Summing It Up with Panache: Framing a Brief's Summary of the Argument

21 Pages Posted: 23 Jan 2015 Last revised: 21 Feb 2015

See all articles by Judith D. Fischer

Judith D. Fischer

University of Louisville - Louis D. Brandeis School of Law

Date Written: January 21, 2015

Abstract

This article analyzes appellate briefs' summary of the argument section. It begins by presenting commentary from judges and scholars about how a summary of the argument should be framed. It then examines summaries of the argument from selected Supreme Court briefs, many by well-known advocates. It presents data on the summaries’ average length, use of citations, and structure. Then, because rhetoricians have identified the opening and closing of a piece of discourse as key places of emphasis, those parts of the summaries are discussed. The article concludes that, while the effectiveness of a summary cannot be quantified through data, advocates can observe the techniques in the twenty selected examples to obtain some guidance on writing engaging summaries.

Keywords: summary of the argument, brief, legal writing, persuasion, lawyer, attorney, advocate, appeal. appellate, Supreme Court

Suggested Citation

Fischer, Judith D., Summing It Up with Panache: Framing a Brief's Summary of the Argument (January 21, 2015). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2553433 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2553433

Judith D. Fischer (Contact Author)

University of Louisville - Louis D. Brandeis School of Law ( email )

Wilson W. Wyatt Hall
Louisville, KY 40292
United States

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