Howard J Bashman

April 30, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

On March 27, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court officially approved a series of amendments to the Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure governing the size of appellate briefs. Most significantly, the new amendments replace the page limits currently applicable to appellate briefs with various maximum word-count limits.

By Howard J. Bashman

6 minute read

April 17, 2006 | National Law Journal

Howard Bashman suggests whole categories of pesky appeals the regional circuits would gratefully send to the Federal Circuit.

By Howard J. Bashman

6 minute read

April 12, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

Once a civil case has been decided at trial, it is often necessary for the losing party to file post-trial motions in order to preserve issues for appeal. If the civil case has been tried in federal court, ordinarily a judgment would be entered on the verdict almost immediately after the verdict is returned. By contrast, if the civil case has been tried in state court, judgment will not be entered until after any timely filed post-trial motions have been resolved.

By Howard J. Bashman

5 minute read

September 11, 2012 | The Legal Intelligencer

In sports, from time to time, an underdog will defeat a team that was heavily favored to win. As the saying goes, "It's why they play the game." If the favorite always defeated the underdog, there would be little reason to have the game occur on the field, the hardwood floor or the ice.

By Howard J. Bashman

6 minute read

May 10, 2012 | The Legal Intelligencer

In late March, the public's attention was focused on appellate oral arguments to an extent and intensity rarely seen, as the U.S. Supreme Court heard day after day of oral argument on the lawfulness and constitutionality of the so-called federal health care mandate.

By Howard J. Bashman

8 minute read

December 13, 2011 | The Legal Intelligencer

Attorneys and judges are perhaps more familiar than anyone with the value and importance of the attorney-client privilege.

By Howard J. Bashman

6 minute read

May 10, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

Oral argument can be one of the most exhilarating aspects of the appellate process. At an appellate oral argument, you can observe firsthand that the judges have understood and agree with the arguments you have asserted in your written briefs. And you can address directly whatever questions the actual appellate decision makers have about the case and anything that may be troubling them about your client's position on appeal.

By Howard J. Bashman

6 minute read

July 12, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

The U.S. Supreme Court, in its just-completed term, issued a total of 72 signed opinions in argued cases. Five of those cases reached the Supreme Court directly from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In eight other argued cases that the Supreme Court decided in its recently completed term, the high court noted that it was resolving conflicts that involved the 3rd Circuit.

By Howard J. Bashman

7 minute read

October 11, 2011 | The Legal Intelligencer

Recently, a journalist working at one of Pennsylvania's major newspapers called me in the hope that I would be willing to speak on the record about the declining number of opinions that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued in 2010.

By Howard J. Bashman

6 minute read

March 12, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

Appellate lawyers cannot help but experience an extra degree of excitement when an appeal on which they are working presents a question of first impression. All cases may be unique in some respect, but a true case of first impression appears infrequently.

By Howard J. Bashman

7 minute read