| name | certificate-of-interested-persons |
| description | Drafts a FRAP 26.1-compliant Certificate of Interested Persons identifying all parties, entities, and affiliates with financial or legal interests in a federal appeal. Adapts to circuit-specific local rules. Use when filing appeals, corporate disclosure statements, or conflict-of-interest certificates in U.S. Courts of Appeals. |
| tags | ["drafting","litigation","pleading"] |
Certificate of Interested Persons
Discloses all persons and entities with a financial or legal interest in the outcome of a federal appeal per FRAP 26.1 and circuit local rules.
Prerequisites
- Case caption — appellate case number, full party names as on the notice of appeal
- Lower court filings — complaints, answers, corporate disclosure statements, settlement agreements
- Corporate structure — ownership charts, parent/subsidiary relationships, merger/acquisition records
- Representation details — all law firms and attorneys of record per party
- Target circuit — specific U.S. Court of Appeals (requirements vary)
Process
1. Identify Circuit Requirements
[VERIFY] Research the destination circuit's local rules. Key variations:
| Requirement | Variation |
|---|
| Document title | "Certificate of Interested Persons" vs. "Corporate Disclosure Statement" vs. "Disclosure of Corporate Affiliations and Financial Interests" |
| Listing order | Alphabetical vs. categorical by party |
| Amici disclosure | Anticipated amici vs. only filed briefs |
| Negative statements | Some circuits require explicit "none" for empty categories |
| Formatting | Single- vs. double-spaced; page limits |
2. Extract Interested Persons
Search all uploaded documents for every disclosable person/entity:
| Category | Disclose |
|---|
| Named parties | All parties including dismissed/settled; complete legal names |
| Counsel | Law firms, office locations, individual attorneys of record |
| Parent corporations | Every layer to ultimate parent; note wholly-owned subsidiaries |
| Subsidiaries | Those affected by litigation outcome |
| 10%+ stockholders | Publicly held companies owning ≥10% of a party's stock |
| Insurers | Companies covering claims at issue |
| Litigation funders | Third-party financiers with recovery interest |
| Indemnitors/guarantors | Entities obligated to satisfy judgment |
| Bankruptcy parties | Trustee, DIP, creditors' committee if applicable |
| Amici curiae | Orgs that have filed or indicated intent to file |
3. Draft the Certificate
Caption: Full court name, appellate case number, party names exactly as on notice of appeal, document title per local rule.
Disclosure body:
- Complete legal name for each person/entity — no abbreviations or trade names
- Relationship descriptor (e.g., "Parent corporation of Defendant XYZ Corp.")
- Full corporate ownership chain for corporate parties
Certification statement:
- Reference FRAP 26.1 and applicable local rule by number
- Attest completeness after reasonable inquiry
- Acknowledge continuing duty to supplement
- Include FRAP 32(g) certification
Signature block: Attorney name, signature (CM/ECF compliant), bar number, jurisdiction, firm name, address, phone, email, date.
4. Quality Checks
Guidelines
- Completeness over brevity — omitting an interested person risks recusal motions and procedural delays; when in doubt, disclose
- Verify corporate structures with client — public filings may be outdated; confirm current ownership before filing
- Flag changes from trial court — note any corporate structure or representation changes explicitly
- Never abbreviate entity names — courts use these for automated conflict checks
- Supplement promptly — file a supplemental certificate immediately upon discovering new interested persons
- Circuit rules control — FRAP 26.1 sets the floor, not the ceiling; always check local rules
