Appellate Law – What’s Not to Love?
By Kathleen Chewning Barnes I am a solo appellate practitioner. When I say “solo,” I really mean it. Just me. No paralegal. No secretary. That is a great thing about appellate law—all you need to practice appellate law is the trial court record, a legal research engine and yourself. “Appellate law” refers to the appeal of a decision and the procedural law that applies to the appeal. An appellate attorney may handle cases involving many different areas of subject-specific law. For example, I currently have appeals involving product liability, real estate, personal injury, mortgage foreclosure, bankruptcy and family law. The diversity of subject matter is a great advantage to practicing appellate law. Practicing appellate law requires concentrated time to examine the trial record, research legal issues and, most importantly, write briefs. The core part of an appellate attorney’s work is brief writing. A case may be decided based solely on the briefs. A good rule of thumb to con