This workshop will cover the challenges of federal habeas litigation due to the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. The panelists will provide an overview of the statutory framework and then walk through specific fact patterns to highlight obstacles to federal habeas litigation and describe how the panelists overcame such challenges to achieve victory for their clients. The panelists will describe specific cases, but will highlight the broader application of each problem and successful strategy. The panelists will then open the room to discussion and afford the attendees the opportunity to ask questions about the presentation and to also brainstorm with the panelists and attendees about current litigation challenges they are facing. The goal of this session is to share successful approaches to federal court post-conviction litigation and to encourage and inspire attorneys to pursue, and be more optimistic about, federal habeas litigation on behalf of their clients.