John M. Morris

Mr. Morris graduated from Cornell University and the University of Virginia School of Law, and joined Higgs, Fletcher & Mack in August of 1981, where he has been practicing exclusively in the area of civil appeals for almost 30 years.  He has served as lead appellate counsel in hundreds of cases in California Courts of Appeal and in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, and has appeared before the California Supreme Court.  He has also been an adjunct faculty member at California Western School of Law since 1983, where he continues to teach regular seminars on legal writing and an annual course on Products Liability.

Mr. Morris is a clear legal thinker and a concise legal writer, who has enjoyed considerable success for many years representing both plaintiffs and defendants as both appellants and respondents.  Recent results of note include the reversal of a $6 million dollar judgment against a Coronado real estate developer on a fraud claim, the reversal of another $6 million judgment against an Escondido Ford dealer on an employment claim, and the affirmance of a $3 million judgment in favor of a South County motel owner in an eminent domain case.

Mr. Morris works creatively with his clients to negotiate compensation in creative ways that meet the individual needs of his clients.  He is agreeable to reasonable hourly fee arrangements; negotiated fixed fee arrangements; and, in appropriate cases, modest contingent fee agreements.