Appeals
Appellate practice is a specialized area of law with its own rules and conventions. A person or business should seriously consider hiring a lawyer who specializes in appeals to give them the best chance of winning an appeal. The lawyers at O’Connor Weber specialize in appeals. They have many years of experience as appellate lawyers in the Oregon Court of Appeals and the Oregon Supreme Court. O’Connor Weber offers its clients the resources of a team of lawyers who know appellate law and the state appellate courts. Their research and writing abilities allow them to effectively and efficiently represent a party’s interests on appeal of criminal judgments and civil judgments or on judicial review of administrative agency orders.
Appeals have significant differences from trials before a judge or jury. Appeals differ significantly from hearings before administrative law judges. On appeal, a party may bring legal challenges to the rulings of a trial court judge, an administrative law judge, or the decisions of an administrative agency; a party may not offer new evidence on appeal. A party makes the legal argument by writing and filing a legal document, called a “brief,” in the appellate court. The best appellate lawyers possess strong research and writing skills that allow them to draft persuasive legal arguments about why a trial judge or agency made a legal error in deciding a case.
Some appeals also involve a 15- to 30-minute oral argument before a panel of judges. The oral argument offers the appellate lawyers a chance to answer questions from the judges. An experienced appellate lawyer uses oral argument to advance a client’s case by answering judges’ questions about the legal arguments in the briefs or the record of the trial or administrative agency hearing.
Record Review for Potential Appeal Issues
O’Connor Weber’s experienced appellate attorneys can help a party evaluate whether to file an appeal by reviewing the record and providing a preliminary evaluation of the merits of an appeal. The lawyers at O’Connor Weber will consult with a party and prior attorneys, independently review the record of the trial or hearing, and provide a detailed preliminary evaluation of potential issues for appeal. A record review allows a party considering an appeal to make an informed decision about whether to invest the time and money necessary to litigate a case on appeal.
In most Oregon cases, a party has 30 days after the entry of a judgment to file a notice of appeal. A party considering an appeal should consult with a lawyer as soon as possible to discuss the filing of a notice of appeal. If you are considering appealing an adverse judgment or administrative agency decision, [contact O’Connor Weber] (/contact) today to see whether we can help.
Representation on Appeal
The lawyers at O’Connor Weber represent clients before the Oregon Court of Appeals and the Oregon Supreme Court in criminal appeals, on judicial review of administrative agency decisions, on appeal of judgments in civil cases, in post-conviction relief appeals, and in state habeas corpus appeals. They specialize in appellate law. Their skill and experience helps give a person or organization the best chance of winning on appeal.
Contact O’Connor Weber to see how we can help you to challenge an adverse decision of a trial court or regulatory agency or to seek to preserve on appeal a hard-fought victory.