th 607 (7th Cir. 2024) — Argued that jury selection in a RICO prosecution violated Batson v. Kentucky. The Seventh Circuit agreed and remanded for further proceedings.
Gacho v. Wills, 986 F.3d 1067 (7th Cir. 2021) — Habeas petition premised on judicial bias, the trial judge having taken bribes. The Seventh Circuit reversed and granted the writ.
Bradley v. Village of University Park, 59 F.4th 887 (7th Cir. 2023) — Procedural due process claim by a terminated police chief, on its second trip to the court of appeals. The Seventh Circuit reversed summary judgment; an earlier appeal, 929 F.3d 875 (7th Cir. 2019), had reinstated the case after dismissal.
LM Insurance Corp. v. Go To Logistics, 2019 IL App (1st) 180591-U — Defended against a $3 million default judgment entered as a discovery sanction. The First District vacated the award in its entirety and remanded.
United States v. Toviave, 761 F.3d 623 (6th Cir. 2014) — Appealed four forced-labor convictions carrying an eleven-year sentence. The Sixth Circuit reversed and threw out all four convictions.
View Full List of Significant Decisions
Fees and logistics
Flat fees for appellate briefing, wherever the record allows a fair estimate. Most appeals do. You and your client know the number before the work starts, and it doesn’t move because the record turned out to be longer than it looked.
Hourly for shorter engagements such as consultations, moots, and preservation review.
On fee arrangements between counsel: I’m glad to discuss how a referred matter is structured. Any division of fees will comply with Rule 1.5(e), including written client consent — I’d rather settle that at the start of a matter than at the end.
Questions I get from referring counsel
Will you try to take the rest of my client’s work? No. I don’t have a practice that could absorb it. Appeals and post-trial matters are all I do.
What if I want to stay involved? No problem. Some referring lawyers want to review every draft and some want to hear from when the appeal ends. Both are fine — tell me which at the start.
Can you work directly with my client? Whatever you prefer. Some referring lawyers want their client to deal with me directly on the appeal; others want everything routed through them. Either works, as long as we’re clear about it up front.
Do you take cases outside Illinois? Yes. I’m admitted in five circuits and the Supreme Court, and if necessary, can seek admission in a new circuit, or seek admission pro hac vice.