Appeals Automation

Looplex’s Appeals Automation solution helps law firms and legal departments analyze decisions, develop appellate strategies, and prepare appeals and responses throughout court proceedings.

The work can begin with an unfavorable decision, a partially favorable outcome, or an appeal filed by the opposing party. Using these materials, the solution organizes the procedural context, supports the assessment of available measures, examines the requirements of each appeal, and helps draft the submission, prepare supporting documents, and arrange electronic filing.

The workflow addresses Brazilian procedural law, including ordinary appeals such as apelação, recurso ordinário, and recurso inominado, as well as appeals limited to specified legal grounds, such as recurso especial before the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), recurso extraordinário before the Federal Supreme Court (STF), and recurso de revista before the Superior Labor Court (TST). Each type requires its own assessment of availability, admissibility, and argumentation.

Understanding the decision and the procedural context

The lawyer provides the decision, the procedural notice, and the relevant documents, or uses materials already associated with the matter in integrated systems. When the work involves responding to an appeal, the analysis also incorporates the opposing party’s appellate brief.

The Decision Analysis solution helps identify the claims considered, outcomes, reasoning, and orders affecting the client. This information is linked to earlier submissions, evidence, and the procedural history.

The work distinguishes favorable and unfavorable parts of the decision, the grounds supporting each conclusion, and the issues requiring the lawyer’s assessment. It also gathers the information needed to verify deadlines and identify urgent steps.

When responding to an appeal, the Assistant organizes which parts of the decision have been challenged, what changes the appellant seeks, and which arguments need to be addressed.

Developing the appellate strategy with the lawyer

The analysis considers the client’s intended outcome and the practical value of each measure. The Assistant works with the lawyer to assess the grounds for appeal, the risk of a change to the decision, the costs involved, and the consequences of continuing the dispute.

The strategy can include challenging all or part of the decision, defending favorable rulings, pursuing settlement, or deciding not to appeal. It can also include assessing measures to stay the effects of the decision or obtain urgent relief while the appeal is pending.

The work helps identify issues that may justify embargos de declaração, a Brazilian procedural remedy to clarify or correct a decision, and steps related to prequestionamento, the requirement concerning prior consideration of the legal issue by the court below. Where both parties have been unsuccessful on some claims, the lawyer also assesses the need for an independent appeal and the availability of recurso adesivo, a dependent appeal permitted in specified circumstances. See the appellate provisions of Brazil’s Code of Civil Procedure (in Portuguese).

The alternatives are assessed against the case record, relevant precedents, and the organization’s playbooks. The responsible professionals retain authority over strategy and approval of the steps to be taken.

Availability and requirements of each appeal

The Assistant organizes the assessment of whether an appeal is available and admissible based on the nature of the decision, the court that issued it, the procedural stage, and the applicable procedure.

This assessment can cover timeliness, standing, interest in appealing, representation, required appeal fees, formal requirements, and challenges to the grounds supporting the decision. Review points are adapted to the type of appeal and the rules applicable to the case.

Ordinary appeals

For apelação, recurso ordinário, and recurso inominado, the work helps develop arguments on the factual and legal issues that may be submitted for review, within the limits of the applicable procedure.

The solution considers the distinct rules governing these routes, including apelação in civil proceedings, recurso ordinário in labor proceedings, and recurso inominado in Brazil’s Special Courts (Juizados Especiais). Deadlines, appeal fees, effects, and submission requirements are addressed under the rules of each appeal. See the Code of Civil Procedure, Consolidation of Labor Laws, and Special Courts Act, all in Portuguese.

Appeals limited to specified legal grounds

For appeals to the higher courts, the analysis focuses on the legal issue that may be examined and on demonstrating the requirements of the chosen route.

Appeal	Specific aspects considered in the work
Recurso especial before the STJ	Definition of the nonconstitutional federal-law issue, constitutional grounds for the appeal, prequestionamento, demonstration of conflicting case law where relevant, and relevance of the federal-law issue.
Recurso extraordinário before the STF	Identification of the constitutional issue, grounds for the appeal, prequestionamento, and demonstration of repercussão geral, the general repercussion requirement under the STF’s rules.
Recurso de revista before the TST	Applicable grounds under the Consolidation of Labor Laws, formal requirements for presenting the issue, identification of relevant passages in the decision, and analysis of transcendência, the significance requirement for this appeal.

These requirements have separate legal frameworks: recurso especial and relevance at the STJ, general repercussion at the STF, and recurso de revista and transcendência under the Consolidation of Labor Laws. These sources are in Portuguese.

