Decades of Experience Successfully Arguing        High-Stakes Appeal Cases

When a trial court determination – either made by a jury or a judge – is unsatisfactory, it is vital to be prepared for the possibility of an appeal to an appellate (“error-correcting”) court, so that the strongest possible arguments can be developed and persuasively presented to the appellate tribunal.  PLDO’s distinguished Appellate Practice is comprised of highly skilled and experienced lawyers who are meticulous in case preparation, well-versed in the intricacies of the appeals process and can navigate a case effectively through the appellate process.

Nationally Recognized Trial and Appellate Attorneys 

Leading PLDO’s Appellate Practice is Partner Aaron L. Weisman, a nationally-recognized appellate attorney with 30 years of distinguished public service as the former United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, and Chief of the Rhode Island Attorney General’s criminal appeals.  Prior to his service as United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island between 2019 and 2021, Attorney Weisman served as Appeals’ Chief under four Rhode Island Attorneys General (Generals’ Pine, Whitehouse, Lynch, and Kilmartin), both Democrat and Republican.  In that role, he successfully prosecuted the State of Rhode Island’s interest in many of the most consequential cases heard by the Rhode Island Supreme Court in the past thirty years.  Under Attorney Weisman’s supervision, the criminal appeals unit enjoyed a success rate of well over ninety percent, with Attorney Weisman having personally argued hundreds of cases before the Rhode Island Supreme Court.  He also, in the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, oversaw the post-conviction unit, responsible for ensuring the just disposition of the myriad of civil actions that challenged the legality of Rhode Island judgements of conviction.  That responsibility brought Attorney Weisman before the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in Boston, Massachusetts, to argue numerous cases presenting complex legal issues.  In addition, Attorney Weisman argued a case before the Supreme Court of the United States in the Court’s 2010-2011 Term.

PLDO clients leverage Attorney Weisman’s vast appellate experience and knowledge of the intricacies of appellate law and procedure in prosecuting or defending, whether in state or federal court, appeals that are vital to their cases. He, with the other members of the Appellate Practice team, work to develop a sound strategy and craft persuasive briefs and oral arguments for companies, government entities and individuals on a wide range of issues, including:

• Government enforcement actions
• White collar criminal matters
• Data privacy and cyber security matters
• Health care fraud
• Employment discrimination matters
• Corporate compliance
• Other multifaceted civil litigation matters

PLDO’s Appellate Team have unique skill sets and decades of experience successfully arguing high-stakes cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Supreme Courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court. They are also highly regarded as thought leaders in appellate litigation. They closely monitor appellate and trial court cases of interest from state and federal courts throughout the United States. This deep knowledge of the law enables PLDO’s Appellate Practice to present the strongest possible arguments on appeal.

Effective advocacy in an appeals case requires a different skill set than that of a trial lawyer. At PLDO, we provide both trial and appellate litigation services for our clients. For more information about our Appellate Practice, please review a select number of our representative cases below and contact us at 401-824-5100 or email aweisman@pldolaw.com.

For more information on our litigation services, please click here.

Representative Matters:

Attorney Weisman successfully argued that the Superior Court wrongly re-imposed the plaintiff’s pension, and that the matter should be remanded back to the Narragansett Pension Board for a fresh pension-revocation hearing.

In a challenge to the District Court’s determination with respect to an owner insured’s interest in waterfront condominium development, Attorney Weisman was part of the team that was partially successful in having reversed the District Court’s determination with respect to some of the properties at issue.

Attorney McBurney successfully argued the validity of a zoning ordinance amendment passed by the Providence City Council.

In a zoning enforcement and non-conforming use action, Attorney McBurney successfully defended a legal nonconforming use commercial business located in a residential zone before both the Rhode Island Superior Court, and later on appeal, before the Rhode Island Supreme Court.