How to Select an Attorney for a Criminal Appeal

After being convicted of a crime, you have the right to an appeal. On appeal, your lawyer will ask that your conviction be set aside because the judge made a mistake or because the verdict was completely unsupported by the evidence. You also have the right to hire a lawyer of your own choosing. Begin early by gathering names of criminal appellate attorneys. After researching their backgrounds, schedule a consultation with a few and then decide based on all of the information you learned.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Gathering Referrals

1
Talk to your trial attorney. The person who represented you in your trial is an excellent resource. They might know of an attorney who can represent you on appeal. Alternately, they might be able to represent you themselves.
- If you had a public defender, they can describe whether their office or another office handles appeals.^{[1]XResearch source} In some cities, there is a separate office of Appellate Defender who represents people.
2
Contact your nearest bar association. A bar association is an organization made up of lawyers. Your city and state should both have bar associations. You should contact both and ask for a referral to a “criminal appellate lawyer.”
- Don’t just ask for a “criminal defense attorney” because you will be referred to people who handle trials. Appellate attorneys have a different set of skills.^{[2]XResearch source}
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3
Look online. You can also do a general Internet search and look for attorneys. Type your location (e.g., “Charleston”) and then “criminal appeal attorney” into your favorite web browser. Click through the different results.
- Unfortunately, you might be overwhelmed with results, especially if you live in a city. In that case, you can click through results on the first few pages and write down the names of lawyers that look good to you.
- Another good option is to search an online directory. You can find them at websites such as FindLaw, Martindale-Hubbell, and Avvo.^{[3]XResearch source}
4
Ask other defendants for referrals. If you’re sitting in jail, you can ask the other defendants if they would recommend the attorney who handled their criminal appeal. Ask what they liked about the lawyer.
- Remember that your lawyer can’t perform miracles. Not every case is winnable, so the fact the lawyer didn’t win the appeal doesn’t mean they aren’t an excellent lawyer.
5
Contact a nearby law school or legal clinic. Some nonprofit organizations and legal clinics focus on “innocence projects.” In addition, many law schools have clinics where students will represent clients under the supervision of a faculty member. If money is tight, you should research whether a nearby law school has a student clinic that could help you.
- Look online first. There should be a website for the clinic.
- If there is a clinic, call and describe your situation. Ask if they will consider handling your appeal.
- You might be hesitant to let students work on your appeal. However, they typically take the case very seriously and can devote more hours to it than a regular lawyer would. Also, the faculty supervisor assures that the final work product is top-notch.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Researching Attorneys

1
Look at the attorney’s website. Attorneys should have websites today. Go online and type in the attorney’s name and location. Read through the website for the following information:
- The lawyer’s experience. The website should describe sample cases the lawyer has handled. Look to see that they have a background in criminal appeals.
- Cases like yours. If you were convicted of a drug offense, then look to see whether the lawyer has done appeals in drug cases. The more experience they have in cases exactly like yours, the better.
- How professional the website looks. Check spelling, grammar, layout, etc. A sloppy website indicates the lawyer isn’t particularly careful.
2
Research any disciplinary history. Every state has a disciplinary board that investigates complaints against lawyers. If the complaint has merit, then the board disciplines the lawyer.^{[4]XResearch source} You should check the disciplinary history of every lawyer on your list.
- You can find the state’s disciplinary board as well as the bar association online. Generally, you can search these sites by the lawyer’s name to find their disciplinary history. You could also call the bar association or do an online search for any disciplinary action on their behalf.
- Check the age of any disciplinary action. Someone might have been disciplined 20 years ago but have no other infractions.
3
Read online reviews. Websites like Yelp, Avvo, Lawyers.com and others contain reviews.^{[5]XResearch source} You can also type the lawyer’s name into a search engine and check what comes up. Read through the reviews carefully.
- Use your judgment when analyzing reviews. Often, people with negative experiences are more motivated to write a review than someone who was pleased with the lawyer’s services.
- However, check if the reviews contain common themes. If several people complain a lawyer never returns their calls, then there is probably a real problem with that lawyer.
Run your list of names by your trial lawyer and ask if they know any of them. In small counties, all the lawyers know each other. Ask if your trial lawyer would recommend any or if they will warn you away from any bad attorneys.
5
Narrow your list to 3 or 4. You won’t have a lot of time to meet individually with all the attorneys on your list. Instead, assess their experience and narrow the list to three or four attorneys.
- There’s no one way to decide who should be on your shortlist. Ideally, the lawyers should have the necessary experience to handle a criminal appeal. Their website should look professional and you should be comfortable with their reviews and disciplinary history.
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Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Asking the Attorney Questions

