Day: October 27, 2022

Ethical Issues As Counsel for Amici

By Jeff Michalowski

In recent years, amicus briefing has played an increasingly significant role in appellate practice. This is true, of course, in blockbuster Supreme Court cases like Dobbs (in which 133 amici filed briefs) and Obergefell (in which 149 amici filed briefs). But amicus briefs consume more and more of practitioners’ time in the intermediate appellate courts as well, and occasionally in the trial courts, too. Consider Kitchen v. Herbert, 755 F.3d 1193 (10th Cir. 2014) (identifying 257 amicus briefs in same-sex marriage case). See also Allison Orr Larsen, “The Amicus Machine,” 102 Virginia Law Review 1901 (2016) (noting the increased use of amicus briefs, and increased citation to amicus briefs in opinions). Read More