Woodring Law Firm handles civil and administrative appeals for clients throughout Florida, in the Florida Supreme Court, all of Florida’s District Courts of Appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Why the Woodring Law Firm
- Appellate experience since the start: a two-year clerkship at the First District Court of Appeal, then counsel in the Executive Office of the Governor, General Counsel of the Florida Department of Education, and the first General Counsel of the Florida Board of Governors.
- Admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Florida; a member of The Florida Bar since 1996 and of the State Bar of Georgia.
- An AV Preeminent® peer review rating; appeals argued in the Florida Supreme Court and Florida’s District Courts of Appeal and briefed in the U.S. Supreme Court; more than 30 years of experience in Florida; have worked with hundreds of appeals.
If you are on this webpage, you may have won or lost a case in Florida at the trial level, and you want to file an appeal or defend an appeal. We handle civil and administrative appeals in Florida, in both state and federal court, and before administrative agencies. Most of the appeals we handle originate in Florida, and Mr. Woodring is also a member of the State Bar of Georgia. In high-stakes cases, we will also handle appeals in other states’ courts in which we can be specially admitted for the appeal. We do not handle criminal appeals, so our guidance on whether you should appeal is intended primarily for appeals in the civil and administrative context. As you consider whether to appeal, please keep in mind that timelines for filing an appeal are short, often 30 days or less, and delay can lose an otherwise winnable appeal. Below are important factors to consider when evaluating whether to file or defend an appeal.
Should I appeal? Five questions
- Did the trial court or administrative tribunal make a significant legal error, one that probably changed the outcome?
- Was the error preserved in the record below?
- Is the case worth appealing, counting what is at stake, the cost, your exposure to the other side’s fees, and the odds?
- If you won below, should you defend the appeal or settle it?
- Is the deadline still open? In most Florida cases the notice of appeal is due 30 days after the order is rendered, and the appellate court cannot extend that time.
To discuss an appeal anywhere in Florida, call 850-270-1178 or send us a message from the Contact Us page. There is no charge for a first call to see whether we can help.
What to send us for a case evaluation
- The signed order or judgment you want to appeal, and the date it was filed with the clerk.
- Any motion for rehearing, new trial, or similar motion filed after the order, and its date.
- Whether the hearing or trial was transcribed, or can be.
- What is at stake: the amount of the judgment, a license, an injunction, or a precedent that will affect other cases.
- The deadline you believe applies, and whether the other side has appealed or cross-appealed.
Did the Trial Court or Administrative Tribunal Make a Significant Legal Error?
Without identifying a significant legal error made at the trial level (and “significant” means an error that probably changed the outcome of the case), it is unlikely that there is a good ground for appeal. If you had a good attorney at the trial level, or if you were the trial attorney (we often co-counsel with trial attorneys on appeal), but especially if you did not have an attorney below, it can help to have a fresh set of eyes evaluate the case and applicable law to determine if there is a good faith basis for pursuing or defending an appeal. Participants in the trial process are often too vested and too close to the case to effectively evaluate the merits of the appeal. You want experienced appellate counsel who will review your case and honestly share with you its legal strengths and weaknesses. Each case is unique, so a review to determine if you have a good ground to appeal has to be a thorough review, considering the entire record and all potential legal arguments.
Was the Error Preserved in the Trial Record for Appeal?
To prevail on appeal, an error at the trial level usually has to be preserved in the trial record to be able to be raised on appeal. This usually means that, at a minimum, the error was pointed out to the judge at the trial level, either by way of appropriate objection, argument, or a court filing, and often that a ruling was obtained, and the record has been preserved to demonstrate that the error was raised below. In most cases you will need a transcript of the proceeding to demonstrate the error was preserved, but there are a few exceptions. Florida’s appellate rules require the argument on each issue in a brief to cite the place in the record where the issue was preserved. There are also a few errors that are so fundamental that they can be raised for the first time on appeal, but these are very rare, such as a lack of jurisdiction. If in doubt, make sure the error is preserved. We can help ensure the needed legal arguments are raised at the trial court to preserve your rights to appeal. It is unfortunate, but we have individuals and businesses contact us about potential cases (sometimes high-dollar cases) where legal errors were certainly made but there is no appeal because the error was not preserved below.
Is Your Case Worth Appealing?
Assuming that the legal error was preserved at trial for purposes of appeal, you may have a good faith basis for appeal, but that does not end the inquiry. Now you have to value what is at risk if you do or don’t appeal. Is there significant money at stake? Is your livelihood, business license, or professional reputation at risk? Are other important nonmonetary interests at risk? Does this case set a bad precedent that hurts you or your business in other cases? Even if the amount at risk is not large, it may make sense to appeal if you have a good case and are likely to be able to shift appellate fees to the losing party by way of a contractual or statutory provision.
The value of your case needs to be balanced against both the cost of pursuing an appeal and your likelihood of success on the appeal. The cost of the appeal is not just the cost of the record and your appellate attorney fees, but you will have to consider your exposure to the other party on appeal. Will they be able to recover costs and fees from you if you lose the appeal? Some appeals are bet-the-farm cases, where what you have lost at trial, or stand to lose on appeal, is so great that you think it is worth pursuing an appeal even if your odds of winning are low. Other appeals, particularly if fees cannot be shifted, will end up costing you as much to pursue as you will recover even if you win the appeal.
Part of counting the cost is also determining how you are going to pay for the appeal: will your counsel take the appeal on a contingent or partially contingent basis, or based upon the ability to shift fees under a fee-shifting statute if you win, or will you have to pay the full cost upfront, with you being reimbursed only if you win and are able to recover fees? Sometimes our firm takes appeals mostly contingent on shifting and recovering fees, but many cases do not allow fees to be shifted. The Attorney Fees page on our main site explains when a contract or statute lets the winner recover fees from the other side.
Do I Defend or Settle an Appeal?
Most of the above discussion is written as though you are pursuing an appeal, but every appeal has an appellee, as well as an appellant, and these same factors need to be considered when defending an appeal. An appellee also needs to consider whether it makes sense to settle a case on appeal, instead of defending. Sometimes trial wins are not defensible, and settling is wiser than losing the cost of an appeal plus the cost of an appellate reversal. You will need a thorough evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of your case to inform this decision.
Each case is unique, but having an experienced appellate attorney review the record and determine if you have good grounds for appeal is the best way to start your analysis. You want the analysis to be candid. Reversal rates depend on the appellate court and the subject matter, but most appeals do not succeed: a 2025 Florida Bar Journal article estimated the baseline chance of getting some form of relief on appeal at somewhere between 10 and 20 percent. You do not want an advocate who will take any appeal as long as they are paid; you want someone who will determine whether your case is likely to be one of the appeals that succeed.
Talk to Us About an Appeal
If you have an important case you need to reverse or defend on appeal, we want to talk to you. Call 850-270-1178, email [email protected], or send us a message from the Contact Us page. Our Appellate FAQ answers common questions about deadlines, filing fees, and costs.