Point Made

Acknowledgments xxi Introduction xxiii PART ONE The Theme 1 1. Brass Tacks: "Explain who, what, when, where, why, how" 2. The Short List: Number your path to victory 3. Why Should I Care? : Give the court a reason to want to find for you 4. Don't Be Fooled : Draw a line in the sand PART TWO The Tale 5. Panoramic Shot : Set the stage and sound your theme 6. Show, Not Tell : Let choice details speak for themselves 7. Once Upon a Time : Replace dates with phrases that convey a sense of time 8. Headliners : Use headings to break up your fact section and to add persuasive effect 9. Back to Life : Center technical matter on people or entities Interlude: Gauging your brief's readability 10. Poker Face : Concede bad facts, but put them in context 11. End with a Bang : Leave the court with a final image or thought PART THREE The Meat Using Headings 12. Russian Doll: Nest your headings and subheadings 13. Heads I Win, Tails You Lose : Argue in the alternative Interlude: Love "because" Structuring the Sections 14. Sneak Preview : Include an umbrella paragraph before your headings and subheadings 15. Wish I Were There : Start each paragraph by answering a question you expect the court to have 16. Sound Off : Start the paragraphs with numbered reasons Analogizing 17. Long in the Tooth : Say "me too" 18. Peas in a Pod : Link your party with the party in the cited case 19. Mince Their Words : Merge pithy quoted phrases into a sentence about your own case 20. One Up : Claim that the case you're citing applies even more to your own dispute 21. Interception : Claim that a case your opponent cites helps you alone 22. Rebound : "Re-analogize" after the other side tries to distinguish Distinguishing 23. Not Here, Not Now : Lead with the key difference between your opponent's case and your own 24. One Fell Swoop : Distinguish a line of cases all at once 25. Not So Fast : Show that the case doesn't apply as broadly as your opponent suggests 26. Authority Problems : Suggest that the case deserves little respect Using Parentheticals 27. Ping Me : Introduce your parentheticals with parallel participles 28. Speak for Yourself : Include a single-sentence quotation 29. Hybrid Model : Combine participles and quotations Introducing Block Quotations 30. Lead 'Em On : Introduce block quotations by explaining how the language supports your argument Using Footnotes Interlude: Citations in footnotes 31. Race to the Bottom : Use footnotes only in moderation to address related side points and to add support PART FOUR The Words Liven Up the Language 32. Zingers : Colorful verbs 33. What a Breeze : Confident tone 34. Manner of Speaking : Figures of speech 35. That Reminds Me : Examples and analogies Jumpstart Your Sentences 36. The Starting Gate : The one-syllable opener 37. Size Matters : The pithy sentence 38. Freight Train : The balanced, elegant long sentence 39. Leading Parts : Two sentences joined as one 40. Talk to Yourself : The rhetorical question 41. Parallel Lives : The parallel construction Creative Punctuation 42. A Dash of Style : The dash Interlude: The hyphen 43. Good Bedfellows : The semicolon 44. Magician's Mark : The colon Seamless Flow 45. Take Me by the Hand : Logical connectors 110 Transition Words and Phrases 46. Bridge the Gap : Linked paragraphs Visual Appeal Interlude: Looking good 47. Join My Table : Tables and charts 48. Bullet Proof : Bullet points and lists PART FIVE The Close The Last Word 49. Parting Thought : End the argument with a provocative quotation or pithy thought 50. Wrap-Up : Recast your main points in a separate conclusion Appendices The Top Fifty Advocates: Biographies How to Write the Perfect Brief: Fifty Techniques Step One: The Theme Step Two: The Tale Step Three: The Meat Step Four: The Words Step Five: The Close Twenty Best Quotes from Judges Annotated Models Before-and-after section from Jones v. Clinton Alaska v. EPA MercExchange v. eBay Index