More About "Top Ten Reasons A Lawyer Files a Lousy Brief"
In a recent infographic, I listed the “Top Ten Reasons A Lawyer Files a Lousy Brief.” But how often do lawyers actually file bad briefs? Is this observation merely the result of my jaded experience from years as a legal research and writing consultant?
There is objective evidence on this point by the people who count the most. In a survey by a Georgetown law professor of federal district and appellate judges, she reports that these jurists agree: attorneys’ writing and analysis skills are often less than stellar. According to the conclusions in the survey, “what troubles federal judges most is not what lawyers say but what they fail to say when writing briefs.” The briefs “lack rigorous analysis, and the bulk of the work is left to busy judges.” [Kristen Konrad Robbins-Tiscione, "The Inside Scoop: What Federal Judges Really Think about the Way Lawyers Write," (2002) 8 Legal Writing 257-284, 264, 269, 280, http://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/396]
This infographic summarizes some of the conclusions and includes sample comments from the surveyed judges.
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