Having handled more than 400 appeals in state and federal courts, Kay Nord Hunt, chair of Lommen Abdo’s Appellate Section, knows that there is a distinction between trial work and appellate advocacy that is sometimes difficult to discern when you are close to a case. Her clients find that it is helpful to engage an independent opinion to rise above the minutiae of the trial and refocus on the pivotal issues for appeal. Appellate counsel sees the case the same way an appellate court does -- from a written record. 

The appellate advocate can make more objective decisions than the trial attorney about which facts are most beneficial, which issues were best preserved for appeal, and which issues present the best avenues for appeal. The best appellate lawyers understand how appellate judges think, they know the standards of review, and they can focus on making the appeal as persuasive as possible. Because Lommen Abdo is a broad-based litigation and business firm, the Appellate Section, including Ms. Hunt and Brett Clark, has handled appeals in virtually every area of the law before the Minnesota and Wisconsin state and federal appellate courts. The Appellate Section handles appeals for our clients as well as appeals on cases initiated by other firms. Lommen Abdo associates with other counsel to provide assistance with appeals. Lommen Abdo’s appellate department on average appears before the Minnesota Court of Appeals and the Minnesota Supreme Court 25 to 50 times a year. It also provides appellate services in such specialty courts at the U.S. Tax Court and the Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals. 

Reasons for retaining independent appellate counsel were recently explored in an article in the newsletter for small firms on law practice management issues, You Manage Law.

Ms. Hunt is a member of the prestigious American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. She has also been named a “Super Lawyer” by Minnesota Law & Politics and a “Leading Minnesota Attorney” in the area of appellate law. She is an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, teaching appellate law. She is a frequent lecturer on appellate practice issues at CLE programs. She spoke on appellate ethics at the American Bar Association’s 2001 National Conference on Professional Responsibility.

For further information relating to the Appellate Section of Lommen, Abdo, Cole, King & Stageberg, P.A., please contact Kay Nord Hunt at 612-336-9341 or kay@lommen.com.

The Minnesota Judicial Branch recently launched its new website and is offering streaming video of selected oral arguments of the Minnesota Supreme Court online.  To view oral arguments, go to www.mncourts.gov and click on the icon for the Minnesota Supreme Court.  Then follow the link to "oral arguments" to access the video.  You can also access Supreme Court oral arguments as streaming video directly at www.tpt.org/courts.  Oral arguments are best viewed via a high-speed internet connection using a computer with a fast processor and 512 MB or more of random access memory (RAM).