The Appellate Law Journal focuses exclusively on rules, practices and procedures of federal and state appellate courts nationwide. Edited by the appellate experts at Counsel Press, The Appellate Law Journal is designed to provide a forum for creative thought about the procedural aspects of appellate practice and to disclose best practices, strategies and practical tips.
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Inside This Issue:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit: A Closer Look at Circuit Rule 28(a) – Jurisdictional Statements
Seventh Circuit Rule 28(a) governs the content of the jurisdictional statement in the appellant’s opening brief. The Court is looking for very specific information. If your jurisdictional statement is considered deficient, your brief will be rejected at this later date after the second review. Thus focusing on the jurisdictional statement in the beginning can save you a lot of work later.
Appellate Brief Writing: Five Briefs to Avoid
When an attorney inevitably finds himself or herself against a deadline to file a brief, the rush to get the job done often has adverse consequences. Here, at CP Legal Research Group, we have assisted thousands of attorneys with their briefs. We frequently see the results of a looming deadline and inadequate time to provide the required focus on the brief. This article describes five briefs that appellate practitioners should avoid, even when faced with a filing deadline.
Illinois Appellate Court Procedure: Preparing a Supporting Record
There are instances in which a party is required to compile a supporting record instead of relying on the circuit court to compile the record. Most of these instances occur when you are petitioning for leave to appeal to the appellate court. Aside from following rule 328, which sets out the form of the supporting record, practitioners should also refer to rule 324, which sets out how the circuit clerk should prepare and certify the record.
Guest Article: New and Proposed Changes to the Illinois Appellate Landscape
Appellate practitioners tend to get excited over miniscule and/or bookish developments to our procedures and rules. This short article is no different. What follows is a summary of new implementations by the Illinois Second District Appellate Court and proposed changes to several Illinois Supreme Court Rules addressing appeals.
Town of Greece and Hobby Lobby – Religion in America Under the Robert’s Court
There is no telling how far this will go, but clearly Town of Greece v. Galloway and Hobby Lobby appear to be just the opening salvos. Roy Liebman, Director of Counsel Press’ U.S. Supreme Court Department, offers his view on the two cases.
Video: The Art of Appellate Services
To celebrate our fifth consecutive win in the New York Law Journal Reader Rankings, we are releasing the following video that highlights the Art of Appellate Services and celebrates the best team in the business. We thank our clients and the legal community, at large, for their votes!
Tagged: Appellate Practice, Appellate Procedure, Appellate Services, Supreme Court of the United States, The Appellate Law Journal, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Supreme Court of Illinois, Litigation