Trial courts often grant summary judgment motions, and those court orders are often appealed. Yet in reading the appellant’s briefs in such appeals while I worked as a law clerk and then staff attorney at the Alabama Supreme Court, and in my practice assisting other lawyers withe their appellate briefs, I’ve noted that many times the briefs have the wrong focus. So what’s the wrong focus? The wrong focus is trying to convince the appellate court that summary judgment shouldn’t have been granted because the plaintiff has the evidence to win the case if it went to trial. Too many lawyers focus their briefs on proving their case, instead of demonstrating error on the part of the trial court judge. It’s hard enough to…![]()
