Appellate Court Recognizes Value of an Experienced Appellate Lawyer

Knowledge and experience are priceless as a recent Illinois appellate decision demonstrates. In a heart-wrenching case, the First District Court of Appeal had no choice but to find in favor of the Appellee because of a series of egregious technical errors by the Appellant’s counsel. See Dawn Cox, as Special Administrator of the Estate of Bonnie Wyllie v. University of Chicago Medical Center, No. 1-18-1473, 2019 WL 4957981 (Ill. App. Ct 1st Dist. Oct. 7, 2019). The appellate court found that the “plaintiff’s appellate brief and the record on appeal are deficient” and that failure “limits our ability to evaluate her appellate arguments.” The Court went on to find that the “procedural violations result in the forfeiture of all of her arguments on appeal, leaving us with no adequate basis for reversing the circuit court’s judgment.” Id. The Court therefore affirmed the final judgment on that basis. Id. This case demonstrates that although the rules of appellate procedure may appear to be simple technicalities, the failure to abide by those rules can result in an appellate defeat. If a case is worth appealing, then a seasoned appellate lawyer is worth the investment. 

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