Erik R. Zimmerman

• Argued appeals in the Fourth Circuit, the North Carolina Supreme Court and the North Carolina Court of Appeals on a variety of issues, including issues of constitutional law.

• Represented North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper in litigation challenging the legislature’s ballot language relating to proposed amendments to the North Carolina Constitution. Successfully argued a motion for preliminary injunction before a three-judge panel.

• Submitted several amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court, including a brief for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law about judicial review of partisan gerrymandering.

• Submitted an amicus brief in North Carolina court on behalf of four former North Carolina governors in a constitutional challenge to state legislative districts that were politically gerrymandered.

• Successfully represented a federal contractor in the U.S. Supreme Court in a False Claims Act case.

• Filed several petitions for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, including a petition for a medical device manufacturer on an issue of federal preemption of state law.

• Successfully appealed a judgment of nearly $100 million to the Fourth Circuit in an insurance contract dispute.

• Persuaded the D.C. Circuit to overturn an FCC ruling against a cable television provider under the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

• Filed a petition for discretionary review in the North Carolina Supreme Court in a pro bono matter involving a landlord-tenant dispute.

Winning on appeal demands clear thinking and a tailored strategy. It also requires special skills. Today’s appellate courts expect — and reward — crisp writing and focused arguments.

The appellate team at Robinson Bradshaw has the experience that appellate work demands. We put our expertise to work in the U.S. Supreme Court, the federal appellate courts and state appellate courts in North and South Carolina. Our team includes:

• Two U.S. Supreme Court clerks,
• The most recent solicitor general of North Carolina,
• Dozens of former clerks for federal appellate judges,
• Newly minted clerks from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the North Carolina Supreme Court and the South Carolina Supreme Court,
• A state bar-certified specialist in appellate practice,
• Multiple members and the former chair of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Appellate Rules Committee, and
• A former chair of the American Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Committee.

Robinson Bradshaw’s appellate team often serves as new or additional counsel on appeal. We help parties who have suffered an adverse result in an earlier court, as well as appellees who seek us out for our skills and experience. We also craft amicus briefs for clients with an interest in pending appeals, including appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Although most clients retain Robinson Bradshaw for the full life cycle of an appeal, our appellate engagements have a flexible scope. We often advise clients on whether an order is appealable and, if so, whether an appeal makes strategic sense. We also serve as pre-appeal advisers during trials and other proceedings that can generate later appeals. In these roles, our attorneys can offer a fresh and dispassionate perspective — a perspective that reflects our experience arguing before and clerking with appellate judges and justices.