Successful appeals begin in the trial court. Issues are framed, preserved and set up for success through mastery of the strategic and practical aspects of practicing before the Federal Circuit, including its sometimes arcane procedural rules. Join our presenters, Blair Jacobs and Bonnie Warren of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, in this installment of our trial advocacy series, which will help you in working with outside counsel to ensure that the appellate record is protected and set up in a manner to optimize the chance of success, either during post-trial motions or on appeal. Key points:   

• Avoid mistakes that can waive or limit appellate review
• Create a good record for appeal 
• Understand Federal Circuit law 
• Use appellate rules to your advantage in the trial court 
• Know what issues to push during post-trial briefing and on appeal 
• Work with outside counsel to fairly assess your chance of success on appeal

Blair M. Jacobs, Esq. is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, based in its Washington, D.C. office. A member of the Intellectual Property, Media & Technology Department, he focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation and related antitrust disputes before federal district courts, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals and the International Trade Commission. Mr. Jacobs, who previously served as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice and at the White House, where he worked for the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, lectures and writes on various topics including trial tactics and trial advocacy, patent litigation strategies and issues associated with electronic discovery. He teaches trial advocacy at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and served on the faculty of the Attorney General's Advocacy Institute while at the Department of Justice.

Bonnie J. Warren, Esq. is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, based in its Washington, D.C. office. A member of the Intellectual Property, Media & Technology Department, she concentrates her practice on intellectual property law and patent litigation. Before establishing a career in law, Ms. Warren worked in the software design and development industry, and prior to joining her firm, she clerked under the Honorable Judge Edward S. Smith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.