The Winning Brief 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Court

by Garner, Bryan A.

• ISBN13: 9780195128086
• ISBN10: 0195128087
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-05-03
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Good writing wins court cases. Now, one of America's most sought-after experts on legal writing offers a tested guide to preparing successful briefs - the written arguments lawyers present to judges and juries. In 100 concise, practical, easy-to-use sections, Bryan A. Garner goes step by step through the art of effective legal writing. He covers it all - from the rules for planning and organizing a brief to openers that can capture a judge's attention from the first few words. "Never write a sentence that you couldn't easily speak," Garner warns - and he shows how to do that. He gives masterly advice on building sound paragraphs, drafting crisp sentences, choosing the best words ("Strike pursuant to from your vocabulary."), quoting authority, citing sources, and designing a document that looks as impressive as it reads. Throughout, he shows how to edit for maximal impact, using vivid before-and-after examples that apply the basics of rhetoric to persuasive writing. Filled with examples of good and bad writing from actual briefs filed in courts of all types, the book also covers the new appellate rules for preparing federal briefs. An invaluable resource for attorneys, law clerks, judges, paralegals, and law students and their teachers, The Winning Brief has the qualities that make Garner's book so successful: authority, accessibility, and page after page of tips and techniques that work.

Author Biography

Bryan A. Garner is one of America's leading experts on legal writing. He is president of LawProse, Inc., which conducts CLE workshops for lawyers across the country and advises law firms and in-house counsel on preparing briefs and revising contracts and drafting court rules. He has also been a consultant to state and federal courts on drafting court rules. He lives in Dallas.