Introduction to Law Introduction to Advocacy and Developing Legal Arguments

General Examples of Legal Writing Planning and Advisory Documents Agreements and private transactions Legislative documents Litigation-related documents

Principles that govern all legal writing Accuracy in legal research Accuracy in legal analysis Awareness of purpose & audience Command of English language Understanding & using proper format Sensitivity to procedural context & remedy Compliance with ethical standards

Advocacy Brief The legal paper you file with the court to support your client’s position on a given matter. Purpose = to persuade the court that the law and facts support relief in your client’s favor

Developing and Organizing Legal Arguments Organize to persuade. Make your organization obvious! A good legal argument has two components: Conclusion Support for the conclusion

Arguing to persuade Persuasiveness depends on level of authority Must set out your conclusion and then systematically walk listener through the “proof” – By use of valid/legitimate authority – By paying attention to the words you pick to express your argument persuasively – By setting out every step of your logic so that your conclusion becomes inevitable.

Structure of the Argument CRAC – Position (conclusion) – Reasons Rule Application of law to fact – Counter-argument – Response

Points to remember with Persuasive argument Strongest Issues and Arguments first – If issues and arguments are equal, then place most significant argument first Try to create a theme Limit contentions to those that have a chance of working Address client’s position first (before refuting opponent) Make organization obvious

Introduction to Law Ethics in Advocacy

Rules of Professional Conduct A lawyer is forbidden to knowingly make a false statement of law or fact to a court. (Model Rule 3.3) Law = Must inform the court of legal authority in the controlling jurisdiction known to the lawyer to be directly adverse to the position of the lawyer’s client and not disclosed by opposing counsel. Fact = Facts must be supported by the record Facts must be uncontroverted or undisputed

Procedural Rules We note that the appellee’s brief is not in compliance with Nebraska Ct. R. of Prac. [rule numbers omitted]. The appellee’s brief does not contain an assertion that he agrees with appellant’s statement of facts, nor does the brief set forth a recitation of facts annotated to the record. In addition, appellee asserts facts on cross-appeal that were excluded by the trial court and are not part of the record on appeal. In short, appellee’s brief is of little assistance in deciding this appeal. We caution that the failure of a party to submit a brief which complies with our own rules may result in our treating the case as one in which no brief has been filed by that party. Caniglia v. Caniglia, 1993 Neb. App. WL7676 (Jan. 19, 1993) citing State v. Biernacki, 265 N.W.2d 732 (Neb. 1991); Grubbs v. Kula, 325 N.W.2d 835 (Neb. 1982).

Advocate in compliance with ethical and procedural rules Maintain your credibility Strengthen your argument Avoid court reprimands and/or sanctions