1. A Fresh Set of Eyes
Even the most gifted trial attorney can develop blind spots in a case. An appellate specialist brings a fresh set of eyes to your case and see issues you do not see. Appellate attorneys can also bring a new perspective to the case. An appellate attorney with no stake in the arguments made in the trial court can take a more objective and dispassionate approach to deciding which of the arguments below should be kept on appeal and which should be discarded.

2. Experts in Appellate Law
Appeals can be fraught with traps for the unwary. Appellate specialists know the rules; and because they know the rules, they know where the traps lay and how to avoid or navigate around them.

3. Different Skill Set
Appellate practice requires a different skill set than trial practice. Appellate specialists are not only more efficient researchers and writers, they can effectively structure and organize an appellate argument in a way that best serves your client’s interests. That is especially important since your client may only have one opportunity to present its position, and persuade the appellate court, before a decision is rendered.

4. Knowing the Audience
Appellate courts approach a case from a very different vantage point than the trial court. A trial court is keenly focused on the case before it. Its task is to determine what the facts are and apply the law to those facts. Appellate courts, on the other hand, often view a case from the macro level. They have to consider factors such as how their decision in one case may affect the entire body of law governing a particular issue; whether to overturn existing precedent; whether its decision will impose new burdens on the judicial system; and the like. Appellate specialists can frame the issues in ways that best speak to the appellate courts’ concerns.