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Five Tips for a Great Legal Writing Assignment

September 25, 2012 By Lee Burgess 2 Comments

Follow the format outlined by your professor. It is likely your legal writing professor has given you instructions for the overall format of your legal writing assignment. In addition, your professor may have given you formatting instructions for the body of your assignment, such as that you need to follow IRAC. Whatever the instructions, follow them . Sure, you may think it is an overly formal or a frustrating way to write—but to be honest, no one cares. You need to write for your professor . It is more important to write in the way your professor has outlined, than as you personally prefer. And it is not going to be the last time your writing will need to conform to someone else’s rules. As a working attorney you often need to write in the format requested by your boss or even by the court. So get used to it!
Remember, your writing doesn’t need to be full of legalese—the best legal writing is often simple! So many law students make the mistake of thinking that to “sound like a lawyer” they must use every possible legal term out there. This is just not the case. Often the most effective legal writing is very clear and concise and only uses legal terms or “legalese” when appropriate (say, when you are using a term of art). It is also important to work on writing in a clear, concise way because your assignments may have maximum word count. So using extra words to sound “more professional” won’t really help your grade in the end.
Answer the question asked by your assignment. Often students get so caught up in writing their assignment that they forget to focus on the question that was asked of them. It is important to read and re-read (and even read again) the assignment sheet. You don’t want to make a mistake and write something off topic. Remember, answering the question is key to getting a good grade!
Plan before you write. A great legal writing assignment is organized. And for most of us this means that you need to plan your paper just as you would plan an essay or any other project. Organization is key and it takes time to sit with the research and develop your answer. Make sure you build this time into your plan of how you are going to get your assignment done.
Proofread and double-check citations. As an attorney-in-training, it is very important to present yourself in a professional way. That means that you need to proofread your assignments to present yourself in a professional way to your professor as well. If your assignment is riddled with typos, it is distracting for the professor and likely will cause your grade to drop. Also, students often are lax when handling citations. You are typically graded on the accuracy of your citations. Citations are not hard, but you must be detail oriented and look things up! I have seen many a legal writing grade go down because students didn’t spend adequate time or energy on citations. Don’t let this happen to you.

Legal writing, like most things, gets easier the more that you do it. So do every practice assignment assigned and get as much feedback as you can. This will help you become an excellent legal writer, which is a critical skill in our profession.

Check out these other helpful posts:

Surviving the first weeks of law school .
Law school exam prep 101 .
Getting feedback on past exams is critical .
Pay attention in class, it can save you time !

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About Lee Burgess

Lee Burgess, Esq. is the co-founder of the Law School Toolbox , a resource for law students that demystifies the law school experience and the Bar Exam Toolbox , a resource for students getting ready for the bar exam. Lee has been adjunct faculty at two bay area law schools teaching classes on law school and bar exam preparation. You can find Lee on Twitter at @leefburgess , @lawschooltools , & @barexamtools .

Reader Interactions

Thank very much for the tips i have just read they been beneficial to me because am a distance law school student.

I need more guide to legal writing because am lecturing this course for Magistrates

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Master the Legal Memo Format

September 20, 2022

[Bloomberg Law’s Essential Career Toolkit can help you excel in class and jump-start your legal career to successfully transition from law student to lawyer.]

What is the legal memo assignment?

The legal memo is an objective memorandum that provides you the opportunity to review and research relevant case law, investigate relevant facts using available resources, analyze those facts under that law, and impartially assess the potential outcome of a matter. The legal memo is an assignment that law firm associates are frequently asked to provide to senior attorneys.

Far too often, however, the assigning attorney takes one look at the result and replies, “I knew this already.” To prevent this outcome, it’s important to write a legal memo with sufficient understanding of audience, scope, purpose, and format. With proper planning, law firm associates can maximize the odds of favorable reception at the outset.

Bloomberg Law can help you understand and apply legal issues to your legal memo assignment, so your final product addresses all relevant points right out of the gate.

What’s the difference between a closed legal memo and an open legal memo?

A closed legal memo is an assignment where you are given the case law or other primary law to be used in your writing. Far more challenging is an open legal memo, where you will need to research and identify the relevant law, investigate and analyze the most legally significant facts involving a particular client, and provide a critical assessment of how the court may apply the law to the matter.

By extension, unlike a court brief, the legal memo is not the place to wager a legal opinion or argue facts. The legal memorandum serves as an objective standalone document and identifies the risks and any unknown facts that need investigation. It should maintain an impartial tone, with no implied preference for one side or the other.

