Our Approach to Writing

Our briefs should be a help to the courts. Unfortunately, most briefs are an ocean of irrelevance in which the bits that have the ability to help the court struggle for air, or are drowned entirely. Here are some general observations about what makes a brief helpful, and what makes a brief unhelpful:

  1. Anticipate the reader’s mind, and write sentences that speak directly to the questions the reader needs answered.
  2. In contrast, don’t recite law unless it’s in answer to a specific question. For example, never start a sentence with, “In Smith v. Jones….” Instead, first explain why the reader should be interested in Smith v. Jones. For example, after explaining the proposition, say: “This was the rule confirmed in Smith v. Jones.” And then go on to describe Smith v. Jones.
  3. Say as much as you need to say to be persuasive. Then stop.

Here are some of our prime directives:

  1. Write like a normal human would talk.
  2. Avoid ALL CAPS like the plague!
  3. Abide by Checkhov’s Gun

Running list of common errors spotted and corrected

How to Write an Introduction—the Funnel Approach

The creation story of Genesis is described as a process of separation in the service of creating order. Light from dark, day from night, water from dry land, vegetation, beast, and ultimately man, and woman. In the same way, a legal brief is a process of separation and winnowing, funneling down to the one or two key issues that need a decision. Showing the funneling process assures the reader that we respect the boundaries between matters that are mere background, and the matters that still need to be resolved.

Here is the funneling process:

  1. What is the dispute about? We first describe the dispute, in lay terms.
  2. What is the case about? Next, we describe how the dispute turned into a lawsuit, including the legal and factual theories.
  3. What is the appeal about? By the time of appeal, the case will have been winnowed down to a few key legal or factual issues. With the dispute and the case in mind, the reader can understand how to think about the appeal.

Talk the Way You Write — and Write the Way You Talk

Avoid Paragraph Orphaning

Headings and Organization

Syntax