Jim A. Moseley

Former Justice Jim Moseley is now the Leader of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group. In addition to guiding clients through complex state and federal appeals in Texas and across the country, Jim focuses on fulfilling his personal commitment to building a high-quality group of seasoned lawyers who will provide the same exceptional service long after he leaves the practice of law.

As one of the 13 justices on the Fifth District Court of Appeals, Jim’s jurisdiction covered the Dallas area, including Collin, Dallas, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman and Rockwall counties. He authored more than 1,500 opinions in all areas of civil and criminal law and sat as a non-authoring justice in more than 3,000 additional cases. In 2003, Jim was commissioned to sit for a recused Texas Supreme Court justice and authored the Court’s plurality opinion (St. Joseph’s Hospital v. Wolff, 94 S.W.3d 514 (2003)).

Having served as a former appellate justice for over eighteen years, Jim has read more briefs and heard more oral arguments than almost any practicing appellate lawyer. He brings the insights from that experience to every case, formulating strategy and arguments, overseeing the research, and fine-tuning later drafts of the briefs. In many cases Jim stays in the background, guiding practice group members (or outside attorneys) and matching their expertise with the work to be done. This approach helps control costs while still maximizing the likelihood of success on appeal.