Sometimes a lawsuit doesn’t turn out the way you hoped it would.  Whether you are a plaintiff or a defendant, trial courts can and do make errors that can change the outcome of your case.  Far too often, this results in a great deal of additional cost to the parties.

Luckily, a court or jury verdict doesn’t always have to be the end of the story.  Any party to a lawsuit can file a notice of appeal within 30 or 60 days of entry of judgment in order to start the process of having another court look at possible errors that the trial court has made.  This is why it is important to contact our office immediately if you are considering an appeal.  We can file a Notice of Appeal the same day you call in many cases, but once the deadline has passed, there is very little that anyone can do to help you contest an unfavorable verdict.

After the Notice of Appeal is filed, we order a transcript and a copy of all of the exhibits introduced at trial.  We go over everything thoroughly in order to identify every potentially appealable error.  Often times, it is easy to miss these errors in the middle of a trial, but by carefully going through every detail of the record, we are often able to find several strong arguments in favor of a new trial.

Once the errors have been identified and the briefs filed, we prepare for oral argument.  Even though oral argument is often limited to a very short amount of time, it is not uncommon to win or lose one’s appeal based on one careless answer to a judge’s question.  That’s why we spend significant time preparing to discuss even the most minute of details at oral argument.

After oral argument, the court will render a decision.  If we prevail, the case will be remanded to the trial court, usually for a new trial or for some modification of the judge’s order.  If we lose, it is often possible to appeal to an even higher court.  In either case, The Law Office of Cliff Dean Schneider will be with you throughout the process.

If you’re considering an appeal, call us as soon as you can to discuss your options.  Once the deadline to appeal has passed, we will not be able to help.