The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
Samples of professionally formatted (and expertly written) appellate briefs
When I file a brief in a jurisdiction that's new to me, I like to see samples of what such briefs - filed by top-notch practitioners - customarily look like. The relevant rules of appellate procedure are obviously the first place to start, but there are lots of formatting customs about which the rules are silent. It helps to see what is done by experts who have the resources and inclination to produce carefully formatted and edited work.
One resource that I've long used, and that has recently been reorganized and updated, is Mayer Brown LLP's appellate.net brief bank. (Mayer Brown is the firm for which I'm a part-part-part-part-time Academic Affiliate.) If you go to this page, you can search for cases by jurisdiction (and, if you'd like, by keyword); once you get the list of the briefs, click on "Read" and you'll see the full PDF. Very helpful; check it out if you're drafting something for an unfamiliar court, whether you are a lawyer, a law student, or a law professor.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?