A notice of appeal is a very simple pleading and in most instances may be as short as one page. All that is required for a notice of appeal to be effective is that it be timely filed, name the party who is appealing, specify the judgment or parts of the judgment being appealed, and describe what relief the party appealing is seeking from the Illinois Appellate Court. However, as past ISBA President  J. Timothy Eaton notes in his April Illinois Bar Journal article, “The Timely and Properly Filed Notice of Appeal,” its simplicity should not overshadow its importance. Many appeals have been lost before they could be heard on the merits, Eaton writes, because the appellate court lacked jurisdiction. The appellate court’s jurisdiction is dependent upon a proper notice of appeal being timely filed. Without it, only extraordinary remedies by the Illinois Supreme Court can save the appeal. Eaton, partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister in Chicago, walks through the ins and outs of a notice of appeal properly and timely filed.

Read more in the April Illinois Bar Journal.