Appellate Law

If you have an important case you need to reverse or defend on appeal, we want to talk to you! The Woodring Law Firm handles appeals in the Florida Supreme Court, all Florida District Courts of Appeal, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Woodring has worked on hundreds of appeals and has substantial appellate experience with high-stakes cases affecting thousands of people and billions of dollars at the highest state and federal levels. He served as an appellate law clerk and, while working for the Governor’s Legal Office, spent years helping interview and select the best judges for Florida’s Trial and Appellate Courts. Mr. Woodring is a member of the Florida Bar Appellate Law Section.

Choosing your appellate counsel and deciding whether to appeal or defend an appeal is a crucial decision. Fewer than 15% of appeals succeed, so you need to quickly assess if your case, with strong appellate counsel, can be successfully appealed or defended. For more information, see Should I Appeal? .

We will always discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your appeal or defense, the potential costs involved, and whether you can recover attorney fees if you win your appeal. Sometimes, statutes or contracts—such as the provisions in Section 120.595 Florida Statutes for certain administrative appeals—allow recovery of appellate attorney fees.

Timelines for appeals are often short, so do not delay contacting appellate counsel or you could forfeit your right to appeal. Issues and arguments must be preserved at the trial level to be considered on appeal. Preparing for an appeal can begin well before the trial concludes. We welcome the chance to help preserve appellate issues early, whether as co-counsel or in a consulting capacity.

The Woodring Law Firm  handles appeals involving significant issues of State or Federal constitutional law. We also undertake many other types of appeals, including those from administrative hearings at DOAH, civil rights and discrimination cases, workers’ compensation claims, business and civil disputes, contract and procurement cases, ballot summary and title disputes, citizens’ initiatives, Chapter 119 public records and government in the sunshine cases, licensing, regulatory and disciplinary cases, educational appeals, and appeals from agencies like the Public Employees Relations Commission, the Florida Elections Commission, and the Florida Ethics Commission. We do not handle criminal appeals unless based on actual innocence. Most civil appeals are within our scope, but we do not take family law, SSDI, unemployment, or immigration appeals.

Examples of notable appeals Mr. Woodring has participated in can be found at Woodring Appellate Cases.

We serve individuals, non-profit organizations, associations, businesses, and government entities on appeal in state and federal courts, both in Florida and nationally. If you are defending an appeal, believe you wrongfully lost at trial or in an administrative hearing, or have important legal issues that need to be preserved for appeal, we want to talk about your case. We also welcome referrals and co-counsel opportunities from trial counsel.