Civil Appeals
Our Appellate Practice
Smith Goodfriend, P.S. was founded in 1969 by Malcolm L. Edwards, who is widely recognized as the “dean” of appellate practice in Washington state. Over the last four decades, the firm has developed a strong reputation for appellate practice and procedure. Shareholders Catherine Smith, Howard Goodfriend and Valerie Villacin restrict their practices to civil appeals and related trial court litigation. The firm’s principals are leaders in the development of appellate litigation as a recognized area of practice in Washington state.
Smith Goodfriend usually has appeals pending in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Washington Supreme Court, and all three Divisions of the Washington Court of Appeals. Our appellate cases cover a wide range of practice areas; we have contributed to the advancement and development of the law in many procedural and substantive areas. The scores of published decisions in which we have appeared as counsel of record reflect the breadth of our appellate practice.
Our appellate clients are generally referred to us by other lawyers for a single appeal or lawsuit. We make it a point to limit our representation to the specific matter for which these clients are referred. As a result, although many trial attorneys and institutional clients refer all their appellate work to us, the firm has no major clients who provide us with a significant percentage of our practice.