Appellate Practice Tools and Resources
Appellate Packet for Trial Attorneys
- Notice of Appeal
- Motion for Appointment of Appellate Counsel
- Motion for Fees and Costs of Appeal
- Appellate Assignment Intake Form
- CAFL Appellate Guide for Trial Attorneys (every trial attorney should read this to know what to expect for their appeal and steps to take going forward)
Request for Appointment of Appellate Counsel for a Single Justice Petition (interlocutory review)
SJ Appellate Assignment Intake Form
Join the CAFL Appellate Panel
The Committee for Public Counsel Services is now accepting applications for the CAFL appellate panel certification training. Applicants must be admitted to the Massachusetts bar or be eligible for admission by April 15, 2022.
Admission into the training is competitive and not all applicants will be admitted. All admitted applicants must attend the four-day CAFL appellate training program scheduled for May 17, 19, 24, and 26, 2022. The training, which will be conducted by Zoom, will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each day. There will also be an orientation by Zoom on May 11, 2022 from 4:00-5:00 p.m. The agency actively seeks to diversify its private attorney panel membership. The application can be found here:
CAFL appellate panel application – 2022 training
CAFL appellate panel recruitment notice – 2022 Training
CAFL appellate panel attorneys are compensated at $75/hour. If you have any questions about the CAFL Appellate Panel or the certification training please contact:
Andrew Cohen, CAFL Appellate Panel Director Acohen@publiccounsel.net
Ann Narris, CAFL Appellate Panel Support Unit Supervising Attorney Anarris@publiccounsel.net
Come join us for an informal Q&A session to learn about the CAFL panel, the certification training, and the work on February 2, 2022, from 01:00 PM – 2:00 PM. Please register in advance for this meeting:
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Single Justice Filing Fee Waiver
When seeking a waiver of the filing fee for a single justice petition in the Appeals Court, do not also pay the filing fee. If you file a motion to waive the filing fee (and a supporting affidavit of indigency) and pay the $315 filing fee, that $315 filing fee will automatically be charged to you and can’t be refunded to you. If your client is entitled to a waiver of the fee (and almost all of our clients are entitled to a waiver), just move for the waiver.
To avoid the unnecessary charge (and the delays that may ensue, perhaps leading to an untimely petition), all attorneys should set up a waiver account in their e-filing (Tyler) profiles and use this waiver account as the payment source. To set-up a waiver account in the e-filing (Tyler) system, simply:
1. Log into your efileMA.com account, click the “Actions” button, and select “Payment Accounts;” and
2. Select “Add Payment Account,” click “Waiver Account,” name the account, and then click “Save Changes.”
Feel free to contact Supervising Staff Attorney Ann Narris at anarris@publiccounsel.net or Trial Panel Director Drew Don at adon@publiccounsel.net if you have any questions.
MyGideon
Children and Family Law (CAFL) attorneys can access additional substantive practice information on the CPCS page of MyGideon.org.
Instructions on how to obtain access My Gideon
See all Professional Resources