“ Hiring appellate counsel is common. The appellate world is markedly different from litigation.”
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BINGO! Appeals litigation requires a unique skill set if you want the best results.
Agreeing with posters above, it’s common to criticize (within the bounds of professional courtesy) the strategy or tactics of the trial court attorneys. If that happens here, I am pretty sure the trial attorney team will pay it little attention. In criminal appeals, it’s almost malpractice to NOT claim “ineffective counsel” as one ground of appeal.