Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in California

Re: Respondent's Brief for the Appeal Court

I believe there is one attorney in the Sixth District that has been certified as a specialist in appellate law, and I would be very surprised if he turned away your request for what is essentially procedural help.

I am not aware of any company that does only what you describe.

I believe that I could help you with these procedural issues, even though I am not a certified specialist, and if you want to contact me privately, I could give you a flat rate for the help you seek.

Re: Respondent's Brief for the Appeal Court

There is a company in LA, Lawyers Brief Service, which might be what you seek. 350 S. Figueroa St. Try them and see what editing assistance they can give. They print appellate briefs, so they do charge for this service indirectly.

If the appellant is represented by counsel, chances are that AOB is proper and you could copy that format. Any print shop can do a copying and velo bind job (covers must be yellow). Or ask any lawyer who has a sample to look at.

Re: Respondent's Brief for the Appeal Court

You can Google for briefs other people have written, say [california court of appeal brief]. That gets you the format.

Then read the Cal. Rules of Court (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/rules) for the format (margins, typeface (Times New Roman 13), number of copies, and color of cover). You can also google for topics such as [california appellate brief formatting].

After you print out your original, sign it, and have someone else sign the proof of service, take it to Kinko's and it is theoretically possible that they will print and bind it correctly (velobind or spiral bind is OK) with the correct color cardstock cover -- although it is the luck of the draw whether you can find a Kinko's that has someone halfway intelligent working there.

You can save $$ if you make all the copies on the self-service copiers -- buy the right amount of colored cardstock from them and manually feed it into the copier to make the covers -- and just have them do the binding. Don't leave the job with Kinko's or they will never get it done -- insist that they do it while you are standing there.

You used to be able to buy your own light-duty velobinder machines at Staples or Office Depot, but I haven't found them in stock for a couple of years now.

Maybe there is a company that does all of the above -- I know for the very specialized printing and binding requirements of the U.S. Supreme Court there are such companies -- and they charge an arm and a leg.

Congratulations on prevailing in the lower court, and best of luck to you.