About Horvitz
& Levy LLP

Since 1957, Horvitz & Levy LLP has focused on winning appeals. Today, as a result of an outstanding track record of success spanning more than a half-century, we have become the largest firm in the nation specializing exclusively in appellate litigation.

Based in Los Angeles, Horvitz & Levy has appeared more often in California’s appellate courts than any other private firm, and the firm also frequently appears in the Ninth Circuit and other state and federal appellate courts. Since 1990, we have litigated more than 1,000 appeals, including more than 100 cases before the California Supreme Court.

For five decades we have handled appellate challenges to some of California’s largest verdicts, often either obtaining reversals or major reductions of the amount awarded against our clients, or sustaining their hard-fought trial court victories.

In fact, we have prevailed in more than 70 percent of our appeals nationwide since 1990, vastly exceeding the average success rate for appeals. And we have achieved particular success in challenging punitive damages awards. In the last decade alone, we have won reversal of more than 95 cents of every dollar of punitive damages assessed against our clients.

A single inexpertly handled appeal can result in adverse precedent that may affect a business or industry for years to come.

Clients turn to Horvitz & Levy for its demonstrated expertise in how to win on appeal. With experience in nearly every area of civil law that can be appealed in federal or state court, we provide appellate expertise to clients around the country.

Our services include not only full briefing and oral arguments before the appellate courts, but also consulting on trial strategy, assisting trial counsel in preserving and developing issues for appellate review, preparing post-trial motions in anticipation of appeal, and negotiating favorable settlements pending appeal.

Clients across the country, particularly those facing large adverse judgments or wishing to preserve important trial court victories, turn to us for a fresh perspective. Because our knowledge of the issues comes primarily from the record on appeal, we are able to view our clients’ cases from the same perspective as the appellate courts. From decades of experience, we recognize and develop the arguments and issues that will resonate on appeal.

Horvitz & Levy’s prestigious list of clients includes organizations ranging in size from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses, non-profits, and other entities, including:

• Business/Professional/Trade Organizations
• Energy Companies
• Government Entities
• Insurance Carriers
• Charitable Organizations
• Entertainment Companies/Studios
• Healthcare Providers
• Manufacturers
• Universities
• Law Firms
• Publishers
• Retailers
• Financial Institutions

It’s not only our size and long-term record of success that sets us apart; it's also the high caliber of our lawyers, and their specialized training in the field of appellate law.

Our attorneys earned their degrees at the nation's top law schools. Before joining us, they received outstanding legal training, often at national litigation firms or in government service. More than 70 percent of our lawyers started their careers in appellate clerkships. More than half served as law clerks to federal appellate judges or as staff attorneys at federal courts. Many have served as research attorneys to state court appellate justices.

This breadth of legal talent means clients don’t pay for training new law school graduates, or for their cases to be staffed with large teams of inexperienced associates.

Modern appellate advocacy requires the effective use of technology, and our state-of-the art resources enable us to fully exploit our decades of briefing on cutting-edge appellate issues. In other words, when we perform legal research, our clients don’t pay us to reinvent the wheel.

For example, Horvitz & Levy’s brief bank contains thousands of appellate briefs dating back to 1982. We take full advantage of the brief bank though West km®, a software program that integrates our brief bank with Westlaw® and provides real-time updates of the legal authorities in every brief. 

We have been pioneers in the use of “e-briefs” in the California appellate courts. An e-brief is a searchable CD-ROM that contains the entire appellate record, legal authority, and briefing with hyperlinked cross-references. E-briefs not only substantially increase the odds that appellate justices and their staff will understand the nuances of a case, but they also allow us to work more efficiently during the briefing process. 

We also maintain a password-protected client extranet that facilitates collaboration with clients, co-counsel, and amicus curiae on complex matters.

Horvitz & Levy has received the highest accolades and rankings from our peers, including recognition in Chambers & Partners, Best Lawyers in America®, California Lawyer Magazine, the National Law Journal, Super Lawyers, and the Los Angeles Daily Journal. The Chambers & Partners 2011 USA Client’s Guide ranks Horvitz & Levy at the top of appellate firms in California, noting that “clients praise the firm's depth of experience and collaborative nature."