The Appellate Group

If you practice in St. George, please join Judge Derek Pullan and attorneys Bryan Pattison, Freyja Johnson, Cherise Bacalski for an attorney golf event and case law update. Golf CLEs are arguably the best CLEs of the year--apart from the Women Lawyer's retreat (we might be biased). You have until Monday, October 21 to register--but the golf portion might pack out fast. So act soon. #appeals #appellatelinkedin

50 years ago, an image like this would have been unimaginable. Even 20 years ago, a picture of these remarkable women might have led to assumptions about them being recognized for roles like PTA leaders or administrative staff—positions, while valuable in their own way, often stereotypically assigned to women. But today, this photo tells a different story: it represents #progress. Today as I flipped through this month’s Utah State Bar Journal, I was reminded of how far we’ve come. The barriers women and other underrepresented individuals have faced in the legal profession are being broken, one glass ceiling at a time. Today, I want to shine a light on The Appellate Group, a firm owned and operated by an extraordinary group of women, specializing in appellate law. This firm is proof that the future of our profession is bright and #inclusive. To the #Utah legal community—if you don’t know them yet, you should. The Appellate Group is a top-notch resource for all your appellate needs. Keep leading the way, ladies! The work you’re doing is inspiring, and I can’t wait to see what’s next. #WomenInLaw #GlassCeilingShattered #WomenLeadership #AppellateLaw

Appellate Practice Tip: A cross appeal is necessary only when a party challenges the tangible result of a judgment or decision. On appeal, when an appellee argues that the appellate court should affirm for different reasons than the trial court noted, it does not need to file a cross-appeal to raise that argument. Instead, appellee should present that argument as an alternative ground for affirmance in its responsive brief. --Cherise Bacalski, The Appellate Group

Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant has been elected president of the Conference of Chief Justices. He was elected by a nationwide vote of his fellow chief justices in state courts. Chief Justice Durrant is well known as an exceptionally kind and thoughtful person—as well as an exceptional legal mind and an inspiring leader. We congratulate Chief Justice Durrant on receiving this distinction among his peers. #appeals #appellatelinkedin #lawyers #legalwriting

Dear Bar Exam Takers, Now that you have finished the bar, you have entered liminal space--that period of waiting where you watch and worry and wonder if all your efforts were worth it. You may feel stuck. You can't move forward, because you don't know if you passed, and you can't redo any of the questions that unhelpfully pop into your brain at 2am. Your world, up to this point, has probably been really small: it's been about you and the bar. And there is a temptation to keep it small. But there is wisdom in realizing that your life is more than the bar, your community is more than you, and your world is more than your community. Take a deep breath and realize that the bar was hard. Take another deep breath and admire the beauty of the clouds or a leaf or a rock. Really sit and look at the world around you. Cultivate a sense of awe and gratitude. Then set an intention to really engage with the world with the gifts that you have, in whatever capacity you find yourself. Thank you for doing the hard thing--the bar. And thank you for moving forward in your waiting space. -Emily Adams #appeals #appellatelinkedin #barexam #lawstudents #lawyers

To anyone taking the bar exam, it is okay if you don't want to talk to other people about the exam. In law school, I always avoided any post-exam discussion of the questions and people's answers. In fact, there was a time when I literally *ran away* when some students started talking about a test that I was not confident about. For someone prone to worry and stress, I found that it was not helpful for me to dwell on the test. At that point, I wrote what I wrote, and there was nothing I could change about it. It was the same for me during the bar exam. Some people wanted to debrief with others about what issues they spotted, what answers they wrote, or which multiple-choice question tripped them up. After the second day, I got in my car and drove home. Then, I went on a trip and tried to avoid talking about the exam. If you find comfort in talking to others about the test, that is great! I wish I could be more like you! But for anyone else who doesn't want to talk about the test or your answers, just know you are not alone. It is okay to *run away* and not talk about the test. Good luck to anyone taking the bar this week. You got this! #appeals #appellatelinkedin #lawyers #lawstudents #barexam

If you have someone in your life who is taking the July bar exam next week, take the time to reach out with words of encouragement and support. And to all of those sitting for the exam next week, remind yourself that your worth and value as a person—and an attorney—is not defined by the bar exam. This exam tests how well you can take a test, and at this point in your preparation, trust that your brain knows how to do that. Fuel your body with good food and movement. Get a healthy amount of sleep. Take deep breaths. Remind yourself of the challenging things you have accomplished to get to this moment and allow yourself to feel pride and support from your loved ones. But most of all, know that everything will be okay. You are not alone when you walk into that exam room, and you will not be alone when you walk out. The legal community is rooting for every single one of you! -Anna Grigsby, The Appellate Group #appeals #appellatelinkedin #lawyers #lawstudents #barexam

Thank you for your support as we have worked through our Utah Appellate Report backlog! #uar We are committed to providing the Utah legal community with the Utah Appellate Report and strive to bring you weekly skimmable yet insightful content that will keep you up-to-date on what's happening in the appellate courts. To keep posting consistent every week, we have moved publication to Tuesday rather than Monday night. This will allow our attorneys to enjoy uninterrupted weekends in light of the court's flexible publishing schedule. If you have not already signed up, please take a second to do that here: https://lnkd.in/gE5qCqw4 We appreciate practicing with you in this close knit legal community. #appeals #appellatelinkedin Utah Court of Appeals

Last week our firm was honored when Freyja Johnson was recognized as one of Utah's Legal Elite. This award could not go to someone more well deserving. Freyja partnered with Emily Adams and Cherise Bacalski in January of 2020 to cofound The Appellate Group. Since then, she has tirelessly trained some of Utah's sharpest legal minds--both inside the firm and at BYU Law School. Last year, Freyja worked with Jensie Anderson to help reverse Caroline Ashby's wrongful conviction. Her oral argument in Ashby's case was a master class. One appellate judge has commented that Freyja's particular gift allows her to answer judges' questions with unmatched clarity and directness, but in a way that makes the judges feel calm and peace about her response. Congratulations, Freyja, for leading our firm with such brilliant diligence and an unmatched commitment to justice. #appeals #appellatelinkedin #legalwriting #lawstudents #lawyers

We are excited to announce that Carol Funk has joined The Appellate Group! Carol brings to us two decades of appellate experience. She advises her clients on all areas of the law, and is especially well suited to provide support on complex matters in district court litigation--particularly those involving statutory construction or constitutional interpretation. Carol is an appellate heavyweight, and we are thrilled to welcome her. #appellatelinkedin #appeals #legalwriting #lawyers