Notice of Appeal Cheat Sheet
Notice of Appeal is jurisdictional! Do not cut any corners.
North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure (Updated 2019)
As you know, the Appellate Rules in North Carolina are written by the Supreme Court of North Carolina. (Unlike, say, the Rules of Civil Procedure, which are statutory.) As the name suggests, the Rules of Appellate Procedure govern the appeals—from the timing of the notice of appeal to the word count of the briefs. Look to the Appendices for the list of appellate filing deadlines and some examples of motions. (You can see more examples of motions here). Do not forget that the Rules were amended since (Reply Briefs, Exhibits and Sanctions) Memorandum explaining the changes is here.
North Carolina Appellate Style Manual
Appellate Style Manual 2021
Not authoritative but extremely useful. Crafted by a group of appellate lawyers who got sick of being roused by amateurs five minutes to the midnight deadline with questions like: “how many spaces between lines in an appellee brief?” For a blog post highlighting the latest update, click here.
Guide to Appealability of Interlocutory Orders
To appeal or not to appeal? One can never know for certain, but this Guide is a good start.
North Carolina Legal Standards Database
For the ever-so-important “Standard of Appellate Review” section, go to this resource offered by the Court of Appeals itself. You may want to consult this page at the early in drafting your appeal. Of course, the best practice is to look at the standard of review before you even try the case. It may give you an idea of your chances on appeal. As you know, discretionary rulings are rarely disturbed.
Guide for Counsel for Oral Argument before the Court of Appeals of North Carolina
Not every case gets argued. In fact, most of the appeals are decided on the briefs. But if you do ask for and are granted an argument, consult this guide.
Supreme Court Guidebook
Guide for Counsel for Oral Argument before the Supreme Court of North Carolina
Business Court Traps
prepared by Beth Scherer and Matt Leerberg who give excellent advice—like to file with the right court if you can ever figure out which court it is. (Prepared before the 2017 Business Court Rules)
Business Court Rules (New in 2017)