Mackenzie Hughes attorneys servicing the Appellate Practice area include:

David M. Garber
W. Bradley Hunt
Nancy L. Pontius

While some firms may shy away from handling difficult appellate cases, we relish the challenge and the opportunity to prevail for our clients. Over the years our appellate attorneys have included some of the most highly regarded jurists in New York State, including a former chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, a former presiding justice of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, and other attorneys who have gone on from Mackenzie Hughes to become respected judges of the New York State Supreme Court and United States Federal District Court.

The present members of our Appellate Practice Group, two of whom have come from judicial clerkships, have over fifty years combined experience handling complex legal issues in commercial litigation, insurance coverage, municipal and land use law, certiorari and condemnation, taxation, labor and employment, civil rights, medical and legal malpractice, personal injury, premises liability, and other areas of the law before state and federal appellate courts.

Our appellate attorneys have handled major appeals that have helped to define and shape New York civil law, including contractor liability under Labor Law 240 (Narducci v. Manhasset Bay Associates, 96 N.Y.2d 259); the limitation of property damage liability a car rental company can impose on the renter of a vehicle (Master Cars, Inc. v. Walters, 95 N.Y.2d 395); requirements for the exercise of long-arm personal jurisdiction (Talbot v. Johnson Newspaper Corporation, 71 N.Y.2d 827); the admissibility of expert opinion (Sawyer v. Dreis & Krump Manufacturing Co., 67 N.Y.2d 328); the grant of a real property tax exemption for municipal airport (City of Syracuse v. Comerford, 13 A.D.3d 1109); and sustaining a town's authority to impose permit, legal, and engineering fees on developers of subdivision plots (Home Builders Assoc. of Central New York, Inc. v. Town of Onondaga, 267 A.D.2d 973). In the area of criminal law, one member of our appellate group succeeded in obtaining the reversal of a criminal conviction and sentence of over thirty years in prison by convincing the United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit to recognize a new kind of "structural error" that required reversal even without a showing of prejudice (United States v. Harbin, 250 F.3d 532).

Recognizing our expertise in handling complex legal issues before state, federal, and administrative appellate tribunals, businesses retain us as special appellate counsel to provide a fresh look at their cases. We also provide support to municipalities, municipal counsel, and other attorneys by handling their appeals, advising them on particular matters, or undertaking research, briefing, or argument of specific issues.

In addition, we represent interested parties as an amicus curiae or "friend of the court," appearing in appeals involving cases or legal issues that affect their industries, businesses, professions, or personal interests.