WE CAN ADVISE YOU AS ATTORNEY OF RECORD, OR HELP YOU DO YOUR OWN APPEAL.

A number of unrepresented parties succeed in winning California appeals, even without an attorney. See, for example, In re Marriage of Schlafly (2007) 149 Cal.App.4th 747, 57 Cal.Rptr.3d 274. Our office will help unrepresented parties present or respond to an appeal/writ---BUT WE DO NOTHING AT THE LAST MINUTE.

We can help you:
Prepare and select your record,
Fill out forms,
Do legal research, and
Edit your brief/petition.

If your brief/petition is due within a week---we are not going to help you with that. Sorry, but as we must be involved only in high quality work, we need to be contacted well in advance of due dates.

You can win an appeal only if there is a LEGAL error---an error in applying the law---by the trial judge. If you merely believe that the judge was wrong in the decision of which witness to believe, that is not a ground for appeal. All decisions regarding credibility are up to the trial judge; the Court of Appeal will not reverse a case due to credibility issues unless somehow no reasonable judge could have decided the way the trial judge decided. There are areas where it is very difficult to know if you have an ERROR OF LAW or merely a disagreement with the trial level judge. That is one reason why it is urgent to consult an appellate attorney when it looks like you'll lose on the trial level.

Also, it is very difficult to win a reversal if the judge had some discretion to exercise. For example, in California, a family court judge could not decide, "You're physically handicapped, so you can't have custody of your child." Handicap alone would not be a reason to deny custody. Making such a statement is outside the range of reasonable decisions a California family law judge may make. On the other hand, in general IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO APPEAL FROM A CUSTODY/VISITATION ORDER because trial judges have a lot of discretion in the area of custody and visitation. The judge will not be reversed just because you think it's a stupid order, and your evidence was better than the other side's evidence. However, custody/visitation appeals have been won, and it would be necessary to talk to an appellate attorney to determine whether your case might be a custody/visitation case that could be won. There may have been procedural or other errors of law in your case that affected the outcome of the custody case, and you may succeed on appeal based on such an issue. For example, if the judge declared the case was taking too long and just got up and walked out while your attorney was questioning your expert, that is the kind of error which can result in a reversal, even if it is a custody/visitation case.

It is considerably easier successfully to appeal from a case when the family law judge makes an error in something like calculating child support. The law regarding child support is quite specific and must be correctly applied by the trial judge.

HOW TO HELP US ADVISE YOU

On appeal the case will be decided based on your “record.” The appellate court is entirely different from a trial court and will not receive evidence. Your “record” consists of (1) papers (“pleadings”) filed with the court, (2) court reporter transcript(s) and (3) items marked for evidence. At the beginning of your case you will designate your record, and we can help you with this. If your county is one with on-line case information, you need to print out a complete list of all documents in your case. If your county does not have electronic case information, you must put your papers filed with court and exhibits together, have them scanned onto a disk, and, after consulting on the phone with us, send us your information in .pdf or Word format.

DEADLINE TO FILE NOTICE OF APPEAL OR FILE WRIT IS SHORT; DON’T WAIT.

The deadline to file a Notice of Appeal or a Writ Petition is short, and if it is missed, no excuses are accepted. Contacting the attorney early is urgent.

WHEN SHOULD YOU CONSULT APPELLATE COUNSEL?

As soon as it becomes clear that the hearing in Superior Court looks like it will produce an unfavorable result, that is the time to consult and appellate attorney. Elsewhere on this website we give you ideas of how to prepare your trial court case so that you leave open the option of appeal.

At the Superior Court level, an appellate attorney can assist you to obtain a Statement of Decision—but if your trial is less than 8 hours or one day, the request for a Statement of Decision must be made before the trial is done. Also in the Superior Court, appellate counsel can help you make after-trial motions such as a motion for a new trial under Code of civil Procedure section 661. This may be your last opportunity to raise issues to the trial court judge, and if the trial judge hasn’t had the error called to his/her attention, usually there will not be a reversal on appeal.

IN THE TRANSITION TO APPEAL, WE CAN WORK WITH YOUR TRIAL COUNSEL.

After the trial and before the appeal, we usually have to work with you or your trial attorney to lay the basis for your appeal. For example, to get a statement of decision, you need to specify the “controverted issues,” and you or your trial attorney has detailed information about this. However, often trial counsel are unclear on how to do this, or even the need to specify the issues. Cases can be won or lost due to lack of knowledge at this stage.

After the Superior Court proceedings and the filing of the Notice of Appeal and Designation of Record, the case proceeds to the Court of Appeal, where we become your attorney of record.

On the appeal level, there are two different stages: First, we have to examine your record to determine whether you appear to have a valid appeal/writ. Second, we do the detailed legal research and writing of your brief/petition. These two stages require two different retainers. Because we will file a brief or petition only if we feel you have a valid legal position, you need to consult us well in advance of any deadline.