Louisiana Civil Appeals

5th Cir. Appellate Advocacy Seminar

If you’re looking for appellate CLE in Louisiana, the Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit is offering 10 hours of it, including professionalism and ethics. The BAFFC’s annual Appellate Advocacy Seminar is scheduled for October 3–4 at the Pan Am Center in New Orleans (601 Poydras Street). The first day will be heavy on writing: a two-hour writing workshop in the morning on storytelling, and a one-hour presentation in the afternoon by Tenth Circuit Judge Robert Bacharach. (If you have Judge Bacharach’s recent book, Legal Writing: A Judge’s Perspective on the Science and Rhetoric of the Written Word, maybe he’ll autograph it for you.) The second day looks good to: it includes an opportunity in the morning to watch oral arguments at the Fifth Circuit, and an afternoon panel discussion with three Fifth Circuit judges. For more information about the seminar or to register online, follow this link.

More free CLE stuff

A couple of days ago, I gave my semi-annual presentation on appellate practice at the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Bridging the Gap seminar for new lawyers. My written materials (PDF copy here) include nuts-and-bolts stuff for handling appeals and writ applications in the Louisiana appellate courts. My slide presentation (PDF copy here) show five principles that I’ve come up with for succeeding in appellate practice, some of which can be transferred to other areas of legal practice. I’m making them available here for anyone who’s interested.

Free CLE stuff

I just finished giving a presentation for the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Jazz Fest seminar. The seminar theme was powerful writing. My presentation focused on use of grammatical structures to either focus or deflect attention on someone or something. For anyone interested in that sort of thing (and who isn’t?), here are links to my written materials and slide presentation.

Supplemental materials for Bridging the Gap participants

Today I gave a one-hour CLE presentation on appellate practice for the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Bridging the Gap webinar for new lawyers. For the webinar participants and anyone else who may be interested, here are some links to resources that you may find helpful:

• My written materials.
• My slide show.
• Ruth Anne Robbins, Painting with print: Incorporating concepts of typographic and layout design into the text of legal-writing documents, 2 J. ALWD 108 (Fall 2004).
• U.S. Seventh Circuit’s Requirements and Suggestions for Typographs in Briefs and Other Papers.
• Matthew Butterick, Typography for Lawyers.
• Immortal Forms: The Vampires of Legal Writing, For the Defense (DRI Jan. 2009).

Next year’s DRI Appellate Seminar

For those who like to plan way, way ahead, DRI has announced its 2022 CLE schedule, with the Appellate Advocacy Seminar scheduled for November 1–2, 2022 in San Diego. DRI’s programs are generally first-rate. I’ve attended 15 of their Appellate Advocacy Seminars over the years, and they’ve all been terrific. It’s too soon to register, but not too soon to block out the dates.

A webinar for relatively new La. lawyers

On October 26–28, the Louisiana State Bar Association is offering the 61st Bi-Annual “Bridging the Gap” webinar, designed to bridge the gap between law school and law practice. The program offers 14 hours of CLE, including a one-hour presentation by yours truly on appellate practice. For more information about the webinar, follow this link.

CLE materials on persuasive brief writing

Last July, I gave a CLE presentation on making every part of a brief persuasive—even the cover. This presentation built on one I participated in last March with Kelly Becker and Judge Sandra Cabrina Jenkins (La. 4th Cir.). While the March presentation was based on the Louisiana rules, the July presentation was based on the federal rules. For anyone who’s interested, here are links to the July version of the written materials and slide presentation. 

For “Bridging the Gap” participants

Today, I gave a one-hour CLE presentation on appellate practice for the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Bridging the Gap webinar for newly sworn-in lawyers. For the participants and anyone else who may be interested, here are some bonus goodies.

First, here are some resources on typography:

• Painting with Print by Ruth Anne Robbins. This 2004 article changed the way I think about typography in everything I write.
• The U.S. Seventh Circuit’s Requirements and Advice for Typography in Briefs and Other Papers. This article is an introduction to typography and a good source of tips to make your briefs and motions look better.
• Typography for Lawyers, by Matthew Butterick. Matthew is the leading authority on this stuff. I highly recommend his book to any lawyer who cares about making a good impression.

Next, here are some sample briefs and motions. I offer these with the caution to avoid over-reliance on others’ work product for other cases. 

• Motion for extension of briefing deadline
• Request for oral argument (letter)
• Request for oral argument (pleading)
• Appellant's original brief
• Writ application to La. Supreme Court

Finally, in case you missed the presentation:

• My written materials
• My slide presentation (PDF)

A plug for the LSBA Advanced Appellate Practice webinar

If you’re looking for appellate CLE, then please consider registering for the Louisiana State Bar Association’s upcoming Advanced Appellate Practice Webinar, to be held on the afternoon of April 9, 2021. The program offers two hours of appellate CLE. In the first hour, attorney Thomas Flanagan will interview newly elected Supreme Court Justice Piper Griffin. The second hour will be a panel presentation on how to make every part of your brief persuasive, from cover to conclusion. The panel includes Judge Guy Holdridge of the Louisiana First Circuit, Judge Sandra Cabrina Jenkins of the Louisiana Fourth Circuit, attorney Kelly Becker of Liskow & Lewis, and me. To view more information about the program or to register online, follow this link.

Appellate CLE offered by the New Orleans Bar Association

If you’re looking for appellate CLE, the New Orleans Bar Association has an inexpensive offering for you: a one-hour discussion of appellate practice with a pair of Louisiana chief judges: Chief Judge McKay of the Fourth Circuit and Chief Judge Chehardy of the Fifth Circuit. Attorneys Kelly Becker and Leigh Ann Schell will moderate. It’s only $20 for NOBA members and $40 for non-members. It’s going to be a Zoom webinar, so no travel time or expenses. For more information or to register, follow this link.