The Appellate Lawyers Association (ALA) is hosting an appellate practice seminar and roundtable luncheon honoring Fifth District Appellate Court justices.
The luncheon and seminar will be held on May 17 in Collinsville. The event is being cosponsored by the St. Clair County Bar Association (SCCBA) and the Madison County Bar Association (MCBA).
“The Appellate Lawyers Association is a statewide bar association made up of attorneys who handle appeals and the judges who hear them. We have an annual luncheon in each of the five appellate districts designed to give attorneys a chance to converse with an appellate judge. Every table will have a judge, hopefully,” co-chair Richard Chase stated in a press release. Chase is a member of the ALA Seminars Committee and coordinator of the event.
According to Chase, the luncheon helps new lawyers feel less intimidated by judges. It also gives the judges a chance to mingle with local attorneys.
The seminar will take place after the luncheon. It will begin with a judicial panel composed of Supreme Court Chief Justice Lloyd Karmeier, Justices Judy Cates and David Overstreet, and Appellate Clerk John Flood.
“They will be asked questions by the moderator about appellate practice and procedure,” Chase stated. “This is a popular program with attorneys because, unlike trial matters, a lot of what goes on in the court of appeals isreally hidden from view. This is a peek behind the curtain as to how appellate judges decide cases and what they think is the best practice in the court of appeals. Attorneys can learn things they would not otherwise know.”
Following the judicial panel, there will be a presentation on appellate brief writing by former ALA President Ted Kionka.
The seminar will then conclude with presentations on appellate motion practice by retired Justice Richard Goldenhersh and appellate oral argument by former ALA President Brad Elward.
Those interested may register for the event through the ALA website at www.applawyers.org.