1
Call to schedule a consultation. Call your finalists and tell them you want to schedule a consultation. Generally, lawyers will schedule 15-30 minute consultations to discuss your case.^{[6]XResearch source} Most lawyers offer free or reduced-fee consultations.
- You might be in prison. If so, you can have a consultation over the telephone.
- The lawyer’s secretary might have preliminary questions you need to answer to check whether the lawyer can handle your case.
2
Prepare for the consultation. You won’t have a lot of time with the lawyer, so plan accordingly. Ask the lawyer’s secretary what you need to bring and gather any requested materials. For example, the lawyer will want to know exactly what you were convicted of. You should get your papers that show your conviction.
- Also write down a summary of the evidence presented against you. For example, identify who testified against you and what they said.
- Also note any physical evidence—bullets, fingerprints, DNA, etc.
3
Discuss your possible appeal. At the consultation, you will describe the conviction and the evidence against you. The lawyer may ask you questions. Always answer honestly, since what you tell the lawyer in the consultation is confidential.
- Ask the lawyer to assess your chances. Do they think you have a good appeal?
- Also check what issues the lawyer thinks you can appeal. For example, the lawyer might think there is insufficient evidence to support your conviction.^{[7]XResearch source}
- Alternately, the lawyer might think the police made errors when collecting evidence, so the judge should have excluded the evidence from trial.
4
Ask about fees. You definitely need to know whether you can afford the lawyer before hiring them. Ask the lawyer how much they charge and what payment options are available. Some lawyers will allow you to set up a payment plan, and others do “low bono” work, meaning they’ll charge a lesser fee.^{[8]XResearch source}
- For example, does the lawyer charge by the hour? If so, how much?
- How long does the lawyer think the appeal will take? Are they willing to charge a flat fee?
- Will you be billed every month? How much do you have to pay upfront as a “retainer”?
- Can you pay with a credit card?
5
Question the lawyer about their experience. Your lawyer should specialize in criminal defense appeals. In an appeal, the lawyer will write a long legal brief full of dense legal arguments, which trial lawyers rarely do. For that reason, you want someone skilled and experienced in appeals.^{[9]XResearch source} Ask the lawyer questions about their experience:
- How many criminal appeals have they handled? Is it a regular part of their practice?
- What areas of criminal defense were they (homicide, rape, etc.)?
- How often do they win? Be sure to find out their success rate at the appellate court level.
6
Ask how the lawyer communicates. Communication is important for the attorney-client relationship to work.^{[10]XResearch source} You want the lawyer to update you on your case, and you want them to answer your questions in a timely manner. Ask some questions about how the lawyer communicates:
- What is their preferred method of communication? Phone calls? Email? Letters?
- How long do they wait before contacting you back?
- Will you talk with the lawyer or with an assistant? Will the assistant be knowledgeable about the case?
- Remember that if the lawyer doesn’t respond within a reasonable amount of time, you have the right to report them to the bar association. Some lawyers may take advantage of their clients because they don’t think their clients know they can report the lawyer to the bar.
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Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Hiring the Attorney

1
Watch out for red flags. There are some signs that a lawyer might not be responsible. You should pay attention to these red flags and avoid any lawyer that exhibited them:
- The lawyer made promises that they could win the appeal. A lawyer can’t guarantee any result.
- The lawyer had a messy office. This shows the lawyer isn’t careful with client confidences. You should avoid this type of lawyer.
- The lawyer claimed to have more experience than appears on their website.
- The lawyer wouldn’t talk honestly about how much they charge. Avoid any lawyer that tries to hide how they will bill you.
2
Make a choice. Everybody is different, so no one can tell you the right attorney for your criminal appeal. Sit down and take some time to analyze the different attorneys you met with. Consider the following factors as you make your choice:^{[11]XResearch source}
- How comfortable did you feel with the lawyer? You will want someone you feel comfortable calling up and talking with.
- Is the lawyer sufficiently experienced and skilled? This person has your freedom in their hands, so you want someone who knows what they are doing.
- Does the lawyer explain things in a simple, understandable way? If not, you won’t be able to participate meaningfully in your appeal.
- Can you afford the fee? Was it reasonable based on the lawyer’s experience and the complexity of your case? If you couldn’t afford any lawyer’s fee, then you might need to get more referrals.
3
Contact the lawyer. Once you have made a choice, call the lawyer and explain you want to hire them. They should tell you what next steps to take and what will happen.
- You can send the other lawyers you met with an email. Keep it short. Thank them for meeting with you but state you’ve chosen a different attorney.
- You don’t need to go into an explanation of why.
4
Sign an agreement with the lawyer. The lawyer will send you an agreement laying out what they will do for you and how you will be billed. This agreement goes by different names—“engagement letter,” “fee agreement,” “retainer agreement.”^{[12]XResearch source} Read it carefully.
- Only sign the agreement if you agree with everything in it. If you don’t, call the lawyer and talk about your disagreement.
- The agreement shouldn’t differ from what you were told during the consultation. For example, the lawyer shouldn’t have quoted one fee at the consultation but included a different fee in the written agreement.
5
Stay in touch. It can take several months from the date you hire your lawyer until the appellate court hears your appeal. Stay in contact with your lawyer. They should send you a copy of the written argument they intend to file with the court.
- Remember to trust your lawyer’s experience and judgment. They should thoroughly research the legal issues to identify the strongest arguments to make on appeal.
- Understand that appeals are not “do overs” of the trial. Your lawyer can’t introduce new evidence on appeal. Instead, the appellate judges will only look at the trial transcripts and try to find errors.^{[13]XTrustworthy SourceAmerican Bar AssociationLeading professional organization of lawyers and law studentsGo to source}
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Tips

Avoid delay. You should start looking for an appellate attorney immediately after your conviction. If you want to appeal, you typically must file a “Notice of Appeal” with the trial court, and you often only get 30 days or less, depending on the court. If you miss the deadline, you might not be able to appeal.
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