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Monday, August 07, 2006
Courts - "What Do Appellate Attorneys Actually Do?"
"What Do Appellate Attorneys Actually Do?" is the title of Howard Bashman's (of How Appealing) weekly column today in Law.com. A few quotes:
One essential trait that an appellate lawyer must possess is the ability to think about legal issues from the perspective of judges who serve on appellate courts. Appellate courts are not only responsible for trying to reach the correct result in the cases on appeal, but their rulings often create precedents that will govern other cases that don't even exist yet. Thus, an appellate lawyer must be cognizant not only of how existing precedent will affect an appellate court's view of a newly filed appeal, but also about how the precedent created in the course of deciding the new case will affect the future direction of the law.Another benefit from getting a fresh set of eyes involved at the appellate stage is that sometimes the lawyers who have struggled in the trial court trenches lack the ability to view the issues, and their strengths and weaknesses, with the necessary detachment. An appellate attorney may be especially well-suited to explain the facts and legal issues involved in an appeal to appellate judges who, similarly, lack any extensive pre-existing knowledge about that given case.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 7, 2006 07:34 AM
Posted to Courts in general