It can be difficult to contemplate “more legal costs” after the costly process of going through a trial. A full trial of almost any length will often consume tens upon tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills. Clients find themselves asking — will the appeal cost that much?
Fortunately, the answer is almost always “no.” This may seem counterintuitive; surely if the case goes to an appeal, the legal issues are more complex, and the costs are higher? Ultimately, though, costs come down to one thing: TIME. Trials are extremely time intensive. Discovery can involve a limitless number of requests, answers, interrogatories, etc. It takes a lot of time to draft these documents, and it can take even more time to comply with the ones coming from the opposing party.
Appeals, in contrast, are already a “closed universe.” Everything that will be said has been said, and it can be reduced to a trial transcript. Every exhibit that will be admitted has been admitted; it is all there in the court file. Appeals look backwards only; they assess whether what was actually done at trial was done correctly and in compliance with legal rules and the law.
Appeals therefore do not often require the lawyer-time of a trial. Sure, there are some cases where the trial costs are low and the appeal costs are similar, but this firm more often sees cases on the other extreme, where the appeals costs are perhaps only a tenth of what the trial costs totaled.
Feeling weary of paying legal bills after a long trial? You may be pleasantly surprised that the appeal is a bargain in comparison.