(I look older now, of course.)
Call Me Gary
I’m Gary McCurdy. I graduated from what is now known as UC Law SF and have been an attorney in California since 1972. My first nearly three years I was an associate with the late Justice Frances Newell Carr’s law firm (until a few months before she was appointed to the superior court bench and the firm broke up). While the partners represented the big buck cases, any with sidecar criminal case matters (friends, relatives, selves) were passed over to me to handle, along with smaller civil matters.
In 1975, I joined a county public defender department (as deputy, supervising deputy, chief assistant, and two roughly half-year stints as Acting Public Defender and Interim Public Defender).
In 1986, I was hired by the Office of the State Public Defender, and for a short time was the acting head of its Sacramento office.
In 1988 I was offered a job with one of the appellate projects (see rule 8.300(e)), where I worked for more than 37 years, retiring in 2026 after nearly 29 years as Assistant Director.
I have been certified since 1981 by the California State Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization as a specialist in criminal law.
Since 1993, I have written more than six dozen articles for my In Custodia Legis column published in CACJ’s (California Attorneys for Criminal Justice) Forum magazine.
(If you are a California attorney about to tackle a state felony appeal, read on to see if I might have something to offer you.)
Maybe I Can Help
My email address is Gary.McCurdy at appellateadvisor [dot] com. Except replace the spaces and word ” at ” with the @ symbol and the spaces and the [dot] with .com. Note that there is a period between my first and last name, and that appellateadvisor is all one word. (In other words, you need to delete the spaces between my name and the domain, and insert the @ symbol.) I’m trying to keep you from having to click on something you don’t necessarily know is legitimate.
If you are a California attorney eligible to practice in California, and you would like some guidance on handling a state felony appeal, I may be able to guide you (for a fee), just as I guided many attorneys during my tenure with the appellate project. Reach out to me by email. Be sure to include your full name or (preferably) your State Bar number, because I will respond to you at whatever email address you have listed with the State Bar. I will provide you with information on what services I can provide and my hourly rate.
Business Model
My business model is to provide guidance to retained counsel. I will not represent the actual clients. I will not respond to nonattorneys seeking my help on appeal. I envision that you will do the research and writing of the briefs and other necessary motions under my guidance. Just as the appellate projects have increased the overall quality of appellate briefing and representation in appointed appeals, I anticipate that my guidance will help you improve your appellate skills.
Of course, if you are already a fairly well established felony appellate attorney, then your only benefit may be that you would have a second set of experienced appellate eyes to run your thoughts by.
I Don’t Do The Clerical Mechanics, Because I Don’t Have That Skill
I will presume that you have sufficient nonattorney support (secretary, paralegal, clerical employee(s), etc.) who can handle (or quickly learn) the mechanics of electronically filing documents in the Court of Appeal and serving them properly. It is not that I consider the work beneath me. Instead, it’s that I know my limitations, and I cannot compete with the skills and knowledge that are the hallmarks of good assistants in conquering the logistics of getting documents filed and served.
Here Are Some Of The Things I Can Do For You
- Perform a complete review of a copy of the appellate record as provided by you;
- Advise on whether the record is complete, and how to go about getting it completed if needed;
- Prepare a memorandum in which I point out all the potential issues I see, as well as any obstacles I think need to be addressed and potential adverse consequences of proceeding with an appeal. The memorandum will likely provide some stepping stone cases or other authority to point you in the right direction or away from the wrong direction;
- Review drafts of your briefing before filing, and provide any suggestions I may have for improvement on researching the issues and developing (and presenting) the arguments;
- Serve as a sounding board for you to run possible issues and other problems by.
You Remain Fully Responsible For Complete Representation Of Your Client
Because I will not be your client’s attorney, you, of course, will be independently and solely responsible for reviewing the entire record on appeal–at least to the extent that your client has retained you, which I presume is to do the entire appeal of the entire judgment. Likewise, you are independently and solely responsible for discovering all issues and doing the necessary legal research to the best of your ability. I am not serving as associate counsel or as a law clerk who does the research and writing for you. I will be your guide, calling on my experience and the criminal law appellate skills I have developed over the decades as I review what you propose to file on behalf of your client. But you are the client’s attorney, not me.
There Are No Guarantees
I cannot guarantee any result, of course. You may win the case with or without my help, or you may lose the case despite or without my help.