Services of Thomas Wade Young
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Trials and Appeals:
- Board Certified Appellate Attorney
- Experienced Trial Lawyer
- Trial and Appellate Support
- Attorney Disciplinary Proceedings
- Local Counsel
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Employment Law:
- Employer and Employee Rights
- Employment Discrimination
- Retaliation
- Whistle-blower
- Workplace Investigations
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Business Law:
- Contracts
- Contract Disputes
- Conflict Resolution
- Shareholder Disputes
- Buying and Selling
- Succession Planning
Trials And Appeals
Trial/Litigation
Helping clients find least expensive and workable solutions is Thomas Wade Young’s primary objective, but when solutions short of litigation are elusive, he will not shy away from the courtroom.
He has been trying cases to juries and judges for 21 years, including the very first case he was assigned out of law school.
Thomas Wade Young’s jury trial experience includes cases involving contract, personal injury, and medical malpractice disputes and breach of fiduciary duty claims against trustees. He has tried a variety of cases to judges as well, including contract, consumer credit, product liability, wills and trusts, and election disputes. He also has experience trying employment issues before administrative law judges.
Most cases are settled or dismissed before trial; some reports place the percentage of cases that go to trial below five percent (5%). One never knows when a lawsuit is filed, however, whether that lawsuit will be one of the few that reaches trial; thus, the selection of one’s attorney is a decision that should be made with care in all cases. Even when a case ends short of trial, the reputation and ability of the attorney responsible for the litigation may impact how and when the case will end.
What is Litigation?
Litigation is the term typically used to describe the formal court process through which a dispute is resolved. Litigation encompasses everything between the planning and filing of a lawsuit to the trial, appeal, and collection of any resulting judgment.
Litigation can be time consuming and costly. Parties involved in legal disputes often find that methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution facilitate outcomes that are faster and less expensive than traditional litigation in court.
Appeals
Thomas Wade Young is one of 171 Florida attorneys who are currently board certified by The Florida Bar in appellate practice. According to The Florida Bar, “Board certification recognizes attorneys’ special knowledge, skills and proficiency in various areas of law and professionalism and ethics in practice. Certification is the highest level of evaluation by The Florida Bar of the competency and experience of attorneys in the areas of law approved for certification by the Supreme Court of Florida.” Not all qualified lawyers are certified, but those who are board certified have taken the extra steps to have their competence and experience recognized.
Board certification and experience make Thomas Wade Young well-situated to advocate for clients in the appellate courts of Florida and Kansas, including the Florida District Courts of Appeal, the Kansas Court of Appeals, the Supreme Courts of Florida and Kansas, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Tenth and Eleventh Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court. Tom also consults with and assists other trial lawyers who have less experience in appellate advocacy and who seek to ensure that their client’s rights are preserved in the trial court for later review in the event of an appeal.
Thomas Wade Young is well-suited to serve as appellate counsel in a variety of circumstances, including:
- Representing clients in both trial courts and courts of appeal;
- Representing clients who wish to have their appeal handled by an appellate specialist;
- Assisting other attorneys with preservation of error issues in the trial court; and
- Assisting other attorneys in obtaining appellate review of non-final trial court orders.
The types of cases filed in appellate courts most often include the following:
- Appeals of final orders and judgments;
- Authorized appeals from non-final orders;
- Petitions for discretionary review, such as through writs of certiorari;
- Petitions for writs of prohibition;
- Petitions for writs of mandamus;
- Petitions for writs of habeas corpus;
- Petitions for writs of quo warranto; and
- Petitions to invoke an appellate court’s authority to issue all writs necessary to aid in the exercise of the court’s jurisdiction over a case that is, or will be, pending before the court.
How do I know if I need an appeals lawyer?
On average, fewer than 20% of cases are reversed on appeal. A party seeking to overturn an outcome in the lower court, therefore, faces a challenging task and is especially well-served by an appellate specialist familiar with points of procedure and trained in the art of written advocacy and persuasion. Appeals are not, as commonly believed, a “second bite at the apple.”
Parties seeking affirmation of the outcome in a lower tribunal are also well-served by an appellate specialist familiar with principles of appellate jurisdiction, procedure, preservation of error, and standards of review. Not all error is reversible error, and an appellate specialist may be able to make a case for affirmation despite error.
An appellate court’s power to hear an appeal or to review a lower tribunal’s actions is generally limited to a short period of time, often 30 or fewer days. The failure to file required documents within the prescribed time may deprive the appellate court of jurisdiction, thereby preventing it from correcting what might otherwise be reversible error. Consulting an appellate specialist early and often is one way to maximize protection of the significant time, money, and energy that parties and trial attorneys spend in pursuit of justice.
What is the Appellate Process?
Courts of appeal, also known as appellate courts, are courts that have jurisdiction to review decisions of lower courts, administrative agencies, and local governmental bodies. Although the term “appeal” is commonly used to describe cases pending in an appellate court, appellate cases include both appeals from lower courts or tribunals and cases that are filed in the first instance in the appellate court.
The appellate process can vary from case to case and court to court and also depends on the specific circumstances involved. Appellate cases are governed by unique rules of procedure, and the failure to file appellate documents within the time frames required by the rules can be fatal to a case. Once a case is filed, a party may still have to convince the reviewing court that it has the power to hear the case or that the case is important enough to warrant review. Rules of procedure usually require that a record of the proceedings occurring in the lower tribunal also be transmitted to the reviewing court.
After the parties submit their written arguments, motions, and, sometimes, oral argument, the appellate court’s judges review the record from the lower tribunal, review the legal authorities supporting the parties’ arguments, and release a decision determining whether they have jurisdiction to hear the case and, if so, affirming, reversing, quashing, or otherwise modifying the lower tribunal’s ruling. The appellate court’s decision may take the form of a one page order that does not explain the reasons for its decision, or it may take the form of a lengthy written opinion.
