Advances and Trends in Appellate Practice

A pre-recorded streaming VIDEO replay of the August 2025 webcast, Advances and Trends in Appellate Practice.

Over the last year, both rule and technology changes have helped new appellate practitioners to navigate appeals of right in Virginia. These include liberalization of rules related to Assignments of Error, formalizing the process—and leaving less to chance—for written statement of facts, and more. And perhaps now more than ever, it is important for the appellate practitioner to understand how advances in technology and AI services can help them manage their appellate practice and strategy.

• Rule changes that clarify and ease the process for various appellate filings
• Recent statutory changes impacting appellate practice and advocacy

• Ways that AI can improve your oral argument preparation
• The data behind the Virginia Supreme Court’s review of the Court of Appeals of Virginia civil decisions since appellate expansion in January of 2022

Peter Askin, ThompsonMcMullan P.C. / Richmond

Peter Askin is a trial and appellate attorney for government, commercial, tort, and other civil litigation matters. Mr. Askin achieved his undergraduate degree from Davidson College and his juris doctorate from Washington & Lee School of Law. Following law school, he clerked for Chief Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn in the Supreme Court of Virginia, and then with Judge Elizabeth W. Hanes in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

John P. O’Herron, ThompsonMcMullan P.C. / Richmond

John O’Herron concentrates his practice in appellate litigation and motions practice in both federal and state courts.

“I love the craft of legal writing, and the challenge of persuading through effective written and oral advocacy is immensely fun and rewarding”, says Mr. O’Herron, a former Supreme Court of Virginia clerk for Chief Justice Kinser. Driven by that experience and embracing the challenge of effective advocacy, Mr. O’Herron offers a variety of appellate services to individuals, business, and government clients. His services include consulting and representation related to perfecting or resisting an appeal, briefing and argument, amicus curiae, and rule compliance in the appellate courts.

Mr. O’Herron has represented businesses, individuals, and government officers and agencies in numerous appeals, tapping into his familiarity with appellate law and procedure and his proven track record of crafting successful appellate arguments. His unique expertise enables him to provide high-quality representation for written or oral advocacy to maximize the chance of success at all stages of an appeal.

Mr. O’Herron also excels in non-appellate matters and regularly appears in state and federal court in various civil litigation matters, where he similarly focuses on effective written and oral advocacy in dispositive motions. He represents a wide variety of clients, including constitutional officers such as sheriffs and their deputies, clerks of court, commonwealth’s attorneys, and businesses both large and small, as well as insurance companies and their insureds in both coverage and liability disputes.

Mr. O’Herron maintains RichmondAppeals.com, a website dedicated to his appellate practice and the recent and impending changes in the field of appellate law.

Mr. O’Herron and his wife live in Richmond with their five children where he enjoys his books, his garden, and time with his family. He is also passionate about education and is the founding president of Cardinal Newman Academy, an independent high school in Richmond, where he still serves as a member of the Board of Directors.