Earlier this month, appellate attorneys Marie Williams and Ruth Moore launched a new law firm, Moore Williams PLLC. Billing themselves as “Colorado’s Appellate Boutique,” these two don’t hide the fact that they have big plans:
“When you look at the marketplace for appellate representation in Colorado, you see large firms with established practice groups, and you see a multitude of solo practitioners,” said Moore. “In other major markets, though, you will find something in between — the appellate boutique. We think Colorado needs that, and that’s what we are bringing to the market.”
The appellate boutique is a place to consolidate the specialized skill and experience that comes from handling countless appeals. “It’s a truism that great trial lawyers have certain unique skill sets. The same is true of great appellate lawyers — it’s a different kind of exercise to write persuasive complex legal briefs or to engage in academic discussion about the law with a panel of judges,” explains Williams. “We plan to expand the firm beyond the two of us, leveraging even more of this specialized experience to serve clients.”
The firm’s founding members are well suited to build this appellate boutique. Each of them brings nearly 20 years of sophisticated legal experience to the mix.
Williams graduated from the University of Colorado Law School in 2000, and went straight to work for the firm now known as Faegre Baker Daniels LLP. She left briefly in 2006 to serve as the first law clerk for Justice Allison Eid on the Colorado Supreme Court, but returned to the firm after her clerkship. Williams became an equity partner in the Business Litigation and Appellate Advocacy groups of the AmLaw 100 firm and remained with Faegre until 2016. During her time there, Williams worked on all kinds of complex commercial litigation and appeals: insurance coverage disputes, financial services litigation, class action defense, construction and real estate matters, employment discrimination defense, ERISA claims, and business tort claims in the energy industry, among many others. She has argued appeals and first-chaired trials in both state and federal courts. Most recently, Williams has run her own solo practice, focusing almost exclusively on appellate work.
Moore graduated from Columbia University Law School in 2001, and began her practice at O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles. She went on to work for an entertainment litigation boutique in California before moving to Colorado in 2007. Since then, Moore has worked at an energy law firm and run her own solo practice, while steadily increasing her focus on appeals and complex legal issues. Moore continues to maintain an of-counsel relationship with the Denver litigation firm Richards Carrington, LLC. She is regularly retained by top trial lawyers in both Colorado and California to handle their appeals.
These experienced advocates also view the new firm as an important piece of access to justice. “Most clients — whether an individual, business, or trial lawyer looking for co-counsel — are priced out of hiring one of the ‘big firms,’” notes Moore. “Our focus on client-centered pricing allows us to be more flexible in our approach to cases, making top-notch appellate representation available to more people in our communities.”
They contribute to access to justice in more traditional ways as well. They will continue to do pro bono legal work through established programs like the Faculty of Federal Advocates and the CBA Appellate Pro Bono Program. And their new firm is a Contributing Law Firm to the Colorado Lawyers Committee.
Outside their sophisticated legal practices, both Williams and Moore are involved in their communities in other ways. Those include volunteering with Rotary Club, HOA and neighborhood groups, Destination Imagination, and Children’s Hospital Colorado. Each has two school-aged children, meaning they also devote time to PTAs, homework, and extracurricular activities.
In fact, it was their mutual volunteer work with Girl Scouts of Colorado that brought Moore and Williams together. “It was Girl Scout cookie season when we first discovered our many commonalities,” says Williams. “From there, it didn’t take long to realize that we had the same kinds of practices, share the same values, and have a common vision to build a practice that is greater than the sum of its parts — to become Colorado’s Appellate Boutique.”
You can learn more about Moore Williams PLLC at http://www.moorewilliams.com, and contact either Moore or Williams through the website or through LinkedIn.
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