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Is there any advantage to having an appellate lawyer at your civil trial?

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A business deal went south and there’s a lot of money at stake. You can’t reach any kind of resolution with the other party outside of court, so you’re heading to litigation.

You have an excellent attorney lined up, so do you really need an appellate lawyer on your team right now? You do.

No outcome is ever guaranteed at trial

No matter how good your case seems, you cannot guarantee the way that the trial will go. After all, you probably wouldn’t be heading to trial if the other party wasn’t equally convinced that their cause is obvious and just.

If the verdict isn’t what you want to hear, you’ll most likely have to make some appeals — and it’s far better to have an appellate lawyer involved now than waiting until later.

Appellate lawyers can lay the foundation for a successful appeal at trial

An appeal is never a chance to retry a case. You can’t bring in new evidence, for example, or re-question a witness. They’re based largely on interpretations of the law and an examination of the way that law is applied.

When you have an appellate lawyer on your trial team, their job is to think ahead to a possible appeal and lay a solid foundation that can help your cause. They usually do things like:

Advising the trial attorney about how to properly preserve errors in rulings for appeal
Assisting with complex evidentiary issues and objections to evidence
Help direct the preparation of the jury instructions with a mind toward an appeal

Having an appellate attorney on your trial team can also help if you win your case and the other party appeals. If your appellate attorney is on point, they can make it much harder for the opposition to get a verdict in your favor reversed or an award reduced.

LET US DO ALL THE HEAVY LIFTING

Call Today to Schedule a Free Consultation

Schedule a free initial consultation with an experienced lawyer from Phillips, Hayden & Labbee, LLP. The sooner you get us involved, the more we can do to help you.

(727) 888-PAIN

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What Our Clients Say

PERSONAL INJURY CLIENT

Sharon Elliott

When I first called their office I was able to speak to a paralegal and an attorney right away. They answered all of my questions. Throughout the process of my case the attorneys were in constant contact with me. I knew every step of the process. The staff and attorneys were very easy to talk to. I was extremely pleased with the outcome. My medical bills were high. They managed to get my doctors to write off a lot of the bills which saved me money. PHL is a great law firm. I highly recommend them to anyone. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.

REAL ESTATE CLIENT

Amber Joye Rosen, Au.D.

I called numerous attorneys, Michael Labbee was not only the only attorney to call me back at all but called me the same day during his personal time. In the consult, he confirmed my rights as a party to this contract, went over all the ramifications the seller would incur by breaking our contract, and went over cost of litigation if that’s the route I needed to take. I felt more empowered at my options. He was not only knowledgeable and to the point, but kind (yet clearly willing to go to bat to people in their place for my rights!).

PERSONAL INJURY CLIENT

Merrill King

Outstanding attorneys. Extremely knowledgeable of the law. They don’t back down from a challenge!

BUSINESS TRANSACTION CLIENT

Cal Webster

We hired Michael Labbee to build several contracts for our business. Michael and his team are very knowledgable and professional about multi aspects of what we need help on.

PERSONAL INJURY CLIENT

Joey Gill

After my accident I contacted Tyler Hayden to get his advice on legal help and he said don’t worry, we can take care of this and that’s exactly what that firm did. From day one I felt comfortable talking to the lawyers and knew they had my best interest. I would 100% recommend Phillips, Hayden, & Labbee to handle your personal injury case. I’m glad I did.