Advising on Appeals

I still do a lot of appeal work.  In criminal cases, there is what is called a Lindsey brief.  This is a brief that says there were no appealable issues found and gives the individual defendant a chance to file his or her own brief.  In civil appeals, there can be a similar issue.  Many times, I have to go over the case in detail with potential clients in order to get an idea of the potential appealable issues.  If you are still in the ten (10) day window for post trial motions, I don't see anything that prohibits additional testimony either.  Unfortunately, until you actually have a full transcript of the trial, there is no way to fully advise a client one way or the other unless you are the trial attorney.  As such, many times a client is advised that they cannot be fully advised.