What’s the standard legal memo format?

Generally, a legal memorandum comprises six sections, with the following information:

1. Heading or caption

A section, titled, “Memorandum,” identifies the recipient (To: _______), the author (From: ____), the assignment submission date (typically in MMMM DD YYYY format), and subject of the memo (Re: __________).

2. Question presented

A brief one-sentence statement that defines how the law applies to the legal question at hand, and the jurisdiction where the matter will be decided. The question presented is specific and impartial and doesn’t assume a legal conclusion.

3. Brief answer

A quick-hit legal prediction to the question presented, based on a short (four to five sentences) explanation that references relevant law and facts.

4. Statement of facts

A concise, impartial statement of the facts that captures the heart of the legal matter, as well as current and past legal proceedings related to the issue. The facts can be chronological or grouped thematically, whichever format presents the facts in the clearest manner.

5. Discussion

Restates the main facts and delineates the overarching legal rule. Several paragraphs outline the various legal topics to be addressed in the case and provide an analysis of the legal issues, usually ordered in subsections.

6. Conclusion

The assigning attorney will likely read this section first. It predicts how the court will apply the law, and how confident you are in your prediction based on the data. With an impartial advisory tone, you identify next steps and propose a legal strategy to proceed.

How to write a legal memo

Legal research memos can come in many forms—from broad 50-state surveys to more nuanced research on a particular point of law—but whatever the format, it’s important that you fully understand the task entrusted to you before you start typing.

If you tackle your assignment by following the recommended approaches in the legal memo example below, you’ll be more likely to find an appreciative supervising attorney, deliver better work product, cut down on the number of drafts required to arrive at a final product, and, most importantly, please the client.

Learn the essentials of litigation writing, research, and document review with our Core Litigation Skills Practical Guidance Toolkit , available to Bloomberg Law subscribers.

Legal memorandum sample assignment

Assignment: Prepare an open legal memo on whether, under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, there is personal jurisdiction over a foreign car manufacturer involving a products liability case.

Step 1: Understand the legal issues

Review legal memo assignment materials.

In an open legal memo, you will be tasked with researching relevant primary and secondary resources, such as from national, single, or multiple state entities, as well as appeals circuits, to include in your analysis.

Locate secondary sources

Secondary sources, such as books, treatises, law reviews, legal analysis publications, and Practical Guidance are a great starting point to assist with your legal memo research. Although secondary sources are not binding on courts, meaning courts are not required to follow these sources, they are still helpful tools to use when you know little about a topic.

However, remember that while you may know little about a topic, the same may not hold true for your audience. Readers like law partners and assigning attorneys will already know general law. Identify your audience’s presumed level of knowledge, then the most mission-critical questions to address. These identified gaps will inform your fact-finding and research.

Use secondary resources to better fill in the main legal topics and issues as they relate to the facts in the legal memo assignment. Your legal research should help frame the issue and lead to other relevant materials, including cases and statutes.

Throughout, utilize legal memo space wisely. Remember, legal memo length varies by subject. Some topics require only a short summary, while others compel long-form treatment. For guidance, search your firm’s office document management system for previous legal memos.

Sample assignment – Step 1

Understand the legal issues: Legal research depends on the right search terms. In the case, for example, you can use the keywords: (“personal jurisdiction” and manufacture!)) to locate relevant resources on the Bloomberg Law platform.

More broadly, while your search into secondary sources may span books and treatises, law review articles, and other legal analysis publications, make sure to vet all legal authorities for relevance.

[Research tip: It can be challenging to know all relevant keywords. Bloomberg Law provides a convenient search results page, where relevant article blurbs showcase additional keywords to explore. Based on targeted keywords, you can better gather the most relevant background information to assist with your analysis.]

Step 2: Develop a research plan

Identify primary law.

Primary sources can often be identified with research tools, such as court opinions searches for relevant case law. However, primary sources are not always apparent. In such cases, work your way backward. Reviewing secondary sources can help you identify a list of relevant primary law resources, like case law and related statutes. Keep your research organized and create a research plan to identify key resources. The research plan will list the relevant primary law and how the case or statute relates to your comprehensive legal analysis.

Stay organized

Save the relevant cases and statutes to a designated workspace. Bloomberg Law provides a streamlined and secure digital working area where you can add your notes as well as upload and store your drafts to keep organized.

Sample assignment – Step 2

Develop a research plan: In the assignment, some legal research may mention cases on what contacts a foreign defendant must have for the court to have personal jurisdiction over it, such as Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court . Read through these articles to reveal additional relevant cases and statutes to support your analysis.