The analysis also considers restrictions on reexamining facts and evidence and potential barriers to hearing the appeal. When the work involves agravos or embargos de declaração, the Assistant adapts preparation to the purpose and requirements of the particular remedy.

Demonstrating the relevance of the federal-law issue before the STJ

For recurso especial, the solution helps prepare the demonstration of relevance of the nonconstitutional federal-law issue, as required by the Constitution and regulated by Law No. 15,484/2026 (in Portuguese).

The work helps the lawyer define the federal-law issue and develop the dedicated, reasoned section required to present it. The analysis considers economic, political, social, or legal aspects extending beyond the parties’ interests, as well as whether a presumption of relevance applies.

Even when relevance is presumed, the reasoning must show why that presumption applies to the specific case, as explained in the STJ’s guidance on the relevance framework (in Portuguese).

The Assistant can organize precedents, information, and arguments supporting this demonstration and refer issues requiring further analysis to the lawyer. The review considers the temporal application of the rules and relevant transitional provisions.

When preparing a response, the work also supports examination of the appellant’s demonstration, including whether the arguments and the asserted presumption apply.

Organizing supporting materials and precedents

Appellate preparation uses the existing case record: submissions, decisions, documents, expert reports, hearing records, and other relevant materials.

The Assistant helps locate passages supporting each argument, relate the decision’s reasoning to the record, and identify information needed for review. The use of additional materials takes account of procedural restrictions on their submission.

Legal research can bring together favorable and unfavorable precedents, issues subject to Brazil’s repetitive-appeal procedure, general repercussion issues, súmulas summarizing settled case law, and other relevant authorities. The work organizes sources for verification and helps assess similarities and differences between the cited decisions and the case at hand.

Where the strategy relies on conflicting case law, the Assistant helps compare the decisions and prepare the demonstration required for that type of appeal.

Preparing the appeal or response

Once the strategy has been defined, the Assistant helps draft the submission in line with the requirements of the chosen route, the case record, and the organization’s drafting standards.

When preparing an appeal, the work organizes the parts of the decision being challenged, the grounds for disagreement, admissibility issues, and the outcome requested from the court. The review considers how each ground supporting the decision is addressed by the arguments for changing or setting it aside.

When responding to an appeal, the Assistant helps prepare response briefs, including contrarrazões, contraminutas, or other appropriate submissions. The work can cover:

• Examination of the opposing appeal’s admissibility requirements.
• Responses to the arguments challenging the decision.
• Development of the grounds supporting the client’s favorable outcome.
• Examination of requests to stay the effects of the decision or grant other urgent relief.
• Organization of requests to decline to hear the appeal or reject it on the merits, in line with the approved strategy.

The review distinguishes matters appropriate for the response from those requiring the client to bring an appeal. The lawyer can adjust the reasoning, request further research, and check references before approving the final version.

Appeal fees and preparation for electronic filing

Where appeal fees are required, the workflow helps identify the applicable payments, generate payment forms, and organize receipts. In labor proceedings, it can also include verification of the required appeal deposit or an accepted alternative security, where applicable.

These steps are organized according to the type of appeal, the court’s rules, and the party’s circumstances, including any applicable exemptions. Payment or provision of security follows the routing and approvals defined by the organization.

Preparation uses the enabled features of the Court Fee Calculation and Payment Forms solution. After review, the submission and its attachments proceed to filing, with checks of the destination court, case details, and required files.

Where Looplex Filing is integrated, the workflow can track submission and incorporate the receipt returned by the court, distinguishing submission from confirmation of filing.

Updating the matter and continuing follow-up

The appeal or response remains linked to the matter and the corresponding decision. The solution can update Looplex Cases, Promad, and other integrated systems, including the management platform used by the client’s legal department.

Depending on the integration, the records can include the submission filed, the issues challenged, responsible team members, relevant dates, expenses, documents, and the filing receipt.

Subsequent decisions on admissibility or the merits can trigger a new analysis. The Assistant helps identify further steps based on the grounds of the new decision and the lawyer’s instructions.

Available operations depend on the integrations, permissions, and configuration adopted by the organization.

Supervising and reviewing the work

Looplex Assistant participates in the analysis and preparation of deliverables. In Autopilot mode, delegated activities follow the configured workflow, with supervision in Workbench.

In this environment, the lawyer provides instructions, clarifies issues, examines sources, and reviews versions of the submission. Approval points follow the responsibilities and approval authority established for the matter.

The history brings together the decision analyzed, the strategy adopted, the grounds relied on, and the steps taken, allowing appellate work to continue with its context preserved.