APPELLATE LITIGATION

Do you need to appeal?  Did you lose a case at the district court or administrative agency level?

Did you WIN a case and now the other side is appealing?

You need a lawyer who specializes in appellate law!

Appellate litigation requires different skills than trial litigation. There are some very tricky rules that can trip up even experienced attorneys.

One of the main differences between trial litigation and appellate litigation is the audience.  Trial lawyers need to know how to address juries – ordinary people who usually know little to no law.  By contrast, appellate lawyers need to know how to communicate with appellate judges.  It is a totally different skill-set.

Probably the most important task in writing a brief is doing the research for the brief.  Appellate judges like to follow precedent – how was a similar case handled in the past?  Good appeal lawyers find cases that are similar and then craft arguments about why that case should be followed.  Sometimes, attorneys argue that the law needs to be changed, but that requires even more research.

After the research, writing the brief requires multiple skills.  The best briefs only have two or three main points.  The brief has to explain to the judges why they should rule in favor of the lawyer’s client.  A “brief” can be 50 pages long.  The best briefs not only present the law – they present the arguments in a sympathetic way so that the judges want to rule in the client’s favor.  Briefs should be written and re-written.  “The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter–it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” – Mark Twain

It is also important to understand that the other side will also write a brief.  Thus, it is important to explain why their arguments should not be adopted and why their cases are different from the case the court is now considering.  Because of the page limits on briefs, it may not be possible to respond to every point.  The good appellate lawyer focuses on the key arguments made by the other side and responds to each of them.

NOTABLE COURT APPEALS I HAVE HANDLED

Draper v. State, 621 P.2d 1142 (1980)

Southwestern Public Service Co. v. State, 1981 OK 136, 637 P.2d 92 (1981)

Public Service Co. of Oklahoma v. State, 1982 OK 6, 645 P.2d 465 (1982)

Lone Star Gas Co., a Div. of Enserch Corp. v. Corporation Com’n of State of Okl.,1982 OK 79, 648 P.2d 36 (1982)

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. Corporation Com’n of State, 1983 OK 7, 658 P.2d 479 (1983)

State ex rel. Cartwright v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., 1983 OK 40, 662 P.2d 675 (1983)

Energy Reserves Group, Inc. v. Kansas Power and Light Co., 459 U. S. 400 (1983)

Public Service Co. of Oklahoma v. Oklahoma Corp. Com’n, 1983 OK 124, 688 P.2d 1274 (1983)

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. State, 1984 OK 29, 683 P.2d 974 (1984)

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. State, 1984 OK 87, 692 P.2d 554 (1984)

Application of Oklahoma Natural Gas Co., 1985 OK 67, 715 P.2d 477 (1985)

Pamala Holbrook v Estate of Everett Booker – NO. 11-13-00183-CV – Texas 11th  Court of Appeals – 2013

Samer Yacoub v Suretec Insurance Company – NO. 14-13-00274-CV – Texas 14th Court of Appeals – 2013