Description
Many elements go into creating an effective appellate brief—everything matters, from presenting a well-edited document to following court rules for proper structure of the brief’s elements. Careful selection and analysis of the relevant facts and strong argumentative prose can make a powerful difference in presenting your argument. In this course, Jane Wise (law professor at Brigham Young University) and Andrew Schulman (partner at Getman, Schulthess, and Steere in Bedford, New Hampshire) give tips for clear organization, persuasive writing style, and good legal analysis.
These presenters talk about the basic structure of the brief, effective writing style (including organizing your arguments, writing like a human and not a lawyer, the “lasagna analogy,” avoiding weak words such as unnecessary adjectives, and writing as if making a sales pitch), presenting your argument (including knowing what facts and law are applicable, whether to leave out facts negative to your case, and redoing your argument for an appellate brief rather than simply recaptioning a previous motion), and other advice (including avoiding personal attacks, being creative in including graphics and other elements in the body of a brief, and making sure your brief is thoroughly edited and proofread).
See CLE State Accreditation for credit details.
If you are licensed in New York, this content is appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced New York attorneys. Although, this content is appropriate for all New York attorneys, newly admitted attorneys cannot earn CLE credit for the completion of the course when presented via on-demand.