Appellate Advocacy: Home

Available via West Academic Study Aids Collection. This Nutshell provides a comprehensive overview of federal appellate practice and procedure, suitable for practicing lawyers as a deskbook, and for law students as a study aid. It focuses both on the federal courts of appeals and on the US Supreme Court. Federal circuit court topics include, among others, preservation of error, the final judgment rule and its exceptions, the notice of appeal, parties to the appeal, relief pending appeal, standards and scope of review, briefing and oral argument, alternative dispute resolution, entry of judgment, and rehearing en banc. Supreme Court topics include, among others, jurisdiction over federal cases, jurisdiction over state cases, the certiorari process, original jurisdiction, briefing and oral argument, and the role of the Solicitor General. Also included are discussions of the structure and caseloads of the federal appellate system, appellate ethics and professionalism, certification of issues to state courts, appellate court procedures during COVID, and the future of appellate justice.

Available via West Academic Study Aids Collection. The definitive guide to the brave new world of remote advocacy for the trial and appellate practitioner—as well as law students and recent law grads. Full of keen insights and practice tips to help you be the best advocate you can be in remote proceedings of all types, including remote courtrooms (hearings, bench and jury trial), arbitrations, mediations, appellate practice, depositions, and other forums. This book combines leading research on persuading audiences over remote platforms combined with tips on conquering the technical aspects of using remote platforms to your fullest potential. A useful tech section covers the basics to more advanced applications. Based on extensive troubleshooting sessions and discussions with judges and lawyers in remote proceedings following the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, this is the essential guide for remote proceedings that have since proliferated in the legal world—while acknowledging the continuing need for remote advocacy in the future.

The John F. Sonnett Memorial Lectures explore the evolution of legal ethics, legal training, prisoner rights, the role of the judiciary and other jurisprudential issues. The lectures continue to impact the current debates and discussions surrounding these issues.

Available via West Academic Study Aids Collection. Drawing on the author’s years of experience as a litigator, legal-writing professor, and moot court coach (and former moot court participant), the Guide begins by helping you decide whether moot court is right for you (spoiler: yes!), outlining the variety of skills you will develop, and debunking some moot-court myths. The heart of the Guide then delivers insider tips on everything from collaboratively writing an appellate brief to preparing for oral argument to navigating the vagaries of the competition experience to marketing your moot-court-earned skills to your law school and future employers. Along the way, you will glean kernels of wisdom from past moot-court competitors and hear true tales from the trenches of competition.

In Reflections on Judging, Richard Posner distills the experience of his thirty-one years as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Surveying how the judiciary has changed since his 1981 appointment, he engages the issues at stake today, suggesting how lawyers should argue cases and judges decide them, how trials can be improved, and, most urgently, how to cope with the dizzying pace of technological advance that makes litigation ever more challenging to judges and lawyers.

Presents the basics of writing legal briefs and giving oral arguments, with discussions on the essentials of building a case through legal reasoning and the key elements of persuasive and successful oral pleading in the courtroom.