Parker Hudson Attorneys Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America 2027 Edition
Aug 20, 2026
Overview
Our appellate attorneys are known for stellar results and a team approach to appeals. We are often brought in as “counsel of last resort” — when the trial verdict didn’t go the right way and fresh analysis and advocacy are needed on appeal.
Success on appeal requires creativity, sophisticated analysis, and a fresh approach. It’s that combination that has led us to one success after another, not only for matters we handled in the trial court, but also for appeals on matters where Parker Hudson did not serve as trial counsel.
Because of our size and experience, we are able to offer the same superb quality as big-firm appellate teams, with attorneys who are equally well credentialed, but with fee arrangements that provide better value for the client.
Though we often serve as lead appellate counsel, many clients and other law firms have also brought us in as consultants, tapping our experience and insight to help them prepare an effective argument at any level of appeal.
Our approach includes:
- Offering representation to plaintiffs and defendants, appellants and appellees alike, whether they are businesses or individuals
- Bringing our appellate experience to a wide range of cases and legal issues, ranging from complex business torts or commercial cases to personal injury claims
- Recruiting top-quality attorneys with appellant experience to join our team, including former federal appellate law clerks
- Providing analysis of post-trial motions, including cases in where we were not the trial counsel, and briefing
- Seeking a JNOV (judgment notwithstanding verdict) or new trial whenever appropriate
- Putting the client’s best interests and goals first, whether we are serving as lead appellate counsel or as consultants
- Leveraging the issue-specific experience and insight of Parker Hudson’s other practice groups
We have significant experience handling appeals in federal and state courts, both in Georgia and beyond. In fact, we recently obtained the reversal of a $5.5 million jury award after being brought in as post-trial and appellate counsel for a client that had suffered a serious loss at trial while represented by different counsel. Through our post-trial briefing, we secured a new trial for the client and then re-tried the case and achieved a complete defense verdict, which we then successfully defended on appeal.
Experience includes:
- Appeals from state trial court
- Georgia Court of Appeals appeals
- Georgia Supreme Court appeals
- U.S. Appeals Court appeals (Eleventh Circuit and other Federal appeals)
- Appeals outside of Georgia
- Post-trial briefing & analysis (post-trial counsel)
- JNOV / New trial
- Lead appellate counsel representation
- Appeals consulting
Experience
- Represented a major regional healthcare system in a long-running business tort action by a physician seeking to maximize patient referrals to his own physician practice based on contested language in certain hospital inpatient-admission operating procedures. In a summary judgment favoring the client’s defense, the Georgia Court of Appeals reaffirmed that hospitals have broad power to control the administrative, operational, and managerial functions of their facilities and staff. The decision marks an important win for Georgia hospitals and health systems in the landscape of physician-hospital disputes involving challenges to hospitals’ administrative authority.
- Represented a hospital with a trauma center that sought to challenge the State’s grant of a provisional trauma center license to a nearby competitor. The Florida appellate court reversed the agency’s dismissal of the hospital’s challenge for lack of standing, holding that the economic interests and operational impacts faced by existing trauma centers fell within the zone of interests protected by the trauma statutes and that the agency decision was reviewable. The decision paved the way for existing trauma centers have the right to challenge the licensing of new competitors through formal administrative proceedings.
- Represented a horse racing wagering permit holder that was fined by a state regulatory agency for allegedly failing to conduct a valid horse race. The Florida appellate court reversed, holding that the race at issue satisfied the statutory and regulatory definition of a “race” and that the agency was equitably estopped from prosecuting the operator based on prior representations by its own officials. The decision eliminated the fine and vindicated the client’s operating practices.
- Represented hospitals challenging the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration’s Medicaid outpatient reimbursement rates for the 2016–2017 fiscal year, after the agency dismissed their petitions for administrative hearings as premature. The Florida appellate court reversed, holding that the agency’s announced reimbursement rates became final agency action when published and that the hospitals had a right to challenge them. The decision allowed the hospitals to proceed with their administrative hearings to contest the rates.
- Represented a claimant’s representative seeking to recover escheated estate funds on behalf of identified beneficiaries after a Florida probate court had already determined their entitlement. The Florida appellate court reversed the Department of Financial Services’ denial of the claim, holding that the Department overstepped its authority by conducting an independent re-adjudication of entitlement in contravention of the probate court’s valid order. The favorable decision vindicated the client’s claim and recovery of funds.
- Represented an online services provider that successfully challenged a Florida Department of Health memorandum warning medical marijuana treatment centers against contracting with third-party online ordering platforms. The Florida appellate court affirmed, holding that the provider had standing because the memorandum directly targeted its business and that the memorandum went beyond the statutory text, constituting an unpromulgated rule requiring formal rulemaking. The decision preserved the client’s ability to continue providing online ordering services to licensed medical marijuana treatment centers.
Related Services
- Administrative Litigation
- Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Creditor Rights
- Business Torts & Unfair Competition
- Commercial Disputes
- Consumer Class and Mass Action Defense
- Corporate Governance & Ownership Disputes
- Corporate Investigations
- Employment Litigation & Counseling
- Fiduciary Litigation
- Financial Services Litigation
- Franchise Disputes
- Government Contracts and Bid Protests
- Healthcare Litigation
- Insurance Coverage Litigation
- Intellectual Property & Restrictive Covenants
- Mass Tort Insurance Coverage and Bankruptcy
- Nondiscrimination in Healthcare
- Product Liability Defense
- Professional Liability
- Real Estate Litigation
- Securities Litigation & Arbitration
- White Collar Criminal Defense
- Related Service: Mediation & Arbitration Neutral Services
key contacts
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David B. Darden
Partner
Robert M. Brennan
Partner
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