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Criminal Appeals Practice


Icarus

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Icarus
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What are the key skillsets and the required practical steps for a defence lawyer to build this type of practice?  I would assume not everyone follows the same path, but I'm curious to hear different perspectives on what it takes. I gather that stellar research, writing, and oral advocacy skills are a must. 

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Practically you want to get hired by a firm - or share office space with counsel - where Appeals work is part of what they do. 

You can follow your own case through an Appeal, but without mentorship it’s a tough slog. 

My first appeal I took to my former articling principle, since he was an old hand at it, and I second chaired him throughout. 

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Phaedrus
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Are you asking from a legal practice perspective or a business perspective. They overlap, for sure, but the path to regular criminal appellate practice can be convoluted. The legal side is fairly obvious: you need to be a competent trial lawyer. 

I know plenty of criminal lawyers who love trial practice, and dabble in appellate work, but who have no interest doing it full time. It's so paper and research heavy that it deprives the lawyer of what they love most about the job, investigation, negotiation, and Court time. Being a competent trial lawyer primes your ability to spot and appreciate issues. 

@Hegdis touches on both the practical and business side (he responded as I was typing this). You'll preferably want to sidle up (or have an established network) of senior counsel to mentor you. Having experience and a network under your belt is helpful, as I've known defence counsel whose clients are convicted at trial and they refer them out for the appeal. 

Other career paths includes getting on with the Crown and/or legal aid and grinding away for a few years until an appeals division opportunity comes up. Depending on the office or location, you may have opportunities to do work on those files for senior staff. 

Edit: I thought I'd mention it if it wasn't obvious. Appeals work is expensive for private clients, and clients want experienced counsel on the file. If it's eat what you kill for trial, it's worse for appellate work. This is why your skills, reputation, and network are really important. Because of the ungodly cost, a fair chunk of the defence appeal work happens through legal aid. 

Edited by Phaedrus
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BlockedQuebecois
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1 hour ago, Icharus said:

I gather that stellar research, writing, and oral advocacy skills are a must. 

As a former clerk, I can assure you that none of these are requirements to build an appellate practice (criminal or civil).

Now if you want to be a decent appellate lawyer… 

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