Professional Development Editor's Note By Nancy M. Olson We made it to 2022. And we made it to the return of the in-person Appellate Judges Education Institute Summit, which means the return of the annual Summit edition of Appellate Issues.
Lawyer Wellness Managing Stress and Strengthening Resiliency: Practical Strategies for Judges and Lawyers By Jay L. T. Breakstone I would be less than honest if I didn’t admit that the greatest gifts at an AJEI Summit are those that are unexpected; surprises that you didn’t expect because you never realized you needed them in the first place.
Legal Delivery Reading in an Electronic Age and Writing for Electronic Readers By Krista MacNevin Jee AJEI provided a sophisticated panel of judicial officers to give insight on “How Judges Read in the E-Filing Era." Each judge or justice offered their own perspective on tips and tricks for managing and utilizing large electronic records on appeal.
Courts & Judiciary Building and Growing an Appellate Practice By Robert H. Edmunds, Jr. So you’ve been out of law school for a few years, learned some invaluable lessons about establishing a client base, and want to focus on becoming an appellate practitioner.
Client Protection Clients in The Courtroom: How In-House Counsel View Appeals and Appellate Courts By Liz Lang Miers We heard from an excellent panel at the AJEI Summit about what factors in-house counsel consider when they hire outside appellate counsel. The panel was moderated by the Hon. Diane M. Johnsen with panelists Heather Bailey New and Kimberly R. Phillips
Human Rights Hidden Cause, Visible Effect: Understanding the Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket By Nadeen Abou-Hossa As someone who had not heard the term "shadow docket" before, I was interested to learn more about what the docket is, along with the benefits and criticisms of the docket, during this panel at the 2021 AJEI Summit.
New Attorneys Writing from the Reader’s Perspective: How the English Language Really Works By Maggie Smith Professor Gopen begins his seminar by explaining that the key inquiry for good writing is always, “Did the reader get delivery of what the writer was trying to say?” If the answer is yes, the writing was good enough.
Human Rights Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Dismantling Bias by Acknowledging Its Historical Facts By M. Courtney Koger Professor Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, Professor of Constitutional Law at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, opened her session by reminding everyone that we all have favorites and biases.
Courts & Judiciary Recapping Dean Erwin Chemerinsky’s Civil Updates from the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2021 Term By Caitlin Mitchell While some people may idolize the latest rock star, appellate nerds—like me—fawn over brilliant legal minds and constitutional academics. Dean Erwin Chemerinsky is today’s constitutional law rock star.
Prosecution Supreme Court Review: Criminal By Robert W. Smith Dean Erwin Chemerinsky began his discussion of the criminal cases by reminding the group that criminal cases usually represented one-third of the Court’s docket. This term, the Court only reviewed state court decisions in four cases.
Courts & Judiciary Curse or Blessing: How to Thrive Online Using Social Media in Today’s Legal World By Jessica Ballard-Barnett It’s not every day that you’re in the same room with the Dean of #appellatetwitter, the sixth-most followed judicial officer on Twitter, and the source of the viral video #lawyercat.
Client Protection Storytelling for Advocates and Judges: How and Why We Should Incorporate Storytelling Techniques and Themes into our Work By Brandy R. Manning Appellate practitioners have but one goal: to convey our client’s position so that those reading our briefs see things the way we want them to.
Prosecution War Crimes - From the Battlefield to the Courtroom By Namosha Boykin and Kelechukwu Chidi Onyejekwe During a beautiful Texas afternoon, attendees gathered for an engaging & interactive session around a military law hypothetical: The U.S. is involved in a major armed conflict in response to a North Korean attack against South Korea.
Appellate Practice Top Tips for Top-Notch Oral Argument Answers By Robert Montgomery Close your eyes and imagine standing behind the lectern at the Supreme Court of the United States delivering an oral argument. You have begun your argument when you are interrupted by Justice Stephen Breyer asking one of his hypothetical questions.
Lawyer Wellness Courage: The Seminal Virtue in Advocacy and Judging By Jana L. Knott The final day of the 2021 AJEI Summit began with what was arguably the most emotionally impactful session of the conference, one that focused on courage in advocates and judges.
Client Protection Canons of Construction: What is Their Role, if Any, in Modern Jurisprudence? By Matthew Foerster Advocates know by now that to win a case about the meaning of a statute, you really ought to begin with the text of the statute.
Discovery Legal Ethics 2.0: How Emerging Technologies Are Creating Novel Ethical Dilemmas By Kip Nelson More and more states are adopting ethics rules that obligate attorneys to be competent in technology. Lawyers can no longer hide their heads in the sand when it comes to technological advancements.
