It’s a Minefield Out There

Somebody told me that once, referring to appeals. I had raised what I thought and hoped would be an easy question of appellate jurisdiction, and got a long lecture with lots of “but ifs.” And with typical lawyer weaseliness, the conclusion was “perhaps.”

Welcome to illinoisappellatelawyerblog.com. We’ll rassle with the issues that Illinois appellate practitioners care about – standards of review, mootness, waiver, the new rules, the old rules, the brief-writing process, and the biggest bug-a-boo of them all, appellate jurisdiction.

We’ll focus on what the Illinois courts and the 7th Circuit are doing, or not doing. (Did you see what the 7th Circuit said recently about “the carelessness of a number of the lawyers practicing before the court of this circuit with regard to the required contents of jurisdictional statement in diversity cases”? Take a peek at Smoot v. Mazda Motors of America.

Let’s discuss the law and the state of appellate practice, so we’ll avoid the minefield – perhaps.