Posted by Krista Hoo.
Briefing a case is an important skill to master when navigating the field of business law. Briefing a case can typically be broken down into four main steps: obtaining facts, reviewing history and procedure, reviewing issues, and exercising holding and legal reasoning. This is an enduring process that takes time and energy to master, however, there are ways to improve efficiency in completing legal briefs. Bloomberg Law recently released the review, “Write a Better Legal Brief in Less Time.” This review provides evolved methods that increase both efficiency and effectiveness of completing legal cases.
Researching legal briefs can be broken down into three main components: understanding the current issues, identifying relevant cases, and reviewing sample briefs. The first step is to understand the current issue by familiarizing yourself with secondary sources. Specifically, it is important to pay attention to the area of law the legal case is involved in and the key issues. The next step is to identify relevant cases by finding similarities in the expression of the point of law and finding cases that potentially direct you to similar points in law. By conducting this step, you can ensure you’re on the right track of immersing yourself in the right subject. Finally, the last step of this topic is to review sample briefs. To complete this step you must, “Search the firm’s internal document system for recent examples, or research dockets for examples of your firm’s filings in similar cases” (Bloomberg, 2). Reviewing sample briefs allows you to better acquaint yourself with historic procedures and guide the construction of your own case briefing.
After completing the research process, the next important step is to begin writing the legal brief. It may seem like an overwhelming task, however Bloomberg Law has broken it down into attainable and realistic steps for optimal completion. First, it is important to structure your legal briefing by following the order of, “Introduction to your position, summary of the facts in the case, and arguments in support of your position with cited case law” (Bloomberg, 3). This structure allows the information to be easily accessible and presents your points to the reader in the best way possible. It is also important to consider style in your legal briefing for maximum persuasive qualities. Things to consider include keeping it minimal and to the point while also maintaining a tough quality to your work. Finally, it is important to consider the substance that is within your brief to persuade and support your central claim. You can obtain this by avoiding string citations because they cause readers to stray away from deeply engaging in your work. You should also consider not being afraid of using out-of-jurisdiction cases because you should utilize the most supportive evidence and opinion. The last step is to explicitly explain why the bad authority does not apply to the circumstances of your specific case.
These steps on conducting research towards your case briefing and writing your case briefing will help ease your transition into writing effective legal briefs. More specifically, this breakdown explicitly shows you how to write a brief with maximum persuasion and accurate qualities. By following these steps, you can create an ideal legal brief.
https://pro.bloomberglaw.com/insights/litigation/how-to-write-a-legal-brief/#research
Krista is a student at the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, Class of 2027.