I welcome evidence to the contrary, but I don’t think that most courts appreciate surprises in briefs. Courts have limited time; they want to use that time to make the right decisions. The sooner you can tell a court why you should win, the better.
Put another way, the introduction to your brief matters a great deal.
Why, then, do so many introductions to briefs create surprises—or otherwise frustrate a reader—rather than provide a roadmap?
https://www.ncbarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/use.jpg5001140NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2016-01-28 19:55:472016-01-28 19:55:47Readers Like Suspense—Just Not in the Introduction To Your Brief
Members in Focus highlights NCBA members’ special talents and hobbies. Jim Siemens is currently a Family Law Specialist with Siemens Law Group in Asheville.
https://www.ncbarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/siemens-header.jpg5001140NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2016-01-21 10:40:122016-01-21 10:40:12Balance the key to success for NCBA member Jim Siemens
Editor’s note: As we look forward to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and other opportunities to serve, an NCBA member reflects on why service matters.
An undergraduate degree. Three years of law school. The bar exam. Debt, stress, hard work, and strains on our personal lives. We’ve sacrificed a lot and dedicated ourselves to earn the privilege of practicing law. Our pens are more than ink and plastic, our signatures more than markings. We have the trust of society to rewrite the lives of those around us. Our entire profession, in fact, is dependent on society’s trust based on our education, licensing, and code of professional conduct. Our pens, set to paper to draft a motion or sign a pleading, transform into tools of the law, and it’s a transformation that is exclusive to us.
https://www.ncbarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/3adobestock_67374951-handshake.jpg5001140NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2016-01-14 15:01:042016-01-14 15:01:04It's Up To Us To Bring the Law To the People
Readers Like Suspense—Just Not in the Introduction To Your Brief
Featured Posts, UncategorizedBy Stephen Feldman
I welcome evidence to the contrary, but I don’t think that most courts appreciate surprises in briefs. Courts have limited time; they want to use that time to make the right decisions. The sooner you can tell a court why you should win, the better.
Put another way, the introduction to your brief matters a great deal.
Why, then, do so many introductions to briefs create surprises—or otherwise frustrate a reader—rather than provide a roadmap?
Read more
Balance the key to success for NCBA member Jim Siemens
Featured Posts, UncategorizedMembers in Focus highlights NCBA members’ special talents and hobbies. Jim Siemens is currently a Family Law Specialist with Siemens Law Group in Asheville.
Read more
It’s Up To Us To Bring the Law To the People
Featured Posts, UncategorizedBy Belal Elrahal
Editor’s note: As we look forward to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and other opportunities to serve, an NCBA member reflects on why service matters.
An undergraduate degree. Three years of law school. The bar exam. Debt, stress, hard work, and strains on our personal lives. We’ve sacrificed a lot and dedicated ourselves to earn the privilege of practicing law. Our pens are more than ink and plastic, our signatures more than markings. We have the trust of society to rewrite the lives of those around us. Our entire profession, in fact, is dependent on society’s trust based on our education, licensing, and code of professional conduct. Our pens, set to paper to draft a motion or sign a pleading, transform into tools of the law, and it’s a transformation that is exclusive to us.
Read more