Mary Massaron Ross, who serves as Appellate Law Practice Group Leader for Plunkett Cooney – one of the nation’s oldest and largest law firms – is among several leading appellate attorneys who recently co-authored a book on state and federal appellate practice. 

Published by Law Journal Press, “Appellate Practice in Federal and State Courts” is a guide to the appellate process. The book offers step-by-step advice on a variety of issues, including factors to weight when evaluating whether to appeal, preserving issues for appeal, preparing winning motions, standards of review, and standing to appeal. The book also offers insight into appellate decisions involving class certification. 

Massaron Ross, one of 15 contributors, authored Chapter Six, titled: “Interlocutory Appellate Review.” In this chapter, she offers an extensive review of both federal and state law governing interlocutory appeals, including the collateral order doctrine, appeals from contempt orders, appeals relating to injunctions and injunctive relief, receiverships, and admiralty decisions. The chapter also addresses certification of orders for appeal and the use of extraordinary writs to obtain interlocutory review.

“I’m honored to have been a part of this effort and to have worked with some of the best appellate lawyers in the country,” said Massaron Ross, a partner and member of Plunkett Cooney’s Board of Directors. “This book provides a resource for those trying to find answers to difficult questions of appellate practice and procedure. Newcomers and veterans alike will find helpful information and tips for practice here.”

“Appellate Practice in Federal and State Courts” was edited by David M. Axelrad, who is a partner with the civil appellate law firm of Horvitz & Levy LLP. Axelrad is a California State Bar certified appellate specialist, who has handled hundreds of civil appeals in state and federal court during nearly 30 years of appellate practice.

Massaron Ross, who previously served as a law clerk to former Michigan Supreme Court Associate Justice Patricia J. Boyle, practices in Plunkett Cooney’s Detroit office. One of the firm’s top appellate attorneys, Massaron Ross has over 50 published opinions to her credit.

Massaron Ross serves as the first vice president of DRI – The Voice of the Defense Bar and will become the organization’s president in 2012. She also serves as First Chair of the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society Advocates Guild, Co-Chair of the Michigan Appellate Bench Bar Conference Foundation, Chair of the State Bar of Michigan’s Appellate Practice Section and Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Amicus Curiae Briefs, the five-member committee that oversees preparation of ABA briefs for filing in state and federal appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.

A member of the prestigious American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, Massaron Ross has numerous honors to her credit, including recently being featured as one of the state’s “Most Influential Attorneys” in the past 25 years by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, which has covered the state’s legal industry in 1986.  Michigan Super Lawyers magazine has also honored Massaron Ross for four consecutive years and has included her among its top 100 Michigan attorneys, as well as its top 50 women lawyers in the state.

Plunkett Cooney is one of the few Midwest law firms with a dedicated team of appellate attorneys, who routinely handle cutting-edge appeals involving issues of first impression and seek to reverse adverse judgments. In addition to representation before state and federal appellate courts, the firm’s appellate attorneys provide a broad range of specialized services, including counsel during trial designed to optimally position cases for possible appeal.

Established in 1913, Plunkett Cooney employs approximately 160 attorneys in nine Michigan cities and one each in Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana. The firm, which provides a range of transactional and litigation services, has achieved the highest rating (AV) awarded by Martindale-Hubbell, a leading, international directory of law firms.

For more information about the chapter Mary Massaron Ross authored for “Appellate Practice in Federal and State Courts,” contact Plunkett Cooney’s Practice Development Manager John Cornwell at (248) 901-4008; jcornwell@plunkettcooney.com.

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