Business litigation can put a lot on the line. If you lose, you could take a financial hit and your business’ reputation could be damaged. That can put you at a disadvantage in a competitive marketplace and render it difficult to make ends meet. While that can be stressful to think about, you should take some comfort in the fact that you can appeal your case if you end up losing. But to obtain a favorable outcome on an appeal, you have to know how to tee up the record for success.
Tips for building a successful business litigation appeal
Although you hope to win your case at the trial level, you should still anticipate your next move in the event that you lose. By planning for the worst possible outcome, you can take action to preserve the record for appeal, which is crucial because the appellate court will only review the evidence presented at trial. Therefore, to set your case up for appeal you should do the following:
- Understand the applicable laws so that your arguments are tailored to them.
- Present competent evidence that meets those legal elements.
- Properly make and respond to objections so that evidentiary issues can be reviewed on appeal.
- Make offers of proof if the court disallows you from presenting evidence, whereby you explain what the evidence is and why you think it’s admissible, that way the appellate court can review that evidence and the trial court’s ruling on appeal.
- File proper and thorough pretrial motions.
Don’t set yourself up for an unsuccessful case on appeal
If you play your cards right, you might get two shots at securing the outcome you want in your business law case. Hopefully you’ll win at the trial court level and withstand any appellate scrutiny, but even if you lose at trial you still have the opportunity to seek reversal on appeal. But to succeed in your case in any regard requires adequate preparation and zealous advocacy. If you’d like to learn more about what that looks like, then please continue to explore this area of the law and what sort of help may be available to you.