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Alabama Appellate Practice
Appeals for the clients we already represent, and appellate support for the lawyers who represent everyone else.
An Appeal Is Not a Second Trial
An appeal asks a higher court to review a lower court's decision for legal error. It is not a rehearing of the case and it is not a second chance to present the facts more persuasively.
Three things follow from that, and they surprise most people who have just lost. The record is fixed. The appellate court sees the evidence that was presented at trial and nothing else, so a witness who was not called or a document that was not introduced is simply unavailable. The issues are limited to what was preserved, meaning an objection not made at trial usually cannot be argued on appeal. And the standard of review often decides the outcome before the merits are reached: some rulings are examined afresh, while others are upheld unless the trial judge got it plainly wrong.
Which is why appellate work is most effective when it starts before the verdict rather than after it.
What We Do
Appeals for firm clients
Where we tried the case, we handle the appeal, with the advantage of having built the record with an appeal in mind.
Issue preservation at trial
Protecting the appellate position while the case is still being tried, which is where appeals are genuinely won.
Local counsel on appeal
Supporting out-of-state counsel with matters before Alabama's appellate courts.
Appellate support for trial counsel
Working alongside another firm's trial team on strategy, preservation, and briefing.
Post-trial motions
The motions that must be made before an appeal is available at all.
Appellate risk assessment
Advising a client on whether an appeal is realistically worth pursuing, which is frequently the most valuable advice available.
Not sure where your situation fits?
How We Approach It
Start before the verdict
The most valuable appellate work happens at trial: making the objection, making the offer of proof, and building a record that supports the argument you may need later.
Assess honestly
Most appeals do not succeed, and the standard of review frequently determines that before anyone reads the merits. A client considering an appeal deserves a realistic view rather than an encouraging one.
Argue few points well
A brief raising eight issues signals that none of them is strong. Identifying the two that can actually win is most of the work.
Who Does This Work
Jordan W Gerheim
Has taken more than a dozen cases to the Alabama Supreme Court with good success, with experience in the state appellate courts and the Eleventh Circuit.
William R. Lancaster
Forty years of trial practice with more than a hundred cases tried to judgment, and the preservation instincts that come from knowing which rulings get appealed.
Appeals Are Usually Won or Lost at Trial
By the time a case reaches the appellate court, most of what determines the outcome has already happened.
An objection is not made
The issue is generally not preserved, and the appellate court will not consider it however meritorious it was.
Evidence is excluded without an offer of proof
The appellate court cannot assess whether the exclusion mattered, because it never learns what the evidence would have shown.
The record is incomplete
Sidebars off the record, unrecorded conferences, and missing exhibits leave the reviewing court unable to see what happened.
The wrong standard applies
Some rulings are reviewed afresh; others stand unless clearly erroneous. Framing an issue to attract the more favourable standard begins at trial, not in the brief.
How This Work Is Billed
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do you take on appeals from cases you did not try?
Not as a general practice. We handle appeals for clients we already represent, act as local counsel on Alabama appellate matters, and work alongside trial counsel on preservation and briefing. We do not currently hold ourselves out for appellate-only matters arriving after judgment with other counsel, because we do not have a dedicated appellate brief writer on staff and we would rather say so than take work we cannot resource properly.
How long do I have to appeal?
Not long, and the deadlines run from specific events in the trial court rather than from when you decide you are unhappy. Post-trial motions frequently have to be made first and carry their own short deadlines. If an adverse judgment has just been entered, this is a matter of days rather than weeks (speak to your trial counsel immediately).
What are the chances of winning an appeal?
Lower than most people expect. Appellate courts affirm the great majority of what they review, and the standard of review often decides the case before the merits are reached. That is not a reason never to appeal. It is a reason to get an honest assessment before spending on one.
Can we introduce new evidence on appeal?
Generally no. The appellate court reviews the record made at trial. Evidence that was not presented, witnesses who were not called, and arguments that were not raised are usually unavailable, which is why what happens at trial matters so much more than most parties realize at the time.
We are out-of-state counsel with a matter in an Alabama appellate court. Can you help?
Yes. That is one of the things this practice is built for. We act as local counsel on Alabama appellate matters and can support your team on state-specific procedure and practice while you retain the substantive lead.
Related Insights
Appellate Thinking, Before the Verdict
If you are trying a case with an issue likely to be appealed either way, book a Risk-Free Strategy Session now rather than after judgment.