A Washington lawyer who faces securities fraud charges will try to convince a federal appeals court that she was duped by her client — a businessman whom she says took advantage of her legal inexperience to bilk would-be investors.

Brynee Baylor, a name partner at now-defunct two-lawyer Baylor & Jackson, stands accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of helping ex-con Frank Pavlico III and his company, the Milan Group, cheat investors out of nearly $2.7 million.