Section 1.24 Making a Prognosis

• Library: App Ct Prac 2015 Supp

4. (§1.24) Making a Prognosis

One of the highest functional skills of an attorney is predicting what the appropriate appellate court would hold as to the facts of a particular situation. Karl N. Llewellyn, The Common Law Tradition: Deciding Appeals (1960). That holding is the law of the case. The prediction allows counsel to advise the client what to do. In particular, the prediction may be needed to advise the potential litigant to proceed with a suit or with a defense. One of the difficulties of making...