How to Choose a Colorado Criminal Appeals Attorney

Choosing appellate counsel is different from choosing a trial lawyer, and most of the usual signals are unhelpful. Awards, directory badges and "top attorney" lists are frequently paid placements or popularity surveys, and they tell you almost nothing about whether a particular lawyer will read your record carefully and write a persuasive brief.

This guide sets out questions you can ask any Colorado appellate lawyer, and explains what a useful answer sounds like. It is written so that you can use it on me as easily as on anyone else.

1. Who will personally read the record and write the brief?

This is the single most important question, and it should be asked directly: Will you read every page of the transcript yourself, and will you write the brief yourself?

Appellate work is reading and writing. In some practices the record is summarized by a paralegal or a contract attorney and the brief is assembled from that summary, with the named partner reviewing a draft. That can be done competently, but you should know which model you are buying. Ask who your point of contact will be, who will appear at oral argument if it is granted, and whether the same person handles the case from the record through the reply brief.

A good answer is specific. A vague answer about "our team" deserves a follow-up question.

2. Direct appeal experience versus postconviction experience

These are different skills. A direct appeal is confined to the existing record and is won on legal analysis and writing. A Crim. P. 35(c) postconviction case is an evidence-development exercise in the district court that may end in a contested hearing with live witnesses.

Some excellent appellate lawyers have never conducted a postconviction evidentiary hearing. Some excellent postconviction litigators rarely brief appeals. Ask which your case actually needs, and ask the lawyer how much of each they do. If your case may need both, ask whether they handle both or refer one out.

3. Colorado Supreme Court experience

If your case has any realistic chance of reaching the Colorado Supreme Court on certiorari, ask how many certiorari petitions the lawyer has filed, how many were granted, and whether they have argued before the court. Certiorari drafting is a distinct skill: the petition has to explain why an issue matters to Colorado law generally, not merely why the division below got it wrong.

4. Experience conducting Rule 35(c) evidentiary hearings

If ineffective assistance is in play, the case will likely be decided at a hearing where trial counsel testifies and is cross-examined. Ask specifically: How many Rule 35(c) evidentiary hearings have you conducted, and when was the most recent one?

Ask also whether the lawyer has trial experience. Persuading a judge about what a reasonable defense attorney would have done is easier for someone who has actually tried cases to verdict.

5. Recent cases involving the same legal issue

Ask whether the lawyer has recently litigated the specific issue in your case — restitution timing, expert admissibility, a particular jury instruction, a sentencing enhancement. Recency matters because Colorado law in several of these areas has changed substantially in the last few years.

If the answer is no, that is not disqualifying; competent lawyers learn new areas constantly. But an evasive answer is a signal.

6. What the fee includes

Get this in writing, and confirm exactly which stages are covered:

Ordering and reviewing the record and transcripts, and who pays transcript costs.
The opening brief.
The answer brief review and the reply brief.
Oral argument, if granted.
A petition for rehearing.
A petition for certiorari to the Colorado Supreme Court.
Any postconviction motion, hearing, or appeal from a denial.

Flat fees are common in appellate work and are usually fine. The problem is a flat fee that quietly stops at the opening brief, leaving the reply and argument as add-ons at a moment when you have no leverage. Ask what happens if the case is remanded, and ask what is refundable if the case resolves early.

7. Willingness to identify weaknesses as well as strengths

This is the tell that matters most. Ask the lawyer to describe the weakest part of your case and the most likely reason you will lose.

A lawyer who has read the record can answer that question concretely: this issue was not preserved, so it is reviewed only for plain error; this ruling is discretionary and the trial judge made findings; the evidence on this element was substantial. A lawyer who responds only with confidence and enthusiasm either has not read the record or is selling.

Related warning signs: a promise or prediction of a specific outcome; a claim to be the "best" appellate lawyer in Colorado; pressure to sign immediately; and a quoted fee before anyone has looked at the size of the record.

8. A few practical questions people forget to ask

What is your current caseload, and what is your capacity in the next ninety days?
How long will it take you to read the record and give me an assessment?
How will you communicate with me and with my family, and how often?
Are you licensed and in good standing in Colorado, and have you been disciplined? (You can verify this yourself through the Colorado Supreme Court's Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel.)
If my case is denied, what are the next steps and will you handle them?

Applying this to me

I am a solo practitioner. I read every record myself and write every brief myself. I practice only appeals and postconviction work, I have argued in the Colorado Supreme Court, and I have conducted Rule 35(c) evidentiary hearings. I keep a small caseload, and I decline cases when I cannot do them properly. I will tell you the weaknesses in your case in the first conversation, and I will tell you when I do not think an appeal is worth what it will cost you.

Use the questions above on me. If the answers do not satisfy you, use them on the next lawyer.

Talk with Tillman

Consultations are free, and you will speak with me rather than with staff. Contact me here or call 720-507-5814.

Written by Tillman Patrick Clark, Tillman Patrick Clark, LLC, Denver, Colorado. Last reviewed: July 31, 2026. This guide is general information about selecting appellate counsel and is not legal advice, and it is not a ranking or endorsement of any lawyer, including its author.