Best Criminal Defense Lawyers in Tustin, CA

While trial proceedings are underway, a judge might hand down certain orders that need to be challenged by appealing to a higher court. The most commonly employed writ petition is writ of mandate, but these petitions typically involve orders concerning discovery, demurrers or summary judgments, as well as orders that block motions to disqualify a judge. It is a specialized type of pleading that can be crucial to an entire lawsuit because it contains the complaint, evidence, and legal argument in one package. Importantly, writ petitions may be statutorily time-blocked with a deadline that expires in a matter of days after an order is issued. This means an appellate attorney should be contacted as soon as an adverse ruling is handed down that should be challenged by a writ petition.

John L. Dodd and his team have more than 30 years of experience working on more than 1,200 appeals in California. Mr. Dodd is a former research attorney at the California Court of Appeal, which offered him valuable insight into how appeals work and how justices are inclined to decide cases. Because Mr. Dodd dedicates his practice to appellate work, his researching and writing skills are constantly kept sharp.

We sometimes handle a writ petition or respondent's brief on a flat-fee basis, but we generally abide by our hourly billing structure. This is because the amount of time it takes to work on an appeal can vary drastically depending upon the questions or issues involved. For some clients, this means a flat fee can actually end up costing them far more than our hourly structure. By billing our work for the actual time it takes to complete, we can help you feel assured that you are getting the most value for your dollar.

It is unlikely. Because the Court of Appeal will not make any judgments allotting compensation to either party, there is no contingency fee for us to collect. In a best-case scenario, you may be granted a new trial and win damages during that trial, but that is too tenuous of a situation for us to base our fee structure upon.