Step 3: Confirm your legal memo research

Once you have your research plan, you want to verify all your research to make sure you’re relying on the most current case law available. Bloomberg Law’s litigation tools like the BCite citator tool help you work smarter and faster to validate your case law research—specifically, to determine whether a citation still represents good law and can be relied upon—and helps you to conduct additional research to find more cases and resources that support your legal memo’s findings and conclusions.

Robust verification should ensure you know the following information:

Composite analysis – the overall treatment of the cited case by other courts.
Direct history – How a cited case has moved through the court system.
Case analysis – Cases that have subsequently cited to the case.
Authorities – Cases relied on by the court in the main case.
Citing documents – Legal materials, such as court opinions, administrative decisions, and secondary sources that reference your case by citation.

Sample assignment – Step 3

Confirm your research: To see whether Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court is still good law, you will of course need to pull up and review the case status. As part of this verification, you should review how other courts have treated the case. Once you have verified case status, you can better find additional secondary cases and other sources that cite to your case.

[Research tip: Carefully review whether case law citation can be relied on in your legal memo. While a legal memo is written for internal stakeholders like the assigning attorney, and not for the court system, it may nonetheless serve as a primer for future material.]

Attorneys may later incorporate any case law citations within the legal memo into court filings in support of their arguments. Given this broad potential reach, it’s imperative to verify all case law within your legal memo. Any unverified case law that later makes its way into public documents will result in an admonition from the court.

It is also important not to cherry-pick case citations. Remember the legal memo’s purpose is to inform, not to argue the facts. The legal memo must therefore provide an objective summary of all relevant case law and how it applies to the facts at hand. The omission of negative case law only compromises future legal strategy and heightens client legal exposure.

Step 4: Write an objective analysis

The legal memo showcases your critical legal thinking skills. Use your research plan and research materials to help organize your analysis. Remember to clearly state the law and the facts, in the active voice, and present your analysis in a logical manner.

Even with the IRAC legal memo format (Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion), it can be a challenge to write with precision. For example, it may not be clear which details to include in the statement of facts. Skilled legal memo writers often begin with the discussion. With complementary considerations of legal authority and factual criteria, this section clarifies the most legally significant facts and informs other earlier sections like the question presented and brief answer.

Across all stages, Bloomberg Law provides a vast trove of articles and resources to assist you in preparing your legal memo. Whether this is your first or fiftieth legal memo assignment, you can showcase clear and impartial legal analysis in your legal memo and other writing assignments in ways that establish you as a strong legal mind.

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How to Write a First-Class Law Essay

Studying law at university entails lots of essay writing. This article takes you through the key steps to writing a top law essay.

Writing a law essay can be a challenging task. As a law student, you’ll be expected to analyse complex legal issues and apply legal principles to real-world scenarios. At the same time, you’ll need to be able to communicate your ideas clearly and persuasively. In this article, we’ll cover some top tips to guide you through the process of planning, researching, structuring and writing a first-class law essay with confidence.

1. Start In Advance

Give yourself plenty of time to plan, research and write your law essay. Always aim to start your law essay as soon as you have the question. Leaving it until the last minute does not only create unnecessary stress, but it also leaves you insufficient time to write, reference and perfect your work.

2. Understand The Question

Do not begin until you fully comprehend the question. Take the time to read the question carefully and make sure that you understand what it’s asking you to do. Highlight key terms and annotate the question with definitions of key concepts and any questions that you have have. Think about how the question links back to what you’ve learned during your lectures or through your readings.

3. Conduct Thorough Research

Conducting thorough research around your topic is one of the most fundamental parts of the essay writing process. You should aim to use a range of relevant sources, such as cases, academic articles, books and any other legal materials. Ensure that the information you collect is taken from relevant, reliable and up to date sources. Use primary over secondary material as much as possible.

Avoid using outdated laws and obscure blog posts as sources of information. Always aim to choose authoritative sources from experts within the field, such as academics, politicians, lawyers and judges. Using high-quality and authoritative sources and demonstrating profound and critical insight into your topic are what will earn you top marks.

4. Write A Detailed Plan

Once you’ve done your research, it’s time to plan your essay. When writing your plan, you’ll need to create an outline that clearly identifies the main points that you wish to make throughout your article. Try to write down what you wish to achieve in each paragraph, what concepts you want to discuss and arguments you want to make.

