Practical Tips After an Adverse Judgment: Appellate Counsel Guidance on Deciding Whether to Appeal
Course Details
- smart_display Format
Live Online with Live Q&A
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Class Action and Other Litigation
- event Date
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE webinar will discuss how litigators can more objectively analyze whether to recommend appealing an adverse final judgment, offering practical tips for estimating and evaluating the economics and net benefit of a successful appeal. The panel will also address what the winning or prevailing party will want to consider when the losing side indicates it intends to appeal.
Mr. Roach’s almost 40 years of practice, which began at Vinson & Elkins in 1981, have focused on a unique combination of appeals, trials, and being the outside appellate lawyer added to trial teams. This combination has led to a career of high-profile appeals, major insurance coverage litigation, and being the legal ruling specialist at trial and arbitration for Fortune 500 companies and top trial lawyers. He has served as state, regional, and national counsel for several major corporations with responsibility for specific legal issues decided by trial and appellate judges worth hundreds of millions and billions of dollars, such as punitives and intentional torts, insurance coverage, and contract interpretation disputes.
Ms. Gusdorff, Certified Appellate Law Specialist (California Board of Legal Specialization), handles state and federal appeals, with an emphasis on plaintiffs’ employment and personal injury matters. She serves on the executive committee for the Appellate Courts Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and is a proud member of the California Employment Lawyers Association and Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles. She also is an annual honorary member of the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Charities.
Mr. Manca represents individuals, organizations, and companies in the Washington State Court of Appeals, the Washington State Supreme Court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. His practice focuses on civil appeals--cases involving government liability, civil rights, employment discrimination, personal injury, maritime law, family law disputes, business disputes, homeowners' association rules, etc. Mr. Manca also advises and represents attorneys in legal ethics matters.
The best time for litigators to think about a possible appeal is when they accept the case. In the right circumstances, including appellate counsel on the trial team will prove invaluable. If an unfavorable verdict is delivered, the client will often turn first to trial counsel for advice on whether to appeal, and this is a recommendation that requires careful consideration.
As a threshold matter, lawyers evaluating whether to appeal a judgment must understand the mechanics of appeals in the applicable federal or state court system. Turning to outside appellate counsel may be called for. The attorney considering appeal must realistically evaluate both their own and their client's interests in appealing and get ruthlessly honest about blind spots and emotional motives. Then the hard work of evaluating the right course can begin, starting with the potential merits and taking into account jurisdiction, preservation of error, standards of review, and the relief available. Clients must fully appreciate the continued publicity and the stress of ongoing and slow litigation.
One of the hardest parts of evaluating appeals is predicting the likelihood of success and the cost of achieving it. That must be balanced against the benefit to be achieved against the possibility that the judgment will be affirmed. Fee-shifting statutes and the availability of attorneys' fees in the underlying case have to be considered. Economic formulas and data about the number of cases that are reversed on appeal can inform the decision. The winning party will also want to evaluate the risks and cost of appeal and may wish to make some type of offer to achieve finality.
Listen as our panel of litigators and appellate lawyers offers guidance for analyzing whether to recommend appealing an adverse final judgment, including practical tips for estimating and evaluating the economics and net benefit of an appeal.
I. Overview of appellate mechanics
II. Evaluating emotional and other reasons motivating appeal
A. Deciding when to involve outside appellate counsel
III. Evaluating the merits of the appeal
A. Jurisdiction
B. Error preservation
C. Standard of review
D. Legal merits or equitable merits
- Jury charges
- Trial court's evidentiary rulings
- Reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence
- Opening statements and closing arguments
- Trial court's docket management rulings
- Pre-trial errors
- Other issues
E. Type of relief available
IV. Calculating the costs
A. Out-of-pocket costs
B. Attorneys' fees
C. Frivolous appeals
D. Non-monetary pros and cons
V. Comparing the costs and potential benefits
A. Economic formulas
B. Estimating the likelihood of success
VI. Options for the winning party
The panel will review these and other important issues:
- What facts can attorneys use to estimate the likelihood of success on appeal?
- Is there a set of questions that can assist counsel in uncovering unhealthy or insufficient reasons for appealing?
- How does the analysis change when the client is the respondent, i.e., the winning party?
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