What should you do if your opponent, in her opposing brief, insults your arguments, or attacks your integrity in making them? What should you do if your opponent accuses you (by name, or not) of “disingenuity” and “misrepresentation,” or relies…
Post Category: Legal Writing Tips (page 3)
Legal Writing Tip: Never Insult Your Opponents or Their Arguments
If you wish to be taken seriously by the court, whether in oral or written argument, never malign or belittle your opponents or their position. Treat opposing counsel with respect, regardless of whether you feel they deserve it. This is…
Legal Writing Tip: Seriously, Just Use the Serial Comma
Of all punctuation marks, the comma is the one most often debated in courthouses; its presence or absence in statutes and other legal texts has determined the outcome of cases—going back in U.S. history to at least 1872, when the…
Legal Writing Tip: Statement of Facts, Part Two
When writing the statement of facts, choose your material wisely, set it forth clearly, and end it with a kick. Many judges consider a brief’s statement of facts to be the most important section, or at least as important as…
Legal Writing Tip: Write Your Statement of Facts in the Form of a Narrative
The first step in writing a compelling statement of facts for your brief or motion is to prepare a chronology of events in the case. That will help you identify the crucial elements, e.g., who did what to whom when,…
Legal Writing Tip: Make Your Headings and Subheadings Full Sentences
When writing your brief, craft the section and subsection headings in complete, informative sentences. It’s a good idea to do this early on, at the outlining stage. This practice allows the court to quickly scan your brief and get an…
Legal Writing Tip: Start Your Brief with a Solid Introduction
If you do not begin your brief with an issue statement, that is, a syllogism ending in a question, then open with an introduction that gives the judge a short and persuasive overview of the case. Present the facts plainly…
Legal Writing Tip: Start Your Brief With the “Deep” Issue
November’s column discussed the importance of drafting a clear and concise statement of the main legal question in the case. Framing the issue effectively is, perhaps, the most critical step in the process. The less time the judge has to…
Legal Writing Tip: Insight from the Pros
This month we highlight tips from Dennis Hanshew, a paralegal with Blacker, Sammis & Blacker; Commissioner Marjorie Slabach, a private judge and retired commissioner in the Family Law Department of the San Francisco Superior Court; Scott Herndon, a toxic torts,…
Legal Writing Tip: Create a Nonlinear Outline
Last month, we discussed the first stage of preparing a legal brief, that is, the period of research and note-taking, of jotting down ideas and points as they come without concern for their strength or order, i.e., letting the…
Legal Writing Tip: Don’t Get Fouled up by Commonly Confused or Misused Words and Phrases
Here’s our final installment (at least for now) on the popular topic of tackling troublesome words and phrases. Either/or; Neither/nor “Neither” should be followed by “nor;” “either” should be followed by “or.” When the alternatives are in the singular, the…
Legal Writing Tip: Common Usage Errors, Continued
Here are more commonly confused words and expressions: E.g or I.e.? The first stands for the Latin expression exempli gratia and means “for example,” such as in the following sentence: “Vitamin B is found in a number of vegetables, e.g.,…