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Writing Bad Briefs: How to Lose Your Case, and Lose Big

By Bruce Carton

Judge Gerald Lebovits is the author of an amusing and insightful article in this month's New York State Bar Association Journal entitled, "Writing Bad Briefs: How to Lose a Case in 100 Pages or More." (via the (new) legal writer blog). Lebovits, a judge of the New York City Civil Court, Housing Part, in Manhattan, and an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School and St. John?s University School of Law, opens by promising that "[w]riting a really bad brief -- a brief so bad you?re sure to lose your case -- is a skill few attorneys acquire ... The reasons you might want to lose are many, and writing a bad brief is a key to losing. For those lawyers who want to lose -- and lose big -- this column?s for you." Judge Lebovits then delivers on this promise, providing a detailed list of ways that litigators can be sure to lose their case via a horrid brief. Some of my favorites include: Have a bad cover: Add a border, "preferably with a seasonal motif. Flowers and snowflakes add a great touch. If the court has specific requirements about how the cover should look, ignore those rules. Judges have...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on May 28, 2010 (boomark / email).