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GROW YOUR LEGAL PRACTICE AND HELP CHILDREN AND PARENTS IN NEED!  APPLY FOR OUR CAFL APPELLATE TRAINING AND BECOME CERTIFIED TO HELP THESE FAMILIES!

CAFL is now accepting applications for its Winter 2026 Appellate Panel Certification Training.  All admitted applicants must attend the four-day virtual CAFL appellate training program scheduled for January 27, 29, and February 3, 5, 2026.  The training, which will be conducted by Zoom, will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. each day.  There will also be an orientation by Zoom on January 13, 2026 from 4:00-5:00 p.m.  The agency actively seeks to diversify its private attorney panel membership. Applications are due on December 1, 2025, but will be accepted on a rolling basis until the training is filled. For more information please see our 2026 CAFL Appellate Panel Certification Training Notice.  Interested attorneys can apply through the Application Portal HERE.

Administrative Personnel

(including Appellate Panel Support Unit personnel and contact information)

Administrative Resources

(including CAFL trial and appellate performance standards, mentor/mentee information, billing, certification and forms)

Appellate Packet for Trial Attorneys

(including blank notice of appeal, motions for appointment of appellate counsel and for fees and costs, intake forms, and CAFL’s appellate guide for trial attorneys)

Appellate Practice – Single Justice

(including CAFL’s single justice practice handbook, relevant statutes & court rules, model petitions & memoranda of law, single justice model motions, and important single justice links)

Appellate Practice – General

Cases, Case Summaries, and Legal Research Memos

(including our Compendium of Unpublished Decisions,” due process issue/resource bank, and other legal research memos on tons of topics)

Clinical Research Bank

(including research memos on trauma from removal, sibling placement/visitation, post-adoption contact, the benefits of kinship placement, outcomes for “legal orphans,” and many other topics)

E-Filing (everything you need to know!)

Model Briefs

(including model appellant/appellee briefs, reply briefs, FAR applications, DAR applications, and post-argument letters)

Model Motions

(including motions to file late notice of appeal, motions regarding late docketing, motions for enlargement, status reports, and many others)

Oral Arguments

(including links to SJC and Appeals Court oral arguments and the Suffolk Law School oral argument archive)

Statutes, Court Rules & DCF Regulations/Policies

(including key state and federal statutes, Rules of Appellate Procedure, Appeals Court Rules, Trial Court Rules, and Trial Court Standing Orders)

Appellate Practice Tips and Training Materials

Brief-Writing Tips

(including brief checklists, writing tips for all sections of the brief, and general writing tips)

Client Contact and Relationship Tips

(including tips for working with child and adult clients)

Oral Argument Tips

(including tips for in-person and video oral arguments)

Training Materials

(including video lectures for certification trainings, “fireside chats,” and other trainings)