The Winning Brief. 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Courts

Editorial Review
Good legal writing wins court cases. In its first edition, The Winning Brief proved that the key to writing well is understanding the judicial readership. Now, in a revised and updated version of this modern classic, Bryan A. Garner explains the art of effective writing in 100 concise, practical, and easy-to-use sections. Covering everything from the rules for planning and organizing a brief to openers that can capture a judge's attention from the first few words, these tips add up to the most compelling, orderly, and visually appealing brief that an advocate can present. In Garner's view, good writing is good thinking put to paper. 'Never write a sentence that you couldn't easily speak,' he warns-and demonstrates how to do just that. Beginning each tip with a set of quotable quotes from experts, he then gives masterly advice on building sound paragraphs, drafting crisp sentences, choosing the best words ('Strike pursuant to from your vocabulary.'), quoting authority, citing sources, and designing a document that looks as impressive as it reads. Throughout, he shows how to edit for maximal impact, using vivid before-and-after examples that apply the basics of rhetoric to persuasive writing. Filled with examples of good and bad writing from actual briefs filed in courts of all types, The Winning Brief also covers the new appellate rules for preparing federal briefs. Constantly collecting material from his seminars and polling judges for their preferences, the second edition delivers the same solid guidelines with even more supporting evidence. Including for the first time sections on the ever-changing rules of acceptable legal writing, Garner's new edition keeps even the most seasoned lawyers on their toes and writing briefs that win cases. An invaluable resource for attorneys, law clerks, judges, paralegals, law students and their teachers, The Winning Brief has the qualities that make all of Garner's books so popular: authority, accessibility, and page after page of techniques that work. If you're writing to win a case, this book shouldn't merely be on your shelf--it should be open on your desk.
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Customer Reviews

Kindle Format Not Well-Suited for Reference Style

2008-11-04
This is a great book, filled with great advice, from a great legal writing professional. Unfortunately, the Kindle version of this book fails to earn similar praise. There is no "master" list of the 100 tips to quickly browse. The examples, in image format, are hard to read--if not impossible on the small screen. There's no quick-flipping to the tips you want--a problem inherent to the Kindle format. So while the book and its content may be wonderful, if not essential, the Kindle format guts its value. Not bad for reading on the train, but useless when you're writing a brief at your desk.

Excellent Legal Writing Book

2008-11-02
Love this book and the author's other books. Must have for all legal professionals who do research and writing in any form.

Helpful but won't have time for it

2008-08-22
The book looks helpful at first glance but we'll see what happens when the semester gets rolling and it matters. I usually find that buying these books is an inevitable trap I fall into with disappointing results. But, in all fairness I haven't given this book much of a shot yet. Amazon is excellent - obviously.

Outstanding

2008-07-21
A must read for every serious law student and attorney - even if you are an experienced brief writer, this easy to understand book, filled withe clear examples forces you to think and improve your persuasive writing.

Not Needed for Law School

2008-05-30
This book was okay with a few tips for law students writing papers, but save your money. This was not as helpful as I had hoped.

Helpful quick refernce

2007-10-18
Good legal writing wins court cases. In its first edition, The Winning Brief proved that the key to writing well is understanding the judicial readership. Now, in a revised and updated version of this modern classic, Bryan A. Garner explains the art of effective writing in 100 concise, practical, and easy-to-use sections. Covering everything from the rules for planning and organizing a brief to openers that can capture a judge's attention from the first few words, these tips add up to the most compelling, orderly, and visually appealing brief that an advocate can present. In Garner's view, good writing is good thinking put to paper. 'Never write a sentence that you couldn't easily speak,' he warns-and demonstrates how to do just that. Beginning each tip with a set of quotable quotes from experts, he then gives masterly advice on building sound paragraphs, drafting crisp sentences, choosing the best words ('Strike pursuant to from your vocabulary.'), quoting authority, citing sources, and designing a document that looks as impressive as it reads. Throughout, he shows how to edit for maximal impact, using vivid before-and-after examples that apply the basics of rhetoric to persuasive writing. Filled with examples of good and bad writing from actual briefs filed in courts of all types, The Winning Brief also covers the new appellate rules for preparing federal briefs. Constantly collecting material from his seminars and polling judges for their preferences, the second edition delivers the same solid guidelines with even more supporting evidence. Including for the first time sections on the ever-changing rules of acceptable legal writing, Garner's new edition keeps even the most seasoned lawyers on their toes and writing briefs that win cases. An invaluable resource for attorneys, law clerks, judges, paralegals, law students and their teachers, The Winning Brief has the qualities that make all of Garner's books so popular: authority, accessibility, and page after page of techniques that work. If you're writing to win a case, this book shouldn't merely be on your shelf--it should be open on your desk.

The best book on writing PERIOD

2007-09-11
I've read a lot of books on writing, and all of the common books about legal writing, and this is the best of the bunch. If I had to recommend a single book about writing to anyone, lawyer or not, I would recommend this one. It is expensive but worth every penny. Throw away your Strunk and White!

Buy this while you are in law school

2007-01-30
This is the only guide you will ever need to writing good briefs. Garner teaches you to write powerfully in plain English. Be a better lawyer and work with this book!

Lawyer's Guide to Writing Period

2007-01-15
If you are a lawyer, you should own this book.

Clear Writing is Persuasive Writing

2007-01-09
The Winning Brief is essential reading for any lawyer who cares about writing clearly and persuasively. As a litigation partner and trial lawyer, I am always looking to improve my own skills and find that Bryan Garner's comments are clear and practical. I strongly recommend The Winning Brief because it goes well beyond many texts that discuss generalisms on trial and appellate briefs--Mr. Garner provides instead direct insight into how to move the trier of fact.