A View from Inside the Appellate Court

I recently attended a seminar presented by two attorneys from our local Court of Appeal. So, here's the inside scoop:

• Statement of Issues: The attorneys said that in over half the briefs they received, it wasn't clear what the appellant was appealing. They asked, "Are you appealing or just complaining?"


• Introductions: Only a page or two. Give them a clue and remember they don't know the facts.


• Edit, edit, edit.


• Citing cases that are against your position can enhance your credibility.


• They really do check our citations.


• Wondering whether to include citations to the record in the argument, rather than just the Statement of Facts? Yes, please do.


• Let a non-attorney read your draft. If he or he can't understand it, then edit some more.


• Avoid words such as "clearly," "uncontroverted," and "certainly."


• Don't bunch up your cites to the record at the end of the paragraph; add them in sentence by sentence.


• Don't bury one point in another.


• Credibility above all else.


• The attorneys don't have a computer record to conduct searches so make it easy for them to find the citations.


• Thinking of filing an e-brief? The court will love you. It's hard to miscite the record when it is available at the click of a button.


• Don't argue in your Statement of Facts.


• Support your points and make sure they match your Table of Contents.


• Don't sandbag your opponent by bringing up new matter in your Closing Brief, so they can't respond to those points.


• Prioritize issues according to strength and based on the stronger standard of review.


• Pick your issues carefully and eliminate unnecessary facts.

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