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Reviewed by:
Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University
Reviewed: 05/19/23
If you’re still deciding what kind of legal specialty to pursue, read on to learn more about one of the most popular options—appellate law.
Courtrooms and judges don’t always get it right. Some lawyers can fight to fix these legal misjudgments. Appellate lawyers specialize in appealing court decisions. In other words, these lawyers push for cases to be reconsidered in hopes of reaching a different outcome.
Suppose this type of legal specialty sounds interesting to you. In that case, this guide will go over everything you need to know about how to become an appellate lawyer, their daily duties, the skills required to succeed in this area of law, and their career outlook!
You can expect to dedicate much time, effort, and money to joining this field. It will take at least seven years to become an appellate lawyer. Here’s what these seven years will involve:
The first step in your journey toward becoming an appellate lawyer is to complete an undergraduate degree at an accredited university.
Many students believe they should pursue a legal studies or criminology major to best prepare for law school and have the highest chances of admission. However, experts argue these pre-professional degrees are considered less rigorous and less appealing than other majors.
If you’re set on choosing these majors, you must diversify your transcript and take electives in the liberal arts to make your undergrad appear more academically challenging. Some course recommendations include:
You must maintain a high GPA to get into your dream law school, regardless of your major.
A strong academic record alone won’t impress the admissions committee. You should also seek various work, volunteer, and extracurricular activities throughout your undergrad to build a stellar law school resume.
While legal experience can undoubtedly strengthen your application, it’s not required or expected. Pursue experiences you are genuinely interested in and ensure you make a significant impact in all of them. Demonstrate excellent leadership and collaborative skills, which will help you have a successful legal career.
As you near the middle to end of your undergraduate studies, you must prepare your law school applications. Before doing this, create a realistic and practical list of your law school options.
Since you want to specialize in appellate law, apply to law schools that offer a range of appellate courses, provide you with experience working with appellate law faculty or in appellate clinics, and have strong legal writing programs.
Northwestern University is an excellent school that can provide you with advanced training and experience in appellate law. This school is the first to offer a federal appellate clinic, a Supreme Court clinic, and an appellate concentration open to all JD students.
As you build your law school list, you must also research what LSAT score you’ll need to be considered competitive at each school.
Using these scores, determine your target score to create an effective study schedule. Ensure you give yourself enough time to retake the LSAT, especially if you hope to score in the high 160s or the 170s.
You should give yourself around three to six months to study adequately for the LSAT.
Once you’ve gotten into one of your top law schools, you’ll spend the next three years gaining a broad and potentially specialized education in law.
Suppose you choose a program that allows you to concentrate on appellate law. In that case, you will spend your second and third years pursuing courses and experiential learning opportunities relating to this specialty.
Ensure you’re an active and engaged student throughout your legal degree. Make strong connections with your professors and other mentors, and participate in valuable extracurriculars, especially legal journals; strong legal writing skills are essential for a career in appellate law.
You should also maintain high grades throughout your JD. Students at the top of their class typically have the most opportunities post-graduation.
You’ll have to write a series of exams throughout your legal journey to ensure you’re prepared to practice law and meet all the necessary standards to do so effectively.
One of these is the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE). This exam ensures all law students understand and can follow the ethical and professional expectations of lawyers.
If you didn’t attend a law school that allowed you to concentrate on appellate law, or you just want to gain a more intricate level of training in the specialty, you can complete a Master of Law (LLM) in Appellate Law or Advocacy.
This step will take an additional year but is not required to begin practicing appellate law as an independent attorney.
Most appellate lawyers do not have LLMs, but this additional certification can offer more employment opportunities and a higher salary.
As stated, you’ll have to pass several exams to become an appellate lawyer. The final exam you’ll need to write is the bar exam.
Once you’ve completed this step and landed a position, you’ll officially be an attorney!
Depending on your location, you might pursue a certification in appellate law through your respective bar association. The following associations offer this certification:
This certification can help you practice law at higher levels but is not required.
An appellate lawyer specializes in appeal cases. They represent their clients to prove that there was a biased initial ruling.
The general responsibilities of appellate lawyers include:
It’s important to note not all appellate cases go to the courtroom. Many of them are resolved using a brief, written document asking for the case decision to be reconsidered based on specific grounds.
Additionally, appellate lawyers do not introduce new evidence or testimony into a case. They simply use the existing case materials to prove that the case was incorrectly handled.
Appellate lawyers can represent either the appellant, the party appealing a case, or the respondent, the party responding to the appeal.
To be a successful appellate lawyer, you’ll need to be:
It’s also essential that you have excellent people and teaching skills. You’ll be working with clients who likely have little knowledge of law. You must share your expertise with them in a way that is easy to follow.
The average salary for an appellate attorney is $191,703. Appellate lawyers can make up to an average of $211,910, depending on location and experience.
Appellate lawyers will always be necessary because humans ultimately make court decisions and are prone to bias, misinterpretation, and error. That being said, appellate law is typically very competitive.
For any remaining questions on how to become an appellate lawyer, read on to find your answers.
Trial lawyers focus on building and presenting cases in court, introducing evidence, and working to secure favorable outcomes, such as acquittals in criminal cases or successful judgments in civil matters. Appellate lawyers, by contrast, convince appeals courts that material legal or procedural errors occurred during the trial that justify a remedy.
To become an appellate lawyer, you’ll need to complete a four-year undergrad, a three-year JD program, and potentially a one-year LLM or board certification.
Becoming an appellate lawyer will take at least seven years of formal training. If you pursue more advanced training, you can add one more year to this timeline. However, since this specialty is highly competitive and selective, finding a full-time position at a large law firm may take longer.
You should have considerable legal writing experience to become an appellate lawyer. Participating in and publishing legal research and being part of a legal journal can help you gain this experience.
Additionally, you should have some experience working with appellate lawyers through internships, employment opportunities, or legal clinics at your law school.
The average salary for an appellate attorney is $191,703. However, some advanced appellate lawyers earn up to $211,910.
The majority of appellate lawyers work in private law firms or for state or federal government organizations.
Appellate lawyers play crucial roles in ensuring the justice system serves its purpose—to protect the innocent and convict the criminal.
If you’re ready to begin the journey towards this career, ensure you bring your A-game to each of the steps mentioned in this guide. While becoming an appellate lawyer will be challenging, it will ultimately result in a highly rewarding, valued, and exciting career!
Reviewed by:
Former Head of Northeastern University's Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University
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