I’m Joe Winston and I’m an appellate advocate based in Richmond, Virginia. I handle criminal, personal injury and business cases in both Federal and state courts.
I have more than 30 years of civil and criminal litigation experience, and have briefed and argued hundreds of appeals, including both petitions for review and merits cases. (You can see selected briefs here.)
I’ve argued before the Supreme Court of the United States and have appeared numerous times in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the Supreme Court of Virginia, and the Court of Appeals of Virginia. (Selected cases are listed here.)
The extent of my experience has made me efficient at identifying the winning and losing issues. It has also given me a breadth of knowledge of the procedural issues that routinely come up. Over the years I have developed both a keen eye for those problems that can derail an appeal and the ability to avoid or ameliorate them. I believe these factors give me an edge over litigators who don’t do appeals as at least a major part of their practice.
From 2000-2008, I was Special Appellate Counsel in the Office of Appellate Defender. The large caseload of the office provided the rare experience of a wide range of appellate procedure problems and the operation of a large-volume appellate practice. I am also active in local and state bar associations and have taught continuing legal education courses. For many years, I was a member of the board of directors of the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society.
By way of background, I am a native of Arlington, Virginia, and a longtime Richmonder, having earned my JD from the University of Richmond where I was on the Law Review. I earned my undergraduate degree at Roanoke College.
When I’m not working, I study wing chun kung fu. I’m the father of two grown daughters who provide an eternal source of pride.
At the end of the day, I do this because I enjoy finding the answers in the case law and applying those rules of law to the client’s case in a written argument that engages the judges in a compelling and persuasive way.
