San Diego-based appellate attorney Ben Siminou offers the following services throughout California:
Appeals / Writs
As a former trial lawyer, Ben knows what a successful trial practice entails. He also knows that the characteristics of a successful trial practice — a large caseload, frequent travel, and a calendar crowded with countless deadlines — are often antagonistic to successful appellate work.
Exceptional appellate work takes more than familiarity with the unique procedural rules in appellate courts. It takes dedicated focus by a skillful writer who not only has the time for in-depth legal research, writing, and analysis, but who also has a true passion for writing winning appellate briefs.
Ben enjoys translating complex legal issues into clear, easy-to-read briefs that, above all, tell a compelling story. To that end, Ben's practice is structured so he can give his full attention to every appellate case he accepts. As a result, Ben personally handles everything — from the notice of appeal to oral argument and everything in between — and thus offers his clients a true turn-key solution to their appeals. By letting Ben do what he does best, the trial lawyers who hire him can get back to doing what they do best.
Motion Practice
The same characteristics of a busy trial practice that make it difficult for trial lawyers to write winning appellate briefs can also prevent them from producing effective law-and-motion work.
Ben has extensive experience handling motions in both state and federal courts with an exceptionally high win-rate against the biggest corporations and best defense lawyers in the country. In his nine years of trial practice, Ben was recognized by colleagues — and adversaries — for his superior law-and-motion work.
Ben serves trial lawyers looking to outsource motion work in a variety of ways, whether by briefing and arguing isolated, complex motions, or by serving as designated law-and-motion counsel in cases that entail significant law-and-motion work.
Mediation Briefs
Winning appellate briefs and compelling mediation briefs have a lot in common: Both must be well written, address the relevant legal issues with clever arguments, and — above all else — must tell a good story. Not surprisingly, Ben developed a reputation for writing highly effective mediation briefs during his time as a trial lawyer.
Many trial lawyers underestimate the value of a good mediation brief and, consequently, put relatively little effort into them. But a mediation brief often gives the mediator his or her first impression of a case, and as everyone knows, first impressions are critical.
Trial lawyers with high-stakes cases that are heading to mediation would be wise to consider outsourcing their mediation briefs to Ben: Apart from Ben's legal-writing abilities, his outsider perspective often gives him better perspective into what a mediator might perceives as the strengths and weaknesses of a particular case than the trial lawyers themselves. In many cases, the combination will result in a more effective mediation brief — and, thus, a more successful mediation — than a brief written by even the most competent trial counsel.
For More Information
Based in San Diego, Siminou Appeals, Inc., provides outsourced appellate and law-and-motion support to trial lawyers in state and federal courts. For more information, contact Ben.
