In his book, Garner on Language and Writing, Bryan Garner writes of the importance of issue-framing. He quotes Karl Llewellyn, the former dean of Harvard: [T]he first art is the framing of the issue so that if your framing is accepted, the case comes out your way. Got that? Second, you have to capture the issue, […]
The large part of an appellate lawyer’s practice consists of writing. And one way to improve one’s writing is reading. Thus I read lots of briefs written by the all-so-famous lawyers in town in order to improve my own writing and communication skills. Frankly, since I started this practice, it’s been a lot of hit-and-miss. […]
Simple expression rarely reflects simple thinking. Usually the reverse is true: Those who can explain a concept simply usually understand it thoroughly, while those with imperfect understanding stumble around in windy, turgid generalities. And simplicity has its own rewards: When the text makes it easy for a judge to appreciate a difficult proposition, he will […]
