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Appellate Briefs
The briefing of an appeal is a unique process. Trial counsel typically has multiple opportunities, often face-to-face, to convey a legal position to a court. A trial typically provides days for presenting one's case, in person, to a fact-finder, be it a jury or court. Not so with an appeal. On appeal, a party's whole case typically turns on one or two written briefs, so they had better be good. They need to be well organized, well researched, well reasoned and credible. They need to be economical in thought and in presentation. Writing a good appellate brief takes special skill and it takes time – time to research, time to ensure scrupulous accuracy, and time to edit, revise and edit again. GMSR has substantial experience briefing appeals in numerous appellate courts including the United States Supreme Court, the California Supreme Court, various other state Supreme Courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, other federal Courts of Appeals, and the California Courts of Appeal.
Oral Argument
Oral argument before an appellate panel is another specialized skill. The successful oral advocate needs to know both the factual record and the law and needs to be able to respond to potentially inconsistent questioning from not one judge, but a panel of judges.
Interlocutory Writ Petitions
Sometimes an issue cannot wait for appeal – for example, where a party has been ordered to produce privileged documents, where a trial judge has refused to disqualify himself or herself, or where summary judgment should have been granted but was denied, presenting the prospect of an expensive and wasted trial. In these cases, appellate courts may entertain requests for interlocutory writ relief. These requests have much in common with appellate briefs, in that a party typically has only one or two opportunities to plead its case. But there are also special rules that apply to them. And the most important skill is the ability to convince the appellate court that it is necessary for it to intervene right away. Likewise, opposing a petition for interlocutory relief involves unique tactical decisions.
Petitions for Review and Certiorari
There are very few circumstances in which the United States Supreme Court or the California Supreme Court is actually required to hear a case, especially a civil case. Rather, those courts have almost unfettered discretion to determine what cases they will hear. Persuading one of those courts to exercise its discretion to hear a particular matter requires yet another type of advocacy. The goal must be to show the importance of the issue and how well it is framed by the particular case, rather than to demonstrate that the decision below was wrong. Likewise, opposing a petition to one of those courts requires advocacy informed by an intimate knowledge of what those courts do and of the rules that guide their decisions.
Appellate Stays, Bonds And Petitions For Writs of Supersedeas
Sometimes, what matters most to a client is obtaining (or avoiding) a stay of a trial court judgment during the pendency of appeal. We have extensive experience in obtaining appellate bonds, arguing about the availability of stays without bond, and seeking and opposing supersedeas (the appellate court's power to maintain the status quo).
Letters Seeking Publication Or Depublication Of Opinions
In California, not every appellate opinion is published, and only published opinions have the weight of precedent. For institutional litigants, whether an opinion is published may be more important than the outcome in the particular case. Seeking publication or depublication requires special knowledge of the formal and practical standards for publication, as well as skill in marshalling policy arguments and balancing the interests in the particular case with those in the development of the law generally.
Dispositive Motions In Trial Courts, Jury Instructions, Trial Briefs, Verdict Forms, Motions In Limine, Post-Trial Motions, Statements Of Decision
Coherent, focused, persuasive legal arguments have as much a place before trial judges as they do on appeal. Clients and trial counsel often seek our assistance in the trial court, especially where the issue is one that will dispose of the whole case or a substantial portion of it. Success in the trial court is the first step to success on appeal. We also assist in formulating motions in limine, trial briefs, jury instructions and verdict forms that will both assist in the trial of the claim and preserve important issues for appeal. Trial errors likewise can be corrected, or at least preserved for appeal, through post-trial motions (e.g., for a new trial, for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, for judgment as a matter of law, to vacate the judgment). And important findings can be preserved or avoided through proposed statements of decision or objections to them.
[ Practice ]
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