Trial & Appellate Advocacy
From the firm's earliest days, Miller, Miller & Canby’s trial lawyers have fought – aggressively yet fairly and zealously yet efficiently – for the rights and interests of their clients. At one time, much of the firm’s trial and appellate practice concentrated on the resolution of disputes involving real estate and its taxation and valuation. To this day, several of our most seasoned attorneys continue to excel in this important practice area and are recognized throughout Maryland for their expertise.
Just as Montgomery County has grown more sophisticated and diverse in the last half century, so too has the firm's trial practice. Today, Miller, Miller & Canby’s attorneys regularly litigate a great variety of complex matters in both federal and state court, using the latest in courtroom technology and demonstrative exhibits to present their cases. Examples of the nature of the cases the firm undertakes include breach of contract, serious personal injuries, professional malpractice, eminent domain and condemnation, fraud, will caveats, partnership and corporate control disputes, and actions for declaratory judgment, specific performance and injunctive relief. The firm not only represents a diverse blend of individuals, partnerships, and small businesses, but appears on behalf of some of America's largest, best-known multi-national corporations as well.
For all of the firm’s clients, the objective is to win the case at the earliest possible opportunity. To this end, Miller, Miller & Canby’s attorneys have developed particular skill in framing and pleading cases in a manner rendering them susceptible to summary judgment, thereby eliminating the costly preparation and prosecution of a trial. The firm’s attorneys also have the skill and experience to continually evaluate the strength and relative merits of each case, and engage in settlement negotiations where appropriate. Of course, some cases must be tried. At trial, the firm’s formidable litigators, with decades of trial experience in both federal and state court, often mean the difference between success and failure.
Appellate Practice
The uncommon breadth and depth of the firm’s overall legal expertise might best be reflected in the appellate experience enjoyed by our lawyers. Collectively, our attorneys have briefed and argued well over one hundred appeals, addressing a broad array of legal issues—civil and criminal—in both of Maryland’s state appellate courts as well as in the federal appellate system.
Cases typically “go up” on appeal only after having first been heard in a trial court. Unlike the trial, however, where disputes typically involve questions of fact, at the appellate stage cases almost always turn on issues of law. For this reason, the most successful appellate advocates combine legal scholarship with skill in the arts of written and oral advocacy.
Although many of the appeals handled by our attorneys result from cases previously tried by them, our lawyers are no strangers to engagements commenced at the appellate stage. In either event, we emphasize the production of briefs bearing the classic hallmarks of great legal writing: accuracy, brevity, and clarity. And none of our appellate practitioners attend oral argument without first undergoing a rigorous “moot court,” at which the firm’s most experienced advocates assist appellate counsel in framing the issues in their most positive light.
Trial and Appellate Advocacy Attorneys:
