80% of motions and appeals are decided on the briefs. We help turn solid briefs into winning briefs.
What turns a solid brief into a winning brief? Objective feedback.
As litigators, we intuitively know this:
- Before a big trial, we do extensive jury research.
- Before a big argument, we hold multiple moot courts.
Based on over 40 years of combined experience in trial and appellate courts nationwide, and experience commenting on over 1,000 briefs, we offer two layers of objective, systematic review:
First, we comment on the clarity and quality of the writing. For example:
- Does the argument unfold clearly in the table of contents?
- Are the main themes plain from page one?
- Does the prose carry the reader along, or does she have to keep backtracking to untangle hard sentences?
- Does the draft rely on industry jargon and obscure acronyms?
- Are the verbs vivid? Are the metaphors apt?
- Is it plain what you want the court to do?
Second, we comment on the persuasiveness of the presentation. For example:
- Was I left with any basic factual questions?
- Did the draft anticipate and answer my objections (legal or otherwise)?
- Did the legal authority seem thin in any spots? Which ones?
- Was the argument too aggressive? Not aggressive enough?
- Did the result requested make good policy sense (and if not, did the draft explain why it’s not the court’s job to fix that)?
- Was I comfortable with how that result would work in practice?
“If you want more oral arguments, make us do it! Compel us, persuade us, even cajole us. … Make your brief the tool of persuasion.
If you do, maybe you will see me in court.”
—Judge Joseph A. Greenaway Jr.,
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
(from “The Disappearing Oral Argument,” Litigation, Winter 2022)
Learn more about the importance of brief consulting here.
Want unbiased feedback on an important brief?
We’ll give it a read, and offer systematic feedback, for a low fixed fee.