Moskovitz on Appeal: Advanced Insights from an Advocate Who Wins.

• Author: Waas, George
• Position: Book review

Moskovitz On Appeal: Advanced Insights From An Advocate Who Wins

by Myron Moskovitz

The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience...." This oft-repeated statement of legendary jurist Oliver Wendell Homes, Jr., who served as associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court for 30 years, could well be applied to Moskovitz's relatively short primer on "how-to" tips for handling appeals.

The book consists of 308 pages; however, approximately half is made up of seven samples of the author's briefs and petitions--with each sample prefaced by a short narrative explaining the rationale supportive of his argument. Actual text covers about 120 pages and offers advice gleaned from over 40 years of experience as an appellate attorney.

Moskovitz represents that has handled or consulted on hundreds of appeals in state and federal courts and claims that, "When representing appellants, he has obtained reversals in over 70 [percent] of his cases while the average reversal rate is below 20 [percent]."

Against the backdrop, Moskovitz sets out, in seven parts (How to Win, Should I Appeal?, Preparing to Write the Brief, Writing the Brief, Oral Argument, You Lost Now What, and Obtaining Writ Review of a Non-Appealable Trial Court Order) and 25 chapters, his take on how to win appeals.

The chapters are short; of the 25, 17 are from one to four pages in length. Only four are in double-digits: Myron's "Rules" (12 pages, setting out his three themes noted below), The Statement of the Facts (12 pages), The Argument (21 pages) and What to do at Oral Argument (10 pages). The number of pages correspond to the importance the author places on the appellate process.

This is not a law book on appellate practice and procedure. The author cites cases sparingly, and only when he is emphasizing a strategic point. Rather, it is a neatly and breezily written, easily understandable, commonsense nuts and bolts approach to appellate practice that...