Whether you are the plaintiff or defendant in a civil lawsuit, an adverse decision from a trial court may leave you dissatisfied with the process or feeling that a mistake was made and needs to be corrected. Usually, litigation involves important interests and if you’ve gone through a trial only to have a disappointing result, you’ll be looking for a way to change the outcome. In most cases, once the trial court has issued its final judgment, you have a right to appeal aspects of the order or decisions made during the case (such as admission or exclusion of evidence) with the possibility of securing a more favorable result. Likewise, you may be able to appeal a decision made during the case before the case is fully resolved if the court issues a limited judgment.

If you are considering an appeal, it is important to act quickly! To appeal a case, you (usually through your lawyer) must file a Notice of Appeal within 30 days of the judgment. You may also be able to stay the trial court’s judgment (prevent its enforcement against you) by filing a Supersedeas Undertaking.

Despite the short deadline on a notice to appeal, the appeal itself is a slow process. Most of the work for your attorney will be in researching and writing an appellate brief. The attorney will also make an oral argument at the appellate court.

Appeals are often complex and involve technical legal issues that may not be apparent to people without a background in the law. Therefore, if you think it might make sense to appeal a judgment, you should contact an attorney with appellate experience right away.

Brett Hall has practiced law in Portland for over a decade, handling a number of appeals during that time. Brett has a strong working knowledge of the law and will be able to evaluate possible issues for an appeal in your case. If he represents you on an appeal, Brett will put in the time and energy required to develop a strong and persuasive brief on your behalf. Brett’s extensive trial experience not only give him an eye for spotting appealable issues, but also help to make him very persuasive in oral arguments before an appellate court.

Brett Hall has practiced law in Portland for over a decade, handling cases in many areas of the law. He is knowledgeable about estate planning and also experienced in civil litigation. Whether you are seeking to create an estate plan that avoids litigation down the line or to challenge aspects of an ongoing probate process, Brett will spend the time to listen to your needs and work with you to develop a strategy for meeting them.