The California Appellate Law Podcast
The California Appellate Law Podcast
Latest Episodes
Palma, Alt Writs, and the OSC: Reading the Tea Leaves After Your Petition Lands with Judge Fay
Why do writ petitions so often fail? Judge Tom Fay covers the technical writ rules that attorneys often overlook. In part 2 of our conversation with former lead writs attorney at the Santa Ana Court of Appeal, Judge Fay covers the CRC 8.486 and...
59 Days Is Not an Emergency: Newly Minted Judge Fay Decodes Writ Triage
Tom Fay spent years as the lead civil writs attorney for California's 4th District, Division 3, processing every emergency petition that crossed the court's threshold. Effective June 29, 2026, he's now Judge Tom Fay of the Orange County Superio...
How Lisa McCall Appeals Family Law Orders—and Gets Them Published
One of just 12 California lawyers dual-certified in both family and appellate law, Lisa McCall has an unusually clear view of how family trial work plays out on appeal. Lisa shares the record‑killing mistakes family lawyers often make.An...
Rules to Speak By: John Snow on the Rules—Not Mere Tips—of Oral Advocacy
John Snow, Director of Legal and Trial Training at the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office and author of Rules to Speak By (Carolina Academic Press, 2026), joins Tim Kowal and Jeff Lewis to discuss what it actually takes to be an effect...
What Judges Actually Notice: 20 Years on the LASC Bench with Hon. Stuart Rice
Drawing on 20 years observing attorney behavior, Hon. Stuart M. Rice (ret.) now at JAMS, speaks freely. This episode is a rare candid debrief from the other side of the bench.Key topics:What incivility actually cost...
