Failure to Appeal Cases

When a lawyer is sued for negligence in conjunction with the appellate process who decides whether or not the appeal would have been successful, judge or jury?

The judge makes the decision, according to the Illinois Supreme Court.  The Court said that "the issue of proximate cause in an appellate legal malpractice action is  inherently a question of law for the court and not a question of fact for the jury."

The case is Governmental Insurance Exchange v. Judge, Docket No. 100668 (Ill. S.Ct. May 18, 2006).  Read it here.

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