Appellate Practice
The Appellate Practice Committee strives to demystify the appellate process and provide educational resources through its programs and the work of its subcommittees. Committee members monitor current developments in case law, proposed amendments to procedural rules, and proposals for legislation. Subcommittees also work on appellate institutes, the National Law Student Appellate Advocacy contest, program planning, and numerous special assignments of interest to appellate practitioners.
If the bar year were a horse race, we would be in the final turn headed for the home stretch. Just as many races are won at this stage, so this is an important period for the Appellate Practice Committee, with significant events approaching leading to the big Section Annual Conference in May.
Those of you who have been members of the Committee for some time know that we are proud of the wide range of benefits provided to our members. The Committee has a well-earned reputation for presenting a variety of dynamic and informative programs at the Section Annual Conference, the ABA Annual Meeting, and other important Section Conferences, as well as CLE and informal programs throughout the year.
Our Roundtable series is continuing this year. Most recently, in early February we presented an interesting discussion on the use of appellate counsel at trial. We plan to present another before the summer. Roundtables are non-CLE virtual educational programs that address an array of appellate topics. They offer not only information but also a chance for our Committee members to create and present a program. Our Young Lawyers Subcommittee is responsible for preparing and presenting Roundtables. If you have an idea, a connection with an interesting speaker, or are interested in working with our Young Lawyers on a Roundtable, please let us know. We are always looking for opportunities to present more of these to our members throughout the year.
For the past two years, we have presented CLE webinars on important topics, including the Major Question Doctrine, addressing its potential impact on the future of the Administrative State, and Knowing Your Audience: Effective Advocacy at Every Level, discussing how to present oral argument at trial, intermediate appellate and highest court levels. Both of these are still available on the Litigation Section’s website. We will offer another webinar in the spring on recent attempts to use the Supreme Court’s Harvard decision to limit DEI efforts. The webinar, The Future of DEI Initiatives: The Post SFFA v. Harvard Legal Landscape is scheduled for Tuesday, March 25, 2025, from 1 to 2 PM ET. This will be another exciting panel moderated by our very own co-Chair Jen. You can register now on our website here. Registering for these webinars can provide valuable information for your practice and fulfill your CLE requirements at the same time.
This year, one of our CLE program proposals has been accepted for the Section Annual Conference in Chicago, taking place from April 30 to May 2, 2025. The program, Let’s Make An Appeal: A Preservation-Of-Error Game Show, will utilize a game-show format where experienced practitioners will buzz in to address different scenarios that raise questions about whether an issue was preserved for appeal. The format will also allow audience participation and be moderated by a retired federal judge. The program is scheduled for May 2, 2025, at 10:30 AM. You can learn more about the Section Annual Conference and register here.
In addition to our CLE program, we plan to once again hold our Committee Dinner, on Wednesday night April 30th, which is open to all members (and prospective members). A staple of our annual get-together, we had a great turn out in last year’s Section Annual Conference and hope the dinner will be an even bigger event next year. Be sure to mark your calendar now so that you can meet us in Chicago.
In addition to our programming and conference offerings, we continue to publish articles for the Appellate Practice newsletter. The newsletter contains short articles (750 to 2,500 words) on topics of interest to appellate practitioners, both substantive and procedural. In a change from prior years, articles are now published monthly on our website before being gathered into the quarterly newsletter. You have a chance to see a new article every month. Back issues you may have missed are also available on the committee’s web page. The newsletter provides dual benefits, keeping our members informed of developments in appellate practice and affording our members, especially young lawyers, an opportunity to publish articles. If you would like to see your name in print, please contact our editors, Shaunta or Susan.
Our webpage is the main source of information about the Committee. Besides learning about Committee activities, the web page provides access to great appellate specific content, including Sound Advice podcasts and Practice Points. Give the web page a look. We have added a lot of new information that is both informative and enjoyable. We welcome contributions to content on the website as well as our newsletter—so if you are interested in adding a Practice Point, for example, don’t hesitate to reach out to us or our website editors, Caleb Gerbitz and Jimmy Azadian. We are also happy to help you brainstorm topics if you are interested in writing something but need ideas about what to write.
If you would like to become more involved in the Committee, feel free to reach out to us. The best way is to volunteer with one of our subcommittees. Joining a subcommittee gives you the opportunity to get to know fellow appellate lawyers from across the country. Tell us what areas of appellate practice interest you, and we will connect you with the appropriate Subcommittee Chair. From personal experience, we can assure you it will be worth your while.
We look forward to hearing from you and sharing all of the benefits of the Committee in the remaining months of the bar year.
Tom Donlon
Jen Fischell
Co-Chairs, Appellate Practice Committee
Our active subcommittees include: