About Suzette
Suzette Douglas earned her J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1986 after completing undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she read English and psychology. The combination of humanities and social science shaped her analytical approach to law. She left school prepared for courtroom work and the writing it demands.
Her early years in practice built a foundation in litigation. She moved between drafting pleadings, preparing clients for testimony and arguing procedural matters. Over time, appeals work became an increasing part of her calendar. That shift reflected both a preference for written advocacy and a willingness to take cases beyond the trial court record.
Douglas is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She has handled filings in that court and has guided record preparation, brief development and oral argument strategy in appellate matters. Her record-handling covers the technical aspects of preserving issues for appeal and the substantive task of framing legal questions for judges on panels.
Her practice emphasizes the mechanics of appellate procedure as much as substantive law. She prepares opening briefs and replies, manages excerpts of record and prepares clients for the pace and formality of appellate argument. Colleagues describe her as methodical in organizing complex records and plainspoken in explaining appellate standards to clients who are often seeing that stage of litigation for the first time.
Douglas maintains current membership in professional associations and keeps up with continuing legal education related to federal appeals. She also consults with trial counsel on preserving error and developing the administrative record when cases are likely to reach an appellate court. That advisory role often begins before notice of appeal and extends through mandate issuance.
Her work is grounded in procedure and in the written word. She combines courtroom experience with long-standing practice before the Ninth Circuit. She currently focuses on appellate litigation before the Ninth Circuit.
