A Guide to Prosecuting a Civil Appeal: When to Appeal, What to Raise, and How to Win

Julia Williams | The Clinton Law Firm, LLC

Julia Williams is a dedicated attorney whose broad litigation experience has resulted in successful outcomes for clients, allowing businesses to maintain their relationships and protect owners and shareholders. In her role with the Clinton Law Firm, she has represented clients before the Illinois Appellate Court and argued before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Julia Williams currently focuses on counseling businesses, professional associations, and not-for-profit organizations providing advice on all aspects of general operations and corporate governance, including bylaws, operating agreements, and other organizational records, intellectual property, contacts, general liability, fiduciary duties and related conflicts and ethical matters, certification and credentialing, and related matters.

Julia is an active member of the Chicago legal community and not-for-profit sector, serving as a representative of the Illinois Bar Association General Assembly and a Director for SheIs, a charity promoting women and girls in sport. Julia has previously served on the board of directors for the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois and chair of the Chicago Bar Association Public Outreach Committee, Serving Our Seniors initiative.

Julia is a 2008 graduate of the University of Maine School of Law, earning a Juris Doctorate. She graduated from Augustana College with a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in 2003. Julia has been recognized as a ‘SuperLawyer’ and ‘Rising Star” by Illinois SuperLawyers Magazine.

Julia was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 2008 and is also admitted to practice in the United States Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois and Central District of Illinois.

Edward X. Clinton, Jr. | The Clinton Law Firm, LLC

Ed Clinton, Jr. is a principal in the Clinton Law Firm and focuses his practice on business litigation and legal malpractice. In 1991, Ed graduated, cum laude, from Harvard Law School. He was a law clerk to the Honorable Michael S. Kanne of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from September 1991 to September 1992. From 1992 to May 1996, he worked as a commercial litigation associate at Mayer, Brown & Platt. After working at Katten Muchin & Zavis, Ed joined the Clinton Law Firm in 1997 as a shareholder.

Ed has substantial experience in commercial litigation, including breach of contract, business torts, uniform commercial code, and creditors’ rights. He also has substantial experience in the formation of  business entities and the negotiating and drafting of the accompanying documents, including shareholder agreements, partnership agreements and operating agreements.

Ed also has experience in representing both plaintiffs and defendants in all manner of legal malpractice claims, including claims arising out of litigation, including personal injury cases and divorce cases, failed corporate transactions, and disputed wills and trusts. Ed Clinton, Jr. also represents lawyers before the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.

In addition to his extensive litigation practice, Edward X. Clinton, Jr. serves as an expert witness in legal malpractice claims. He has written extensively on the subjects of securities regulation, consumer fraud and trial practice. His clients include doctors, lawyers, computer software companies, shareholders and corporations.

I. General principles | 1:00pm – 1:12pm

• Appeals can be extremely important
• While your rate of success may be less than 50%, a successful appeal can make a huge difference to a client

II. What kind of appeal | 1:12pm – 1:24pm

• Appeals after a final judgment
• Interlocutory appeals: Appeals while a case is pending

III. Strategic considerations: When should you be considering how to structure an appeal? | 1:24pm – 1:36pm

• Civil litigation: There is an important issue that you think the trial court missed or misunderstood
  • Can we do an interlocutory appeal?
  • Do we wait until the case has reached judgment?
• Do we have a clear record to appeal on?
  • Did we preserve the issue?

IV. Standard of review | 1:36pm – 1:48pm

• What is the standard of review?
• Tip: Not set in stone. Sometimes you can make the issue more favorable to you

V. Waiver and forfeiture principles | 1:48pm – 2:10pm

• Extremely important and you should be considering them at every stage of the proceedings
• Tips and best practices

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

• Waiver is usually construed against the Appellant, not the Appellee
• The post-trial motion
• Caveat: Motions to reconsider?
• Plain error

VI. How many issues to include? | 2:10pm – 2:22pm

• Less is more

VII. Explain things in a painstaking way | 2:22pm – 2:34pm

• The Appellate panel is not familiar with your case in the way you are or the trial judge was
• Explain things very carefully

VIII. The statement of facts | 2:34pm – 2:46pm

• Be comprehensive and use chronological order
• A bad statement of facts will end your appeal early

IX. Should you involve appellate counsel? | 2:46pm – 2:58pm

• If so, when?

X. Jurisdictional questions: When is the judgment final? Sometimes it’s not clear | 2:58pm – 3:10pm

• Remedy: Two appeals is better than one