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

By Bryan A. Garner

Book Overview

Good legal writing wins court cases. It its first edition, The Winning Brief proved that the key to writing well is understanding the judicial readership. Now, in a revised and updated version of this modern classic, Bryan A. Garner explains the art of effective writing in 100 concise, practical, and easy-to-use sections. Covering everything from the rules for planning and organizing a brief to openers that can capture a judge's attention from the first few words, these tips add up to the most compelling, orderly, and visually appealing brief that an advocate can present.
In Garner's view, good writing is good thinking put to paper. "Never write a sentence that you couldn't easily speak," he warns-and demonstrates how to do just that. Beginning each tip with a set of quotable quotes from experts, he then 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 Winning Brief also covers the new appellate rules for preparing federal briefs. Constantly collecting material from his seminars and polling judges for their preferences, the second edition delivers the same solid guidelines with even more supporting evidence.
Including for the first time sections on the ever-changing rules of acceptable legal writing, Garner's new edition keeps even the most seasoned lawyers on their toes and writing briefs that win cases. An invaluable resource for attorneys, law clerks, judges, paralegals, law students and their teachers, The Winning Brief has the qualities that make all of Garner's books so popular: authority, accessibility, and page after page of techniques that work. If you're writing to win a case, this book shouldn't merely be on your shelf--it should be open on your desk.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019517075X
• ISBN13: 9780195170757
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 528 Pages
• Weight: 2.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 10.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

The best book on writing PERIOD

I've read a lot of books on writing, and all of the common books about legal writing, and this is the best of the bunch. If I had to recommend a single book about writing to anyone, lawyer or not, I would recommend this one. It is expensive but worth every penny. Throw away your Strunk and White!

A must-have for practitioners

I became familiar with this book in law school and it has helped me tremendously. It debunks the myths about which practices are truly expected in briefs and which provide more latitude and freedom for legal writers. The information is presented in 100 easy-to-understand "tips." Each tip provides quotes from judges, legal scholars, and other literary figures who help to explain why a particular facet of writing is important. Garner also includes examples, oftentimes what-to-do's and what-not-to-do's. The format of the book makes it easy and helpful to use and the information is invaluable. It's like an advanced course in legal writing. Highly recommended!

An excellent handbook on legal writing.

This volume is by far the best work available on legal writing. Most of Prof. Garner's advice applies not merely to briefs but to memos, letters, and other persuasive or analytical forms. His chapters take you through every step of writing, from the earliest, painful efforts to collect your thoughts, through outlining, issue-framing, structuring an argument, and finally the specifics of sentence structure, word choice, and punctuation. Unlike many writing manuals, this book places emphasis where it is really needed: not on mechanics, but on the large structural tasks that can make or break a project. While some of Prof. Garner's formatting suggestions may not be acceptable in many jurisdictions, his more general advice -- the real reason for buying this book -- will be helpful everywhere.

Better brief writing and more

Bryan A. Garner, editor-in-chief for the latest edition of Black's Law Dictionary, is one of America's foremost proponents of the "plain English" movement in the law. In The Winning Brief, Mr. Garner distills the principles found in his seminars and his other books (such as The Elements of Legal Style) and channels them toward one goal: helping the reader write better legal briefs.The Winning Brief presents its advice in the form of 100 tips, each followed by quotations, commentary, and examples. The tips follow the chronological order of a writing project, from initial brainstorming to proofreading. The tips are listed inside the front and rear covers for quick reference.Mr. Garner's advice has contributed directly to my practice. I have applied his advice in writing four summary judgment motions; two were granted, while the other two led to favorable settlements for my clients.The reader is sure to find at least one or two tips that can be applied immediately to a current writing project. Not only that, but Mr. Garner's advice can be applied to other non-fiction writing projects. In sum, I heartily recommend this book to all attorneys who hope to be more persuasive in their writing.

This book is especially apt for "seasoned" brief writers

One misses the point of Mr. Garner's book if they think this is another treatise on brief writing. Mr. Garner's approach, though commonsensical, is sorely needed in the legal world. So many briefs are too long, too boring, and too obtuse to be of any use. Granted one need not follow all of Mr. Garner's tips, such as footnotes, but if you follow most of them, you will end up with a brief that is not a chore to read, succinctly informs the judge of the issue and why she should rule in your favor. This book is definitely for people who think they already know how to write a brief, and who don't need any book to help them do so (and who also most likely churn out boring, difficult to read briefs). There is a world of difference between a typical brief and the type that Mr. Garner envisions. By the way, anyone who has not taken Mr. Garner's course should. He is one of the best public speakers and teachers you will ever encounter.