“What Judges Want and Expect From Appellate Advocates”

An article by Bedford-Stuyvesant Community Legal Services (a program of Legal Services NYC) Project Director Victor Olds is featured in the August 31st edition of the New York Law Journal. 

In the piece, Victor offers suggestions for effective appellate advocacy based on interviews with a number of state and
federal appellate judges. Bedford-Stuyvesant Legal Services law student summer
interns Cheryl-Lyn Bentley, Michael Brazaitis and Kate Hicks participated in the preparation of the article.

Every appellate practitioner knows that the success or failure of an
appeal depends upon a number of important factors. Among them are a
correct understanding and application of the substantive and procedural
law involved, and an ability to advocate one's position persuasively to
the reviewing court. Many of the skills associated with these factors
are acquired in law school clinical settings, through continuing legal
education courses, and by trial and error resulting from years of
handling appeals.

While these are all useful methods of instruction, another valuable
insight into effective appellate advocacy—indeed, perhaps among the
most useful—is simply to consult the people ultimately charged with
deciding the appeals, i.e., the judges who hear them. This article
solicited philosophical and anecdotal input from a small (albeit fairly
representative) sampling of appellate judges. What follows are their
thoughts and suggestions on what is required to maximize the prospects
for a successful appellate outcome.

Read the rest of the article on the New York Law Journal's website.