There are many good books about legal writing and rhetoric, but Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges is one of the best I have read. Of course I was probably destined to reach that conclusion because the authors are two men whom I hold in high regard: Antonin Scalia and Bryan Garner. Most books in this category don’t carry the impressive names that Making Your Case does, but there is more to this book than the names of a Supreme Court Justice and the editor of Black’s Legal Dictionary. The book is set up like most legal “nut shell” or horn books, where there are several chapters and sub-chapters with numbered points. The book mainly covers brief writing, and oral argument, but there is a small legal argument section at the beginning. Thrown in throughout the book are Scalia and Garner’s advice to young lawyers who are just beginning their practice. Make sure to glean the pages for these tidbits (I prefer to call them nuggets of wisdom), they are very telling of what works to persuade judges and what doesn’t.
Some of the best of Making Your Case‘s points (a quick sampling of a few points that peaked my interest — just a small taste of the contents) :
- Outline Your Brief. I know it seems simple enough, but most lawyers (and especially law students) skip this step. The authors make their case that a well done outline of your brief is not only advantageous but necessary to your writing process.
- Clarity, Clarity, Clarity. Writing a clear, and concise brief is the most important you should have for your brief. The authors said it best, “The clearer your arguments, the harder it will be for your opponent to mischaracterize them” (page 108).
- “Formality bespeaks dignity.” When addressing judges or deciding whether or not to include a contraction in your brief, remember that some judges greatly value formality. So to be on the safe side, leave out the contractions and always address Judges in the correct way (check the local rules of the court on the titles of its judges) (page 118).
- Avoid Acronyms. Enough said.
- Say Thank you. Thank the court for paying attention to your arguments. Don’t over do it though. The authors say, a short “Thank you” is enough to end with. After that sit down.
- Develop a reputation for excellence. Be very aware that you will probably frequent the same courts throughout your career. Because Judges (at least at the Federal level) are given life terms, you ought to bring your “A” game every time you appear before them (you appear through your brief as well as during your oral argument).
Making Your Case was clearly the best books on legal rhetoric I’ve read. It doesn’t go over formatting or CREAC, which I found enjoyable (which is also strangely refreshing – hearing about CREAC makes me want to vomit), but instead focuses on creating intelligent, respectful lawyers. The conversational tone in Making Your Case creates readable prose, which is much more than I can say for other books on this topic. The bottom line: If you are going to go to law school, or are in law school, this would be a good book to read. Its very informative with out being so detailed that it bores.