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

by Bryan A. Garner

In its first two editions, The Winning Brief explained the art of effective writing in 100 concise, practical, and easy-to-use tips, proving that the key to writing well is to understand the judicial readership. This third edition of Bryan A. Garner's modern classic delivers the same invaluable guidelines with even more supporting evidence. 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. Every tip begins with a set of quotable quotes from experts, followed by Garner's 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, Garner shows how to edit for maximal impact, using vivid before-and-after examples that apply the basics of rhetoric to persuasive writing.
In this much-expanded third edition, Garner has perfected the text with nine new tips, hundreds of new examples, and amplified explanations throughout-all in his trademark style. Among the new sections are tips on understanding judges' reading habits, answering opponents' arguments, writing effective reply briefs, using authorities persuasively, and organizing arguments based on statutes and contracts. Quotable quotes, which Garner carefully assembled after years of wide reading and close study, have been expanded and improved throughout the book. There is also a new appendix on a remarkable brief that some consider the best ever written ("a beautiful marriage of rhetorical skill, thorough research, and humane lawyering").
Perhaps the biggest change to this edition is that every tip now ends with a summary checklist that recaps and crystalizes the subpoints just covered, with further ideas for improvement. Garner conceived these checklists in part as a way to help readers approach his book as a set of 100 tutorials. Reviewing and practicing each tip will offer brief-writers a degree of mastery that more cavalier colleagues will find difficult to equal.
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.

Genres: Law, Writing, Legal, Nonfiction, Reference, Self Help

800 pages, Hardcover

First published May 3, 1999

Reviews

[Jennie Parrish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful for future briefs- this was recommended to me for the madman-architect-carpenter-judge method so it was interesting to get clarity on that. Looking forward to trying it for the next brief I have to write (but hopefully that's not too soon because my brain needs a break)

[Talia Traskos Hart]

i am devoted to accuracy on here . i also find my newfound doldrumness silly.

[TΞΞL❍CK Mith!lesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Winning Brief is my favourite Bryan Garner book. It’s the essential guide to drafting compelling, effective briefs that judges will actually enjoy reading. In fact, it’s the kind of reference guide that you’ll refer back to again and again during your legal career.

The Winning Brief includes 100 tips for drafting compelling briefs. Here’s a quick summary of Garner’s famous “100 Tips”:

Prologue (Tip 1)
Composing in an Orderly, Sensible Way (Tips 2-10)
Conveying the Big Picture (Tips 11-19)
Marching Forward Through Sound Paragraphs (Tips 20-26)
Editing for Brisk, Uncluttered Sentences (Tips 27-43)
Choosing the Best Words (Tips 44-56)
Punctuating for Clarity and Impact (Tips 57-62)
Becoming Proficient in Designing Text (Tips 63-69)
Sidestepping Some Common Quirks (Tips 70-84)
Capitalizing on Little-Used Persuasive Strategies (Tips 85-91)
Hitting Your Stride as a Brief-Writer (Tips 92-100)
Another excellent feature of The Winning Brief is the summary checklist it provides for you at the end of each tip. You’ll be sure to refer back to these checklists often when drafting substantive briefs.

In short, The Winning Brief is worth its weight in gold and is definitely one of the best legal writing books of all time.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to read this cover-to-cover over a couple months.

That Garner is the best teacher of legal writing is without question. And with that being true, this is his best book for teaching (his unparalleled Usage Dictionary is his pinnacle achievement, but that's a tool, not a lesson).

It's set up as 100 tips, which makes it easy to digest in small increments, and that's the best way to read it.

If you're a lawyer who takes this book to heart, you will emerge a better writer. And my advice, fellow lawyers, is this: Don't think you know better than Garner and cast aside his recommendations. If you do, your writing will be worse.

[Danny Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This works well as a reference book. Something to go through once and then reference back to. One of my favorite parts is how Garner puts the table of contents on the front and back inside covers, so such referencing is quick.

The quotes at the beginning of each chapter, as Garner says, are useful for winning arguments, but sometimes he seems a little bit too dogmatic about something that in practice has a little more wiggle room. Overall, however, a great resource for becoming a better legal writer.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good primer on brief writing. I really appreciated his counsel to excise "pursuant to" from your vocabulary. Also appreciated his advise to write so the reader knows the deep issue in the case within the first 90 seconds of reading. He defines deep issue as "the ultimate, concrete question that a court needs to answer to decide a point your way." 49.

Some of the book was a little glib. While I appreciated him pulling in wisdom from others, it was a bit of a sausage fest. Still, I have no doubt the briefs I read would be better if the authors spent some time with this book.

[Brendan Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best legal writing books I have ever read, if not the best. This book may be better and more informative than an entire law school legal writing course. It is full of great, real-life examples. I would highly recommend this book to any lawyer or law student looking to improve their writing skills.

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish there had been fewer segments by other experts and more of Garner's thoughts/opinions. So informative and insightful.

[Shira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is taking appellate litigation. This book helped me win a Cali Award for my brief.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This man knows how to improve a brief, and he shares it here. It is a book organized around a list. The items in the list are not created equal which gives an unevenness to the experience of reading it. This is a book which must be reread as much as it is read.
It is a great book. For its type, there is none better.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of good tips, some mediocre tips, and few stinkers I would never actually use (like don't define abbreviated terms or make all of your headings flush with the left margin), but a TON of padding. There are too many quotes at the beginning of each section. Particularly quotes of the author himself.

[Ke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a helpful checklist for lawyers re-writing their work. Garner offers everything from advice on fonts to case citation. That said, I must say that I did not agree with all his tips. For example, he could have gone easier with Em Dashes.

[Christopher Floss · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book could serve as a supplement to most legal writing texts, as well as a desk reference for those who do persuasive legal writing. Some of the points are basic while others are worth reading. Certainly, it's a good reference for law students to read.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great writing resource for beginning attorneys. Opinionated but authoritative, and fun too. I expect I'll be revisiting this one for years to come.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Garner himself makes me nuts, but his reference materials are great. I think this volume should be required reading for every appellate attorney.

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Garner is "the man" when it comes to current legal writing.

[Sora · Rating 5 out of 5]

They should recommend this book as a 1L legal writing guide to appellate writing.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transformed the way I do my legal writing and has influenced my fiction writing for the better, too. Highly recommend.