How to Work with a Busy Appellate Attorney’s Deadline – Part One

Unfortunately, many law firms lack an established process for obtaining appeal or supersedeas bonds for their clients. Such bonds are required by courts from an appellant to delay payment of a judgment until the appeal is over. Because the bonds must cover the full cost of the pending judgment as well as related court costs, they typically involve a significant expense for clients of a litigation firm’s Appeal Division. What’s more, these specialized bonds can involve a time-consuming and onerous process when not procured through a professional bond firm that understands their timely nature and has ongoing relationships with highly rated surety carriers acceptable to the court.

Notably, courts in most jurisdictions require surety carriers providing such bonds to be on the U.S. Treasury Department’s listing of approved sureties; however, not all sureties are. It can be disruptive to a court proceeding if an attorney helps a client through the bonding process only to see the court reject the bond and threaten a bench order to enforce an execution of judgment for the plaintiff because the time period for presenting a proper bond has been exhausted.

Law firms that are structured to handle appeals cases effectively often place decisions about bonding in the hands of their director or administrator of Legal Support Services. This individual typically manages the court docket for the entire firm, makes sure services are carefully coordinated, and directs paralegals and associates on where to obtain required bonding. That’s where an experienced firm, such as Unique Surety and Insurance Services, LLC, comes in.

Unique Surety’s approach to judicial bonds – particularly to appeal/supersedeas bonds – emphasizes the ease of getting it done and reducing red tape. We assess a case’s needs quickly, choose the right surety carrier, get a competitive price, and negotiate the most favorable collateral, if any, required for the surety to quickly approve the case. That enables Unique Surety, which has the surety carrier’s power of attorney, to arrange for the law firm to wire the premium so the surety can issue the supersedeas bond quickly – including by overnight delivery or courier service anywhere in the U.S. as necessary – and the court can receive it in a timely manner.

So, next time one of your clients needs a supersedeas bond, experience the ease of getting it done. Contact Unique Surety at www.supersedeas.com or www.suretybondsbyunique.com.

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