Our Services
Appeals and Legal Research
Effective appellate representation demands different skills than those required of litigation attorneys.
As a technical matter of skill, it requires an ability to discover, comprehend and assess for success what legal issues are underlying a case. On an analytical level, it requires an ability to quickly grasp the nuances of the facts and the subject-matter of the case and the overarching policy concerns surrounding it, no matter where it sits along the litigation spectrum. Finally, on a procedural level, appellate practice is much more than just filing a brief and arguing a case. Appellate practitioners must be fully prepared to wield the powerful tools that allow appellate litigation to fully change the orientation of the parties and their relative standing vis-a-vis one another. This includes the filing of emergency appeals, motions for expansion of the appellate court record, and other procedural conventions that may be needed to aggressively address a given case. It also means considering the policy issues at play and reaching out to other similarly situated organizations and parties who may be interested in the outcome of the case. This “amicus” wrangling, as it were, forms a critical part of Lex Fori’s practice and is addressed in more detail in our section on amicus curiae brief writing.
Over the course of his two decades as an appellate practitioner, Attorney Carson J. Tucker has demonstrated an adeptness at analyzing the intricacies of each case from an objective and critical perspective. From reviewing and preparing the lower court record, identifying appealable errors, and developing a strategy to raise issues that will be addressed by appellate courts, Mr. Tucker is capable of handling the most complex appeals from the early litigation stage to oral advocacy before the highest courts.
Insurance Coverage and Defense
In high-exposure, catastrophic loss insurance coverage disputes, multiple parties (sometimes in multiple jurisdictions) are seeking to understand the nature of the liabilities at stake and the potential assets and resources available to pay for them. For businesses and private individuals, the availability, or non-availability of insurance is a critical factor in decision making.
For insurers, excess insurers and reinsurers, the nature of the claim or claims, the potential coverage and defenses, and their monetary value is critical to understanding options and making informed decisions regarding a response.
Let us help you navigate the intricacies of the business of risk, accurately analyze the value of potential liabilities and assets, and help you to make informed decisions about current and future action.
Environmental Law and Policy
With a Master’s Degree in Environmental Law and Policy Studies from one of the nation’s premier law schools in the subject, Mr. Tucker has utilized his specialised expertise and knowledge in this complex and dynamic area of the law as a force multiplier in addressing client needs.
Multiple international, federal and state regulatory controls exist to address the impact of private and public action impacting the environment. Mr. Tucker’s education and background has given him the ability to analyze legal issues concerning the environment from the broadest possible perspective taking into account all ecological concerns and policy matters within existing legal parameters.
Amicus Curiae Briefs
Amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs are a powerful tool that allow interest groups and other individuals and entities to participate in litigation when they are not a direct party to the dispute. Amicus briefs can present courts with new or alternative legal positions, social scientific and factual information, and perspectives regarding the policy implications of their potential decisions.
The amicus curiae brief is often presented in an attempt to persuade the courts to endorse a particular outcome in the case.
As one legal scholar has said:
“[A]micus briefs offer social movements a means to participate in the judiciary, thus potentially increasing its democratic responsiveness.” Collins, The Use of Amicus Briefs, 14 Annu. Rev. Law Soc. Sci. 219-237 (April 25, 2018).
Amicus curiae briefs are an essential weapon in the appellate lawyer’s arsenal. Whether you are an appellate attorney seeking to generate interest and potential amicus support about a case you have, or if you are an entity or organization that is looking for a quality amicus curiae brief, Lex Fori can provide you with all the technical skill, information and work product that you need to fulfill this important function of modern legal practice.
Blog
- Brief Submitted in Foster v Foster (After Remand) – Supreme Court of Michigan to Consider Effect of Federal Statutory Preemption on State Subject Matter Jurisdiction and Collateral Attack of Judgments Preempted and Void Under Federal Law May 20, 2021
- LEX FORI PLLC Asks United States Supreme Court to Force Georgia to Reconsider Its Refusal to Recognize Military Servicemember’s Home of Record in Suit to Vindicate Constitutional Rights April 15, 2021
- Lex Fori PLLC and Trinity Advocates file Pro Bono Petition in United States Supreme Court to Pursue Civil Rights Claims on Behalf of Disabled Veterans December 7, 2020
Carson J. Tucker, JD, MSEL
Mr. Tucker received his BA in Philosophy from the University of Georgia in 1994. During his undergraduate and post-graduate studies, Mr. Tucker was enlisted in the United States Navy (1989-2003).
As an undergraduate, he attended Oxford University in the United Kingdom, where he studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Jesus College.
He received his Juris Doctorate (with Honors) and his Master of Studies in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School in 2000.
