As part of a litigation team, a trial attorney and an appellate attorney work on parallel tracks toward a common goal—providing the best possible representation to the client throughout the life of a lawsuit. They go about the common goal in a different manner, however. Each attorney has different skill sets. And when they combine those skills, they provide comprehensive representation for the client while keeping litigation costs efficient. Ideally, the collaboration begins at the early stages of the lawsuit, but they can also provide invaluable assistance if hired to assist at trial.
‘Monitoring’ Counsel
Hiring an appellate attorney as monitoring counsel during a trial is the role that first comes to mind when most think of an appellate attorney joining a trial team. The role of monitoring counsel is an important one, no doubt. Because he is not in the midst of the lightning fast forum the trial attorney inhabits during trial, the appellate attorney can provide the client an assessment of the trial on (1) how it is progressing, (2) how the evidence is being received into the record, and (3) how the jurors appear to be reacting to the testimony and other evidence presented to them. By writing daily trial reports for the client, the appellate attorney frees up the trial attorney to prepare for the next day of trial. But there is much more an appellate attorney can do to contribute to the trial team.
