Description

Even if you technically can’t use an electronic recording to create the appellate record, trial courts do provide them for us in your closing argument PowerPoint. Jeff shares his experience.

And after spending most of a morning watching oral arguments waiting for his case, Jeff offers these tips:

• It took 20 minutes of argument time just for the panel to get its head around who was who in a case full of alphabet-soup entities. If you’re spending a third of oral argument time in front of a confused panel, you’re doing it wrong.
• Try this:
• If your case has lots of “ABC LLCs” and “ABC Holdings LLCs,” try using functional names instead—like “the management company,” and “the holding company,” "investor", "bank", "assignee," etc.
• Anticipate this confusion in your briefs. Include a clear chart in the brief that helps track the parties, preferably directly in the brief or as a supplemental exhibit.

The goal is to reduce "friction." If you’ve used up all panel’s brain synapses just to understand the players, you’re going to have a poor time once you get to the merits.

We also get to a couple cases, including a trap on appellate briefing extensions.

Appellate Specialist Jeff Lewis' biography, LinkedIn profile, and Twitter feed.

Appellate Specialist Tim Kowal's biography, LinkedIn profile, Twitter feed, and YouTube page.

Sign up for Not To Be Published, Tim Kowal’s weekly legal update, or view his blog of recent cases.

Other items discussed in the episode:

Are employees immune from paying discovery fees?

A stipulated dismissal is appealable, but not a voluntary dismissal?

Disclaimer: The views expressed by our guest, James Mixon, are his own and do not reflect the official position of the California Court of Appeal or the California Judicial Branch. AI technology and legal standards are rapidly evolving, listeners should verify current rules and consult qualified attorneys before implementing AI tools in their practice. Attorneys must independently verify all legal citations and comply with applicable rules of professional conduct.