With the Supreme Court’s new term now underway, there is likely to soon be much to discuss in the world of appellate advocacy and developments from cases heard by the Court.  In the interim, I thought I’d share a handful of links for those who are in practice or in law school settings, working on drafting an appellate brief, and looking for some little tidbits concerning ways to maximize effectiveness.  The following links cover a wide range of brief-writing topics and perusing them might offer some new thoughts or perspectives to increase your overall impact.

 Overview of Each Section:

The Duke Law School has a helpful guide to appellate advocacy on its website that includes a table of contents and then individual sections addressing various parts of an appellate brief, including the Question Presented, the Tables, the Statement of the Case, the Argument, and the Conclusion: 

Duke Law School Guide

 Finding Your Appellate Voice:

Noted appellate advocacy blogger Howard Bashman of How Appealing presented “Finding the Appellate Style and Voice That Works Best for You” back in September at The Legal Intelligencer: 

Bashman on Style and Voice

 Some Tips Regarding Your Statement of the Case / Fact Section:

Stephen V. Armstrong (Director of career Development at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, an international firm based in Washington, D.C. and former Director of Professional Development and Training at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, a law firm based in New York City)  and Timothy P. Terrell (Professor of Law at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and former Director of Professional Development a the law firm of King & Spaulding in Atlanta) present tips on “Organizing Facts to Tell Stories” in the  Winter 2001 edition of Perspectives: 

Armstrong & Terrell on Organizing Facts

Palmer Gene Vance II and Madonna E. Schueler (both of the firm of Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC in Lexington, Kentucky) present “Ten Tips for Developing Your Case Theme” in the September/October edition of GPSolo, a publication of the American Bar Association: 

Vance II and Schueler on Case Theme

 Standard of Review:

Mike Skotnicki, an appellate attorney in Alabama, presented “The Standard of Review is the Lens Through Which You View Your Facts and Issues” on his appellate practice blog, Briefly Writing, back in January 2012: 

Briefly Writing: Standard of Review

 Point Headings:

Bryan Garner discussed the value of effective point headings in the September edition of Bryan Garner on Words at the ABA Journal: 

Garner on Point Headings

 Paragraph and Sentence Structure:

Mike Skotnicki presented “Borrowing a Fiction Writing Technique: Using Pacing by Paragraph and Sentence Length to Build to a Conclusion” on his appellate practice blog, Briefly Writing, back in March 2012: 

Briefly Writing: Pacing by Paragraph and Sentence

 Raymond Ward, an appellate lawyer in New Orleans,  linked to articles by Stephen V. Armstrong and Timothy P. Terrell from recent issues of Perspectives, concerning “Lessons in Paragraph Building” on his blog, the (new) legal writer: 

Ward: Armstrong and Terrell on Paragraph Building

 Editing to Meet Page Limits:

Lady (Legal) Writer presented a blog entry in September about “Editing to Meet Page Limits”: 

Lady (Legal) Writer on Editing to Meet Page Limits

 

If you have links to articles, blog posts, or other resources that you’ve found to be useful with tips and thoughts on ways to improve appellate brief writing, share them in the comments!

Daniel Real

Daniel Real has been a member of the Creighton Law faculty for more than 20 years. He teaches required legal analysis and writing courses for first and second year students, upper level advanced writing and analysis courses, Professional Responsibility, Commercial Contracts, and Sports…

Daniel Real has been a member of the Creighton Law faculty for more than 20 years. He teaches required legal analysis and writing courses for first and second year students, upper level advanced writing and analysis courses, Professional Responsibility, Commercial Contracts, and Sports Law. He is the faculty advisor for the Sports Law Concentration, and he serves as the faculty moderator for the student Sports and Entertainment Law Society. He has been a coach for Creighton School of Law’s highly successful third year National Moot Court Teams since the 2008-2009 academic year, and also coaches other nationally competitive moot court and negotiations teams. He is a member of the Legal Writing Institute, a national organization of legal writing and skills instructors, and is the former chair of the LWI Website and Social Media committee. He served on the diversity committee for the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). He is a member of the Appellate Practice Section of the Nebraska State Bar Association and was one of the organizing editors for the NSBA Appellate Practice Manual.  He is the author of Thompson Reuters Publishing’s Nebraska Appellate Practice and Procedure Handbook and its annual updates.  His other published scholarship and national presentations have focused on written and oral advocacy, appellate practice, implicit bias, bar exam preparation, and sports law. Prior to becoming a member of the faculty, he served as a judicial staff attorney for the Nebraska Court of Appeals for 20 years.

Research Focus

Implicit Bias, Judicial Selection and Retention, Collaborative Learning, Legal Writing, Appellate Practice, Professional Responsibility

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