Even excellent lawyers have clients who get convicted. Then comes the appeal. In the Arkansas state court system, there are two appellate courts: the Arkansas Supreme Court and the Arkansas Court of Appeals. They have different jurisdiction, and the Arkansas Supreme Court sometimes reviews decisions of the Court of Appeals. In New York, there is an Appellate Division for direct appeals and the New York Court of Appeals is the final appeals court. In federal courts, appeals are to the U.S. Court of Appeals. There are twelve federal circuits. Arkansas is in the Eighth Circuit which sits in St. Louis and St. Paul, and New York is in the Second Circuit which sits in New York.
Appellate work is vastly different than trial work. Except for oral argument (which does not happen in all cases), it is not done in a courtroom. Like trial lawyers, appellate lawyers are totally immersed in a case when they are crafting the appellate brief. A good appellate lawyer will often take longer to prepare an appellate brief than the trial lawyer spent preparing for and trying the case.
When a lawyer handles an appeal, he or she is bound by the record made in the trial court, including the existence and scope of all objections. Objections cannot be changed on appeal; things not objected to cannot be argued. So, appellate counsel's hands are somewhat tied in what he or she can argue. But, with a good record, appellate lawyers can hopefully get a conviction reversed or at least lay the ground work for later post-conviction review in the state and federal courts.
Appeal briefs are important. Just as in failing to object in trial courts, issues can be abandoned on appeal by not arguing them and by not seeking discretionary review wherever it is available. But, not every objection is sufficient to reverse a conviction. In some areas, especially trial objections, trial judges have vast discretion, and the appellate brief has to show how that discretion was abused in the context of that case. Appellate lawyers, like trial lawyers, have to use their judgment to decide on what to argue and how to present it.
No two lawyers will argue an appeal the same way. Clients have a right to know the quality of work of a lawyer you are considering retaining. Appellate briefs that have been filed in other cases are public records and they are neither privileged nor confidential. Ask a lawyer you are considering retaining to provide you with a sample of his or her work.