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Appellate Formatting

Format Appellate Briefs for Filing in Minutes

10 minutes with Para

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Para is an AI colleague for legal teams. Send it this work by email, Teams or Slack, and it hands back the finished document.

10 minutes with Para

What you'll need

  • Appellate Brief

Plans from $20 a month, with usage included.

Workflow

Overview

CaseMark's Appellate Formatting skill automates the most tedious and error-prone parts of appellate brief preparation: generating Tables of Contents, Tables of Authorities, and Certificates of Compliance. It applies the correct rules for your jurisdiction — whether federal circuit, state appellate, or U.S. Supreme Court — and produces defensible word-count calculations with transparent exclusion tracking.

Building appellate filing components manually is painstaking and high-stakes. Attorneys spend hours cross-referencing headings for TOCs, categorizing and formatting dozens of citations for TOAs, and manually calculating word counts with proper exclusions — all under strict court rules where a single error can result in a rejected filing or sanctions.

CaseMark automates appellate formatting by analyzing your brief's structure, extracting every heading and citation, and generating filing-ready TOCs, TOAs, and Certificates of Compliance in minutes. Built-in anti-hallucination guardrails ensure that no page number or citation is fabricated, using clear placeholders wherever verification is needed so your filing is both accurate and defensible.

How to hand this to Para

  1. 1. Send Para the files

    Email them, drop them in a Teams or Slack message, or upload them.

  2. 2. Para runs the Appellate Formatting skill

    It works from your files and checks its citations against the record.

  3. 3. The finished document comes back

    Para returns it where you asked, usually as a DOCX, and offers the next step.

Example request · email, Teams or Slack
Para, run the Appellate Formatting skill for the Garcia matter. I've attached the Appellate Brief. Send the finished draft back here as a DOCX.

What Para does

  1. 1. Upload your final or near-final appellate brief
  2. 2. AI analyzes the brief structure, headings, citations, and word count against applicable rules
  3. 3. Review the generated TOC, TOA, and Certificate of Compliance with transparent placeholders
  4. 4. Export filing-ready documents in your preferred format (DOCX, PDF)

What you get

  • Table of Contents

  • Table of Authorities

  • Certificate of Compliance

  • Word Count Summary with Exclusions

  • Formatting Compliance Checklist

What it handles

  • Auto-generated Tables of Contents with accurate heading hierarchy

  • Tables of Authorities with proper citation formatting and categorization

  • FRAP 32(g) Certificates of Compliance with transparent word-count calculations

  • Support for federal circuits, state appellate courts, and U.S. Supreme Court rules

  • Anti-hallucination guardrails with clear placeholders for unverified page numbers

  • Defensible exclusion tracking for word-count calculations

Required documents

  • Appellate Brief

    The final or near-final draft of the appellate brief to be formatted for filing

    .pdf, .docx

Supporting documents

  • Court Order on Modified Limits

    Any court order granting modified word or page limits for the brief

    .pdf, .docx

  • Local Rules Reference

    Applicable local rules specifying TOA format, hyperlinking, bookmark, or addendum requirements

    .pdf, .docx

Why teams use it

Eliminate hours of manual TOC and TOA assembly with AI that extracts headings and citations directly from your brief

Produce defensible Certificates of Compliance with itemized word-count exclusions under FRAP 32(g) and equivalent rules

Avoid filing errors with anti-hallucination safeguards that flag unverified page numbers and citations

Support every major appellate forum with rule-specific formatting for federal circuits, state courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court

Questions

Does this tool support both federal and state appellate court rules?

Yes. CaseMark supports FRAP rules for all federal circuits, U.S. Supreme Court Rules 33 and 34, and state appellate court formatting requirements. The AI identifies the governing authority based on your case details and applies the correct rules automatically.

How does CaseMark handle word-count calculations?

CaseMark produces transparent word-count calculations that clearly identify which sections are excluded under FRAP 32(f) or applicable rules, such as the cover page, TOC, TOA, certificates, and signature blocks. Every exclusion is itemized so you can verify the count is defensible.

Will the AI make up page numbers or citations?

No. CaseMark uses anti-hallucination guardrails that insert clear [__] placeholders wherever a page number or citation cannot be verified from the uploaded document. This ensures you never file a brief with fabricated references.

Can I use this if my brief is still being revised?

Yes. CaseMark will label all outputs as 'DRAFT' if your brief is not yet finalized. You can regenerate the TOC, TOA, and certificate once your brief is complete to produce filing-ready versions.

Does CaseMark format the Table of Authorities with proper citation categories?

Absolutely. CaseMark categorizes authorities into standard groupings — Cases, Statutes, Constitutional Provisions, Rules, and Other Authorities — with proper citation formatting and page references drawn directly from your brief.

What if my court has modified length limits or special local rules?

CaseMark accommodates court orders granting modified word or page limits and local rule variations for TOA format, hyperlinking, bookmarks, and addendum requirements. Simply provide these details when uploading your brief.

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