Dorothy F. Easley
Top Appellate Lawyer board certified in appellate practiceEasley Appellate Practice PLLC
1200 Brickell Avenue, Ste 1950
Miami, Florida 33131
When it comes to federal appeals, Dorothy Easley is a nationally recognized author who literally wrote the book: Successful Federal Appeals in All Circuit Courts: A Practical Guide for Busy Lawyers. Dorothy appreciates the value of hard work, perseverance and tenacity. She grew up on a farm, learned to drive a tractor, and worked on a forestry logging crew for room and board as an undergraduate in the mountains of North Carolina. Dorothy has a Master of Science, summa cum laude, in forest genetics from New York, and a Juris Doctor, cum laude, in law from Miami. Her diverse professional experience–as a published research scientist in Latin America, as a university law professor, as a board certified appellate specialist, and as a former “biglaw” partner–has positioned her as a recognized leader in the appellate community.
Dorothy is a former elected-Chair of the 1700-member Florida Appellate Practice Section, former Vice Chair of the Appellate Court Rules Committee, and former heads of two “big firm” appellate departments. As the firm’s founder and board certified appellate specialist, Dorothy uses that experience to supervise intimately and works exhaustively with a team of appellate attorneys and appellate paralegals to efficiently and expertly advance your appeal to leave no stone unturned.
With hundreds of appeals, her firm is highly experienced and respected by appellate judges and her colleagues. Dorothy is an exceptional appellate advocate and writer, recognized with numerous awards for expertise, the uncanny ability to turn complex legalese into understandable prose, and win even the most complex cases.
U.S. Supreme Court
Florida Supreme Court
All Florida District Courts of Appeal, Statewide
All U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, Nationwide
Ranked Best Attorneys of America, Rue Ratings since 2015.
Ranked Top 100 Lawyers, South Florida, in Super Lawyer Magazine 2010.
Ranked AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®
Ranked Top 100 Lawyers, South Florida, in Super Lawyer Magazine 2010.
Ranked Top 50 Women Lawyers in Super Lawyer Magazine 2009, and again in 2010.
Ranked Florida Super Lawyer (top 5 percent of Florida lawyers), Super Lawyer Magazine, annually since 2006.
Florida Bar Board Certified in Appellate Law as an Appellate Specialist since 2003.
Ranked in the Legal Elite (top 1.9 percent of all Florida Lawyers), Trend Magazine.
Florida Bar 2009 Award for Excellence in the Promotion of Board Certification.
Florida Super Lawyer (top 5 percent of Florida lawyers), Super Lawyer Magazine
Senior Counsel, American College of Barristers.
Sigma Xi Honorary Scientific Research Society.
* Federal Appellate Jurisdiction Still Has Its Limits, ABA App. Prac. Newsletter (Winter 2015)
* Successful Federal Appeals in all Circuit Courts: A Practical Guide for Busy Lawyers (2d ed. 2015)
* Proposed Amendments (Some Controversial) to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, XX(4) The Record, Fla. J. App. Prac. (Winter 2014)
* Successful Federal Appeals in all Circuit Courts: A Practical Guide for Busy Lawyers (1st ed. 2014)
* The Persistent Legislative, Executive, and Corporate Attempts to Control the Judiciary, XX(2) The Record, Fla. J. App. Prac. Sec. 2 (Spring 2014)
* Florida’s New Jury Instructions in Contract and Business Law Cases: A Primer, 88(4) Fla. Bar. J. 40 (Apr. 2014)
* Preparing Your Employment Law Case for Appeal in the Eleventh Circuit, 11th Circuit Joint NELA Conference, Savannah,Ga. (March 21, 2014)
* Preparation of Appellate Briefs, Fla. Bar App. Prac. Book (2013-14).
* Amicus Briefs, Fla. Bar App. Prac. Book (2013-14).
* Appellate Stays in Civil Cases: Florida and Federal Courts Offer More Security Flexibility Than Believed, But Beware of Violating Their Stays, 86(10) Fla. Bar. J. 48 (Dec. 2012).
* Florida Civil Contempt Proceedings in Family Law Support Matters: an Appellate Perspective, Family Lawyer Magazine (Jan. 2012).
* The Appellate Process and How Decisions Are Made, Univ. Miami School of Law Presentation (June 2012).
* Amicus Briefs, Fla. Bar App. Prac. Book (2011-12).
* The Appellate Process and How Decisions Are Made, Univ. Miami School of Law Presentation (June 2011).
* Formatting and Cite-Checking Federal and State Appellate Briefs, Fla. App. Prac. Sec. Meet the State and Federal Clerks Seminar Before the Third District Court of Appeal (March 2011).
* Judicial Notice on Appeal: A History Lesson in Recent Trends, 84(10) Fla Bar. J. 45 (Dec. 2010).
* Writing Better Appellate Briefs, Fla. App. Prac. Sec. Practice Before the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal Panel Presentation (March 2010).
* Amicus Briefs, Fla. Bar App. Prac. Book (2009-10).
* Electronic Filing: The Sun Sets on the Paper Trail, ABA-AJEI Panel Presentation (Fall 2009).
* Judicial Notice on Appeal: National Trends, Fla. App. Prac. Sec. CLE (Spring 2009).
* Appellate Court Rules Committee Update, The Record, Fla. J. of App. Prac. Sec. (Fall/Winter, 2007-08).
* Editor-in-Chief & Contributing Author, Florida Bar Appellate Practice Section Pro Se Appellate Handbook: Representing Yourself on Appeal, Various Chapters (2001-present).
* Quo Warranto Extraordinary Writs, Fla. Bar App. Prac. Book (2006-07).
* Judicial Notice on Appeal: What’s All the Fuss?, Fla. Bar J. (March 2006).
* Senior Judges, Mandatory Retirement and the Freedom to Continue Contributing, The Record, Fla. J. of App. Prac. Sec. (Spring, 2005).
* Bryan Garner Counsels Appellate Lawyers and Judges on Effective Legal Writing, The Record, Fla. J. of App. Prac. Sec. (Winter, 2005).
* The Proposed Sixth District Court of Appeal: Real Need or Proverbial "Cutting Butter with a Chainsaw?", The Record, Fla. J. of App. Prac. Sec. (Fall, 2004).
* Dr. Bethany Dumas Speaks on Helping Jurors Understand the Law, The Record, Fla. J. of App. Prac. Sec. (Summer, 2004).
* Remand Orders in ERISA Cases: When Are They Reviewable in the 11th Circuit?, Fla. Bar J. (Oct. 2003).
* Chief Judge Gary Farmer of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, The Record, Fla. J. of App. Prac. Sec. (Spring, 2003).
* INS v. Elias-Zacarias: Political Asylum, “Plain Meaning,” and the Labyrinth of Formalism, 24 Univ. Miami Inter-Am. L. Rev. 467 (1993).
