![]() Use this place to put down what you would say to the judge if you had just 30 seconds to explain your position. Instead, capture the entire essence of your case in less than a single page (yes, even a double-spaced page). A judge will tire reading these points repeated a third time in the argument itself. That’s too long, and it’s also going to be repeated in the aptly named “Summary of the Argument” after the fact section. But let me suggest that you not do what most lawyers do, which is to write a three- to five-page summary of the argument. Many of us have learned that an introduction is a terrific section to add at the front of your brief (even if the court’s rules do not specifically call for it), right after the table of contents and authorities. Consider the following as you prepare your next brief. How do we capture that persuasive flow for the judge? We must continuously imagine what it is like for that busy judge to sit at his or her desk and pick up your brief (among perhaps 20 others that week) and assess your client’s story. A compelling brief consists of more than just those well-written sections it is a holistic document that tells your client’s story with a smooth flow, building persuasiveness from one section to the next. But sometimes the big picture gets forgotten in its individual parts. It seems to me that law students and new lawyers are more and more cognizant of these “rules” for good writing. ![]() Much ink has been spilled to improve basic legal writing, particularly with good emphasis on clarity and conciseness in crafting each section of a legal brief. Writing The Holistic Brief: Making It More Than The Sum of Its Parts The link to the article as it appeared in the magazine is here. This is the text of a short article I wrote in 2013 for The Federal Lawyer Magazine. ![]()
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