Appeals & Appellate Lawyers and Attorneys

Appellate attorneys challenge or defend decisions already made by a trial court. The work is different in kind from trial practice: no witnesses, no new evidence, and a record that is fixed. Appeals are won on written briefs, legal error and standards of review, with oral argument as a short supplement.

An appeal is not a second trial. The court asks whether the law was applied correctly and whether errors affected the outcome — not whether it would have decided the facts the same way.

Before you hire

• The deadline to file a notice of appeal is short, jurisdictional and rarely forgivable. Call before it runs, not after.
• Ask whether the attorney handles appeals as a regular part of their practice. Appellate writing is a specialism, and many excellent trial lawyers do not do it.
• Ask for a candid assessment of the standard of review. Issues reviewed for abuse of discretion succeed far less often than pure questions of law.
• Expect flat or hourly fees quoted around the size of the record. Transcripts are a real and separate cost.

Attorneys here handle civil and criminal appeals in state and federal courts, and post-conviction petitions.