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The legal process is not always complete once the trial is over. If a judge made an error during your trial, the losing party, and in some cases, the prevailing party,  has the right to file an appeal.

Appellate Goals Differ

The Appellate Rules of Procedure are complex. An experienced appellate attorney is knowledgeable about the unique aspects of the civil appellate process and intricate legal procedures applicable to appeals.

Handling a case on appeal is completely different from handling a case in a trial court. While the goal of trial counsel is to obtain beneficial verdicts or settlements for their clients, on appeal, the focus is not on litigating a case or expressing displeasure with a verdict or judgment.  Rather, the focus is on whether the trial court made any procedural or substantive legal errors during the trial that rendered the verdict and/or judgment unfair.

Our dedicated appellate attorneys can present the law that controls the outcome of a trial in a clear, concise manner and can compellingly argue why the trial court erred in adjudicating legal or factual issues. We can likewise defend a trial court’s ruling if the opposition appeals, in which case it is our job to support the trial court’s rulings by demonstrating that they were legally correct, not properly preserved for appeal at the trial court level or rendered harmless in the context of the trial. 

What does an appellate attorney do?

Because appellate lawyers must convince the appellate court that the trial court erred in some manner, they must possess a distinct set of skills not necessarily required by trial attorneys. These unique skills include the ability to thoroughly review the record on appeal and discern when and how a trial court made a legal or factual error and how that error was sufficiently prejudicial to warrant reversal.  If defending a trial court’s decision or a favorable jury verdict, the appellate lawyer will find and use legal precedent to support the trial court’s ruling(s), regardless of whether that precedent was cited to the trial court at the time the court’s decision was rendered. 

A key aspect of an appellate attorneys’ job is to discern whether a trial court’s error was properly preserved for appeal by trial counsel.  An appellate court will not consider a trial court’s error unless it was first brought to the trial court’s attention by way of a contemporaneous objection and appropriate legal argument.  

Legal research is one of our appellate attorneys’ most important responsibilities. Appellate attorneys excel at researching new and obscure legal issues that trial attorneys may have overlooked or missed and issues that are addressed for the first time on appeal, such as precedent addressed to the issue of whether a particular error was properly preserved for appeal.  

In addition, appellate attorneys also take into account whether a particular error was sufficiently harmful to warrant reversal in light of the “standard of review” on appeal.  For example, legal errors are reviewed on appeal under a “de novo” standard.  What this means is that the appellate court will review that error without giving any deference to the trial court’s judgment.  Other issues, such as evidentiary rulings, are reviewed under an “abuse of discretion” standard, which means that the trial court’s ruling was not only wrong, but was one that no reasonable judge would have made.  As is apparent, this is a much more difficult standard of review than is the “de novo” standard as it is more deferential to the trial court.  Another standard of review applies where the appellate court reviews a trial court’s findings of fact.  In that instance, the appellate court will determine whether the trial court’s findings are supported by “competent, substantial evidence”.  This standard, like the “abuse of discretion” standard of review is deferential to the trial court and unless a litigant can convince the appellate court that there is literally no evidence supporting the trial court’s ruling, the appellate court will not disturb a trial court’s findings of fact.  

Appellate attorneys must prepare briefs that address the all of facts contained in the record on appeal in an objective and concise manner.  Briefs must also contain a discussion of the applicable standard(s) of review and apply those standards to the facts contained in the record in the argument section of a brief.  To be persuasive, the argument section of the brief should be clear, concise and professional.  The purpose of the brief is to persuade the appellate court that not only was there an error at the trial court level, but that the error was sufficiently, or insufficiently, preserved depending on whether the appellate attorney is arguing that the trial court erred or if defending a trial court’s ruling.  If the error has been sufficiently preserved, then the appellate attorney must persuade the appellate court that the trial court’s ruling was sufficiently harmful to warrant reversal or, if the  attorney is defending the ruling, insufficiently harmful in light of the existing precedent. In cases in which there is no precedent, the appellate attorney must necessarily convince the appellate court to make new law. The briefs are the most important part of the appellate process because an appellate court does not have to permit the parties to orally argue their positions after briefing has concluded. 

Make the Differences Work for You

Our appellate lawyers have extensive experience and unique procedural knowledge, which makes them uniquely situated to advise clients on whether it is appropriate or beneficial to pursue their appellate remedies.  Their background and experience makes them well-suited to objectively review the record to determine whether there are, in fact, errors, whether those errors are likely to warrant reversal in light of the applicable standards of review and whether it makes business sense to pursue an appeal in light of the likelihood of prevailing,  the amount at issue, or the potential of making “bad” law if unsuccessful.  

In addition, our appellate attorneys are actively engaged on a daily basis in assisting trial attorneys in preserving the record for a potential appeal.  In that regard, they prepare a large portion of the dispositive motions filed at the trial court level, attend the hearings on those motions, and assist the trial attorneys in formulating jury instructions and verdict forms, as well as preparing and arguing pretrial motions.  Where warranted, appellate attorneys can also  attend complex or significant trials in order to ensure that the record is properly preserved in the event of an appeal and to relieve the trial attorneys of having to research issues that may arise during the trial, thereby permitting them to concentrate on what they do best. 

Contact an Appellate Lawyer Today 

Hiring a firm with a dedicated appellate practice is wise to ensure legal issues are preserved as they arise and to develop legal strategies before,  during and after trial. Winning an appeal is difficult, and the appellate team at Conroy Simberg is ready, willing and able to help you obtain the best result possible.  

Should you have any questions relating to our appellate department, please feel free to contact Hinda Klein at hklein@conroysimberg.com or 954-518-1248.