Appellate Advocacy Expert Insights With Laurie Webb Daniel Founding Partner at Webb Daniel Friedlander LLP How Appellate Lawyers Win Cases After the Verdict What Distinguishes the Appellate Skill Set from That of a Trial Lawyer? “When I decided to focus on appellate advocacy, I realized I wanted to be a lawyer’s lawyer—the person trial lawyers turn to when a judgment needs fixing,” says Daniel. She explains that appellate advocacy is fundamentally different from trial work: “I’m the law person on the case. I argue to judges, not juries. My task is to deliver a winning message in only a few minutes or a few pages.” When Is the Best Time to Hire an Appellate Lawyer? “Ten years ago, I was typically hired after a bad verdict,” Daniel recalls. “But that often led to waiver problems— where an appellate court wouldn’t consider a great argument because it hadn’t been preserved at trial.” Now, with Georgia’s reputation for “nuclear verdicts” in the tens of millions, her firm is often brought in before trial to ensure key issues are properly developed and preserved. “We’re the safety net if the trial is lost,” she says. Appellate advocacy is often described as the most intellectually demanding branch of legal practice—one that calls for precision, persuasion, and the ability to distill complex cases into elegant, tightly reasoned arguments. Few lawyers embody that art better than Laurie Webb Daniel, founding partner at Webb Daniel Friedlander LLP, an appellate boutique based in Atlanta. With decades of experience leading appellate teams in both Big Law and boutique settings, Daniel reflects on what makes appellate work distinct, when trial teams should seek appellate counsel, and how the craft has evolved in Georgia’s rapidly changing legal landscape. 24 LAWYER MONTHLY DECEMBER 2025 www.webbdaniel.law
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