Sept. 21, 2011 – The frustration is evident when a veteran appellate judge looks at the mountain of appeals before him. “Every lawyer now believes that he or she is competent to pursue and win an appeal,” writes Senior Circuit Judge Ruggiero J. Aldisert. “However, even though one may be a good trial lawyer and know the rocky terrain of trial courtrooms, this does not guarantee the ability to handle the slippery slopes of appellate advocacy. Experienced appellate judges sink into melancholy when they consider how shallow is the preparation of some of the lawyers who crowd their dockets.” Opinion Writing at 3 (First ed., 1990).

You may know your case inside and out, but are you sure you know how to handle an appeal? How long do you have to file your notice of appeal – or to respond? How do you determine what will become part of the record? For that matter, how do you get things into the record? How long can your brief be; what color cover must it have? How are motions filed and decided? What are the deadlines? Are the procedures the same in federal court as they are in state court?

You’ll find the answers to these and many more questions in the State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE Attorney’s Guide to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal, newly supplemented for 2011. Available in both print and electronically through the State Bar’s interactive online library, Books UnBound™, the guide is written by experienced practitioners and court personnel. It takes you through the appellate process from start to finish. Wisconsin lawyers have long appreciated the value of this book. In a 1997 review in the Wisconsin Lawyer™, attorney Nicholas Zales stated, “[t]his guide . . . gives attorneys a wealth of detailed useful information. When considering an appeal or appeal-related issue, it is the first reference I look to.” And the guide has only gotten better as it’s been repeatedly revised and updated.

Besides recent court decisions and legislative changes, this year’s supplement addresses such matters as the Seventh Circuit’s new electronic filing requirements, including emergency filings; how counsel should proceed if the client has waived the right to appeal; the U.S. Supreme Court’s new Form 4, Affidavit Accompanying Motion for Permission to Appeal In Forma Pauperis; the new disclosure requirements for amicus curiae briefs set out in Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 29(c)(5); and differing approaches in how to award fees when the government’s case was not substantially justified.

Do your client, yourself, and the Seventh Circuit a favor. Get the guide and get the answers.

State Bar members can buy Attorney’s Guide to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal in print for $155, plus tax and shipping. Current owners of the print book who subscribe to the Bar’s automatic supplementation service will receive future updates at 10 percent off the regular update price. Annual subscriptions to Books UnBound start at $129 per title and $649 for the full library (single-user prices; call for firm pricing). Current full-library subscribers to Books UnBound automatically receive this update. To order, or for more information, call the State Bar at (800) 728-7788 or (608) 257-3838.