Mr. Tucker has been a member of the bar since 2001. After his law studies, Mr. Tucker served as a law clerk for the Honorable Stephen J. Markman on the Michigan Supreme Court and after working at several national and international law firms, he began his own specialised law practice in July 2014.
In his day to day practice, Mr. Tucker handles all types of appellate matters and assists other lawyers with complex litigation and insurance coverage issues. He represents private clients, government entities, national and international businesses, insurance companies, and global corporations.
Mr. Tucker has developed a particular expertise in prosecuting and defending appeals and procuring and writing amicus curiae briefs and has considerable appellate experience in the Supreme Court of the United States, federal and state appellate courts, and various administrative tribunals.
He is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and all state and federal courts in Michigan. Mr. Tucker is also admitted pro hac vice in the states of Tennessee and Iowa and has appeared pro hac vice or as a consultant for representation of clients in state and federal courts, including Alabama, California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia.
Education
- University of Georgia, BA, Philosophy (1992-1994)
- Oxford University, Jesus College (1993-1994)
- Vermont Law School, JD, MSEL (1997-2000)
Languages
- English
- French
Military Service
- United States Navy (1989-2003)
- United States Army (2003-2016)
- After 26 years of reserve and active duty military service, Mr. Tucker retired as a Major in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps of the United States Army. He is a 2012 Graduate of the Judge Advocate Officer Advanced Course, at The Judge Advocate Legal Center and School, Charlottesville, Virginia.
- During his service as a lawyer in the Army (2003 to 2016), Mr. Tucker was a Command Judge Advocate for a brigade-level reserve support battalion and staff Judge Advocate for the Joint Maneuver Training Center, Camp Grayling, Michigan, a 146,000-acre military training facility in northern Michigan.
- Mr. Tucker was the recipient of the Army’s Meritorious Service Medal, which is the highest honor a soldier can receive when serving in a non-combat role. The award recited his role in providing legal advice and counsel and preparing written pleadings for the National Guard Bureau in cases pending in the United States Supreme Court, as well as for his role as the Staff Judge Advocate at Michigan’s Joint-Force Maneuver Training Center (JMTC) Camp Grayling, and for legal support provided to Joint Force Headquarters of the Michigan National Guard.
- Prior to serving in the Army, from 1989 to 2003, Mr. Tucker served in the United States Navy Reserve as an enlisted combat engineer with combat warfare qualifications (SCW).
Trinity Advocates
Since 2014 Mr. Tucker has also represented many disabled veterans on a pro bono and low bono basis.
In 2018, in further pursuit of this service, Mr. Tucker co-founded Trinity Advocates to develop a program for providing legal defense, expertise, consulting and education to military service members and veterans attempting to navigate their way through the federal government’s benefits system and protect their benefits from unlawful and unconstitutional state encroachment.
Lex Fori PLLC Court Appearances, Oral Arguments, Seminars and Podcasts
August 2020 Lex Fori PLLC and Carson J. Tucker (Counsel of Record) File Petition in United States Supreme Court for Disabled Veterans
July 2020 Lex Fori PLLC and Carson J. Tucker (Counsel of Record) File Pro Bono Petition in Louisiana Supreme Court
June 2020 Lex Fori PLLC and Carson J. Tucker (Counsel of Record) File Amicus Curiae Brief on Behalf of 60 State Legislators from Kansas, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas Defending Legislation Preserving the Right of Faith-Based Organizations to Partner with State and Local Governments to Provide Foster Care Services for Orphaned and Abandoned Children
May 2020, Article Published Carson J. Tucker and Lex Fori PLLC Discuss Liability of Governmental Entities for County Roads in Michigan in County Road Association of Michigan Quarterly, Summer 2020
Carson J. Tucker Presents Oral Argument in Michigan Court of Appeals November 6, 2019
Attorney Carson J. Tucker, JD MSEL presented oral argument in the Michigan Supreme Court in Foster v Foster on October 3, 2020
Attorney Carson J. Tucker, JD, MSEL presented oral argument in the Michigan Supreme Court in Menard v. Imig, et al., November 7, 2019
Attorney Carson J. Tucker Interviewed by Bloomberg Law on United States Supreme Court decision in Howell v. Howell
Bloomberg Law interviewed Carson J. Tucker on the impact of the uanimous United States Supreme Court decision in Howell v. Howell, 137 S. Ct. 1400 (2017). Mr. Tucker wrote an amicus curiae brief for Veterans of Foreign Wars and Operation Firing for Effect. Showcasing Lex Fori PLLC’s amicus curiae brief writing capabilities and research skills, this brief was drafted and filed in large part from the research facilities at the University of Cambridge Squire Law School’s Squire Law Library, a facility that houses one of the largest electronic and hard copy database of research materials in the world. The Supreme Court of the United States returned a unanimous opinion agreeing with every one of the major arguments in the amicus brief and addressing those points in the same order.