- Be a good writer. -- To be a good brief writer, you must first be a good writer. That means using topic sentences in most paragraphs and transitions from one paragraph to the next. Shorter sentences with fewer clauses are better than longer sentences with lots of clauses.
- Know your audience. -- It is important that you know your audience. In other words, are you writing a brief for an error-correcting court, or are you writing to a precedent-setting court?
- Spend time wisely on the standard of review. -- The standard of review really matters when it matters.
- Be complete and accurate with the record.
- Be intentional with the facts.
- Use a summary of argument.
- Does your brief need some legal context?
- Lead with the best.
- Be clear about what is an alternative argument.
- Be mindful of your tone.
Today's DJ's Exceptionally Appeal column is Predicting appellate outcomes based on the panel, discussing two recent law review articles: Klatchko & Keefer, Judicial Backgrounds Influence the Standard of Review, 55:1 Univ. Pac. L.Rev. 1 (Nov 2023) and Cohen, The Pervasive Influence of Political Composition on Circuit Court Decisions, Harvard Discussion Paper No. 1109, Feb. 2024.
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