One thing that can separate a good appeal brief from a very good one is that while the good brief may support the arguments with authority, the very good brief will support those arguments with what I call “layers” of authority. This brief will support its arguments not just with appropriate case law citations from courts of that jurisdiction and/or the appropriate statutes, but will go even farther to strengthen support for the argument by referencing secondary legal authority. This is a useful approach particularly where the client being represented on appeal may for some reason not be viewed favorably by the court and an emphasis on legal authority is needed. The additional types of authority can be one or more of the following:…