Case Analysis and Fundamentals of Legal Writing
PART I: HOW TO BRIEF AN OPINION: Introduction to Court Opinions and the Legal System. Introduction to Briefing. Identifying the Parties. Identifying the Objectives and Theories of the Parties. Identifying the History of the Litigation. introduction to Identifying Key Facts. Identifying Issues and Holdings. Identifying the Reasoning. Dictum, Disposition, and Commentary on an Opinion. A Composite Brief. PART II: THE APPLICATION OF COURT OPINIONS: Fact Comparison in the Application of Case Law: Fact Similarities, Fact Differences, and Fact Gaps. Rule-of-Law Comparison. Factors Determining the Length and Comprehensiveness of Case Analysis. Primary and Secondary Authority: Their use and Abuse in legal Writing. Using and Abusing Legislative History in Legal Writing. Writing the Memorandum of Law. Letter Writing and Case Analysis. The Appelatte Brief. clarity in Legal Writing. APPENDICES: Opinions to be Used for Some of the Assignments. Suggested Responses to the Practice Assignments. Overview of Civil and Criminal Litigation. Citations in Legal Writing. Quotation Marks, Brackets, and Ellipsis Dots. Usage Rules and Guidelines From A to Z. Proofreader's Marks. Glossary. INDEX.