November 2020 Bar Bulletin
By Valerie Villacin
“Always Appealing” is a column addressing current issues in appellate practice and recent appellate cases written by the lawyers of Smith Goodfriend, PS, a Seattle law firm that limits its practice to civil appeals and related trial court motions practice.
Elihu Root said, “About half of the practice of a decent lawyer is telling would-be clients that they are damned fools and should stop.”1 As an appellate lawyer, much of my practice when dealing with any “would-be client” is, while not necessarily telling them “they are damned fools and should stop,” but determining whether they are, and if so, helping them reach that conclusion for themselves.
Appellate lawyers can...