Session 2: How Appellate Lawyers Bring Value at the Trial Court Level

This post includes the video and slidedeck for the second lecture in my Appellate Practice and Procedure course. The presentation appears below.

This is one of my favorite topics in the series. Getting involved in a case early creates opportunities for appellate lawyers to influence decisions that can make or break an appeal. This is far preferable to working with a cold record, after the fact, that appellate counsel had no part in developing. The appellate lawyer’s natural entry points include claim and defense analysis at the pleadings stage, expert-witness and discovery strategy, preparing and responding to potentially dispositive motions, drafting and arguing the jury charge, preserving error during trial, formulating the judgment, requesting and proposing findings of fact and conclusions of law, and pre- and post-verdict motions preceding an appeal.

Not every case justifies the expense, but trial lawyers and their clients should consider retaining an appellate lawyer skilled in these areas to sit second or third chair at trial. In this role, appellate counsel can focus on protecting the client’s interests several steps down the line, while trial counsel concentrates on getting the most favorable testimony from witnesses and delivering an effective closing argument.