Even the Best Attorney Can't Be an Expert at Everything
Appeals require very different skills than those of a great trial lawyer. Since appeals are based totally on the trial court record, appellate attorneys must be able to read sometimes lengthy and complex transcripts and exhibits and abridge them accurately and persuasively to the appellate court. Excellent legal research and writing skills are required to clearly present the state of the relevant law and to make the most persuasive written legal argument to the court. Short time limits for oral argument require an attorney to persuasively make the most important arguments to the judges in a very brief time.
The Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court have their own procedural rules that are unknown to most attorneys who do not regularly handle appeals. Failure to know and follow these rules can result in great delays or even in dismissal of your appeal.
Our appellate attorney, Margaret H. Leek Leiberan, is respected throughout the state as a strong advocate and effective attorney for her clients.
Jensen & Leiberan is one of only two law firms in the state of Oregon listed in the appellate attorney section of Martindale-Hubbell's Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers 2008, 2009 and 2010. Margaret H. Leek Leiberan has maintained her AV* rating under Martindale-Hubbell’s peer review rating system for more than 20 years.
She has over 25 years of experience and has handled hundreds of appeals in Oregon appellate courts in all areas of the law except criminal law. Her Harvard Law School education and extensive appellate legal experience combine to make her a powerful advocate in the Oregon appeals courts.
Her past cases include business and real property disputes, personal injury cases, divorces with complex custody and property issues, medical and legal malpractice, neighborhood disputes, conflicts over inheritance or insurance, animal protection and nearly every other area of civil law.
Effective in Written Briefs and Oral Arguments
Early in her legal career, Margaret Leiberan was a staff attorney for the Oregon Court of Appeals, where she learned that appellate briefs must be clear and concise in order to communicate effectively with judges, who read up to 20 legal briefs a day.
She is effective in presenting oral arguments to panels of appellate judges, who fire questions nonstop at appellate attorneys. Standing up to this intense questioning requires a comprehensive knowledge of the facts of the case and the relevant law. Judges frequently pose hypothetical questions extending the legal implications of a case or ask if there is anything in the record to support a specific point. Before arguing a case, Margaret Leiberan studies all of the admitted evidence and all relevant law so that she can effectively and persuasively answer any question posed by any of the judges during oral argument, even if it addresses an issue not raised by either party in the written briefs.
Oregon appellate courts affirm 80 percent of the lower courts’ decisions on appeal without writing any opinion. The appellate courts have written formal opinions in the majority of the appeals that have been argued by Ms. Leiberan. Attorney Margaret H. Leek Leiberan's name appears as counsel on over 160 published opinions.
For more information on our expertise and how it can help you win your appeal please visit our appeals website.
If you are an attorney, a plaintiff or a defendant who needs to protect or appeal a trial court decision, please contact our law office in Beaverton, Oregon, to arrange a consultation.
