Why - Appellate Lawyer California - Julie Schumer?
California based Appellate lawyer Julie Schumer earned her law degree from Loyola-Marymount Law School in Los Angeles in 1978 and a B.A. in English at UCLA where she graduated magna cum laude in 1975. Appellate lawyer Julie Schumer worked for a small firm in Los Angeles for several years before relocating to the Bay area in 1982. In 1996 she was among the first group of lawyers to become a certified specialist in appellate law.
For the last 23 years, lawyer Julie Schumer has handled retained and court appointed indigent criminal appeals and post-conviction motions and writs exclusively, earning a statewide reputation as an intelligent, professional, detail-oriented appellate lawyer who has the ability to achieve outstanding results. Over the years she has handled hundreds of appeals. Ten of the cases in which she filed an appeal have resulted in published opinions. These appeals include:
People v. Johnson (2004) 121 Cal.App.4th 1409
People v. Tucker (1995) 37 Cal.App.4th 1
People v. King (1994) 30 Cal.App.4th 328 (review granted on pretext search doctrine)
People v Araujo (1992) 10 Cal.App.4th 700
People v. Runge (1992) 3 Cal.App.4th 436 (reversal, depublished)
People v. Spears (1991) 228 Cal.App.3d 1
People v. Seibel (1990) 219 Cal.App.3d 1279 (reversal)
People v. Coston (1990) 221 Cal.App.3d 89
People v. Brown (1988) 201 Cal.App.1296
People v. Jarrell (1987) 196 Cal.App.3d 604
Appellate lawyer Julie Schumer’s greatest victory occurred in the Santa Clara County case of Alvia York. Mr. York was falsely accused of the molestation and murder of his four month old infant daughter. Through post-conviction writ proceedings, Mr. York won a new trial on the murder charge based on the ineffective assistance of his trial counsel and, while ultimately pleading guilty to a lesser charge to avoid retrial, was released. In large part because of the work of lawyer Julie Schumer, Mr. York is a free man today, enjoying his new wife and job.
In addition to aggressively pursuing appeals, lawyer Julie Schumer is active in the legal community. She served for two years as co-chair of the Appellate Law Advisory Commission, which assists the Board of Legal Specialization in administering the certified specialist's program in appellate law. She is a past co-chair of the Prisons/Post-Conviction Law Committee of CACJ (California Attorneys for Criminal Justice). She has been a speaker on appellate procedure for various groups over the years and has co-authored several articles on the subject for the Contra Costa Lawyer, the monthly magazine for the Contra Costa Bar Association. She is the founder and former President of the Appellate Section of the Contra Costa Bar Association.
RATES/FEES AND OTHER APPELLATE PRACTICE INFORMATION
What are your fees?
I prefer to handle appeals on a flat fee basis as opposed to charging by the hour. The fee quoted is based on the number of issues on appeal, their complexity and novelty, the size of the trial court record, and the general circumstances of the case. A flat fee offers a client certainty about the costs that will be involved. Fees for a simple one issue appeal start in the $7500 range. More complex cases with longer trials and multiple issues are likely to fall in the $15,000 to $30,000 range. If a writ is necessary, the costs will increase usually $5,000 to $20,000 or more depending upon its complexity. This is determined on a case by case basis. I do not work on a contingent fee basis. The flat fee includes all legal research costs. I subscribe to a wide variety of databases on Westlaw and have thus have at my fingertips all necessary resources. The flat fee does not include outside expenses such as travel, copying, postage, and private investigators. The cost of these items vary from case to case depending on the particular circumstances involved. When performing research, preparing motions or assisting other lawyers, I generally charge an hourly fee.
Payment of fees and likely expenses is required in advance. The fee is deposited in my trust account and withdrawn only when services are performed. Unused expense amounts are returned at the conclusion of the case.
Before I start any work on an appeal, clients are required to sign a fee agreement setting forth all of the terms of my engagement. This agreement, and not the general information in this website, governs the attorney-client relationship.
Do you offer free initial consultations?
An initial phone conversation with a potential client is free. For a flat fee I conduct a preliminary review of the case to determine its merit which includes extended discussion with the client, consultation with trial counsel, review of key documents and legal research if necessary. The fee for such review generally runs in the $400 to $1000 range but will depend on the circumstances of each case. The review allows me to advise a client as to whether or not pursuing an appeal will be worthwhile and what his or her chances of success may be. A preliminary review of a possible habeas action is generally more complicated and may require initial investigation by a private investigator as well.
Who will do the work?
I personally research and write every brief in every appeal I handle as well as conduct oral argument when necessary.
How can you handle appeals statewide?
An appellate practice is almost entirely office-based work. The heart of the appeal is the written briefs. Generally only one court appearance is required. In some appeals, there is no oral argument, so no appearances are required. Thus, picking the right lawyer for your case is more important than picking your lawyer based upon location.
If you or someone you know in San Francisco, California, Contra Costa County or anywhere in California needs the assistance of an experienced appellate lawyer then contact the Law Offices of Julie Schumer to schedule a consultation with a certified legal specialist in appellate law. She can be reached at 866-680-3412 or via her contact form in the left column.
