EXPERIENCED APPELLATE Justices & Law Clerks

Our team is uniquely qualified to evaluate and handle appeals and writs. We’re former Appellate Justices and Law Clerks with years of experience working inside appellate courts.

“Myron and his team of former appellate justices have more civil appellate talent than most law firms in California, if not nationally.”

Jack Russo, Esq.
Managing Partner, ComputerLaw Group
Palo Alto

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Myron Moskovitz

SUPREME COURT LAW CLERK '64 - '65
Myron Moskovitz served as a law clerk to Justice Raymond E. Peters of the California Supreme Court. Myron is the author of Winning An Appeal (Carolina Academic Press, 5th ed.) and Strategies On Appeal (CEB 2022). He has handled and consulted on hundreds of appeals in both state and federal courts. Moskovitz received his J.D. from Berkeley Law, where he was on the Law Review and received the Order of the Coif.

Watch podcast of interview with Myron
Publications

Of Counsel

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Presiding Justice Christopher Cottle (Ret.)

COURT OF APPEAL, 6TH DIST, 1993-2001

Justice Cottle served as Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal, 6th District (San Jose), for 8 years. He served as an Associate Justice on that Court for 5 years. He authored opinions on a wide variety of issues, including business disputes, insurance coverage, environmental pollution, administrative writs, personal injury, premises liability, employment discrimination, wrongful termination, professional liability, estates and trusts, and real property. Justice Cottle earlier served as a Judge in the Superior Court for Santa Cruz County. He received his B.A. from Stanford University and his law degree from UC Law SF, formerly Hastings.

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Michael Brodsky

9TH CIRCUIT LAW CLERK, 2001-2002

Michael Brodsky served as law clerk to Judge Dorothy Nelson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. He received his law degree from Yale Law School and his B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley (where he graduated 1st in his class of over 6,000 students). He has successfully litigated cases before the 9th Circuit and served as a litigation consultant for the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner, LLP.

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Jason Marks

SUPREME COURT LAW CLERK, 1994-2023

Jason Marks received his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.

Jason spent more than 25 years serving as a law clerk and Head of Chambers for Justices of the California Supreme Court, where he examined petitions for review and recommended grants or denials. He also read briefs on the merits, observed oral arguments, and helped the Justices draft their opinions.

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Donald Horvath

APPELLATE WRIT ATTORNEY, 1972-1986
Donald Horvath served as Head Writ Attorney of the California Court of Appeal, 5th District. He also served as research attorney to Presiding Justice Frederick Stone and Justice Donald Franson, Sr. of that court. Don received his law degree from UC Law SF (formerly Hastings), where he was on the Law Review and was awarded the Order of the Coif.

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David Kaiser

SUPREME COURT STAFF ATTORNEY, 2006-2017
David Kaiser served as a California Supreme Court staff attorney for eleven years. Earlier in his career, he received a Ph.D. in English from the University of California at Berkeley and his JD from UC Law SF (formerly Hastings), where he was Articles Editor of the Hastings Law Review. David worked as a litigator for Bingham McCutchen, LLP. David has also worked in the federal district court, the superior court, and the California Judicial Council.

Strategy Consultants to Moskovitz Appellate Team

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Presiding Justice James Ardaiz (Ret.)

COURT OF APPEAL, 5TH DIST, 1994-2010

Justice James Ardaiz served as Administrative Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal, 5th District (Fresno), having served on that Court for 20 years. Before that, he served as a Superior Court Judge. In 2000, he was chosen as California Jurist of the Year. He served as Chair of the Executive Committee of the Judicial Council, which establishes the Rules of Court for all courts in the State. He has lectured across the county on evidence, trial practice, and judicial decision-making.

In 2022, Justice Ardaiz retired from the active practice of law. So he can no longer represent clients or appear on Moskovitz Appellate Team briefs for clients. He now acts as a consultant to Moskovitz Appellate Team, and his input in cases remains especially useful.

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Justice William Stein (Ret.)

COURT OF APPEAL, 1ST DIST, 1998-2008

Justice Stein served for 20 years as an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, First District, in San Francisco. Justice Stein authored over two hundred published opinions, covering virtually every area of the law. Earlier, Justice Stein was a trial judge in the civil division of the San Francisco Superior Court and Presiding Judge of the Appellate Department. Before that, Justice Stein was an appellate specialist with the California Attorney General's office, where he briefed and argued cases before the United States Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court, and the California Court of Appeal.

Justice Stein has retired from the active practice of law. So he can no longer represent clients or appear on Moskovitz Appellate Team briefs for clients. He now acts as a consultant to Moskovitz Appellate Team, and we value his input.