Your outline should be organised in a clear, coherent and logical manner to ensure that the person grading your essay can follow your line of thought and arguments easily. You may also wish to include headings and subheadings to structure your essay effectively This makes it easier when it comes to writing the essay as starting without a plan can get messy. The essay must answer the question and nothing but the question so ensure all of your points relate to it.

Start Writing Like A Lawyer

Read our legal writing tips now

5. Write A Compelling Introduction

A great introduction should, firstly, outline the research topic. The introduction is one of the most crucial parts of the law essay as it sets the tone for the rest of the paper. It should capture the readers attention and provide the background context on the topic. Most importantly, it should state the thesis of your essay.

When writing your introduction, avoid simply repeating the given question. Secondly, create a road map for the reader, letting them know how the essay will approach the question. Your introduction must be concise. The main body of the essay is where you will go into detail.

6. Include A Strong Thesis Statement

Your thesis should clearly set out the argument you are going to be making throughout your essay and should normally go in the introduction. Your thesis should adopt a clear stance rather than being overly general or wishy-washy. To obtain the best grades, you’ll need to show a unique perspective based upon a critical analysis of the topic rather than adopting the most obvious point of view.

Once you’ve conducted your research and had a chance to reflect on your topic, ask yourself whether you can prove your argument within the given word count or whether you would need to adopt a more modest position for your paper. Always have a clear idea of what your thesis statement is before you begin writing the content of your essay.

7. Present the Counter-argument

To demonstrate your deeper understanding of the topic, it’s important to show your ability to consider the counter-arguments and address them in a careful and reasoned manner. When presenting your counterarguments, aim to depict them in the best possible light, aiming to be fair and reasonable before moving on to your rebuttal. To ensure that your essay is convincing, you will need to have a strong rebuttal that explains why your argument is stronger and more persuasive. This will demonstrate your capacity for critical analysis, showing the reader that you have carefully considered differing perspectives before coming to a well-supported conclusion.

8. End With A Strong Conclusion

Your conclusion is your opportunity to summarise the key points made throughout your essay and to restate the thesis statement in a clear and concise manner. Avoid simply repeating what has already been mentioned in the body of the essay. For top grades, you should use the conclusion as an opportunity to provide critical reflection and analysis on the topic. You may also wish to share any further insights or recommendations into alternative avenues to consider or implications for further research that could add value to the topic.

9. Review The Content Of Your Essay

Make sure you factor in time to edit the content of your essay. Once you’ve finished your first draft, come back to it the next day. Re-read your essay with a critical perspective. Do your arguments make sense? Do your paragraphs flow in a logical manner? You may also consider asking someone to read your paper and give you critical feedback. They may be able to add another perspective you haven’t considered or suggest another research paper that could add value to your essay.

10. Proofread For Grammatical Mistakes

Once you’re happy with the content of your essay, the last step is to thoroughly proofread your essay for any grammatical errors. Ensure that you take time to ensure that there are no grammar, spelling or punctuation errors as these can be one of the easiest ways to lose marks. You can ask anyone to proofread your paper, as they would not necessarily need to have a legal background – just strong grammar and spelling skills!

11. Check Submission Guidelines

Before submitting, ensure that your paper conforms with the style, referencing and presentation guidelines set out by your university. This includes the correct font, font size and line spacing as well as elements such as page numbers, table of content etc. Referencing is also incredibly important as you’ll need to make sure that you are following the correct referencing system chosen by your university. Check your university’s guidelines about what the word count is and whether you need to include your student identification number in your essay as well. Be thorough and don’t lose marks for minor reasons!

12. Use Legal Terms Accurately

Always make sure that you are using legal terms accurately throughout your essay. Check an authoritative resource if you are unsure of any definitions. While being sophisticated is great, legal jargon if not used correctly or appropriately can weaken your essay. Aim to be concise and to stick to the point. Don’t use ten words when only two will do.

12. Create a Vocabulary Bank

One recurring piece of advice from seasoned law students is to take note of phrases from books and articles, key definitions or concepts and even quotes from your professors. When it comes to writing your law essay, you will have a whole range of ideas and vocabulary that will help you to develop your understanding and thoughts on a given topic. This will make writing your law essay even easier!

13. Finally, Take Care of Yourself

Last but certainly not least, looking after your health can improve your attitude towards writing your law essay your coursework in general. Sleep, eat, drink and exercise appropriately. Take regular breaks and try not to stress. Do not forget to enjoy writing the essay!

Words by Karen Fulton

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Law Search Guide: Write Law Assignments

Get ready for my first semester
Build a search strategy
Search a new area of law
Search secondary sources (books/journals)
Search for Cases
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Critical Evaluation
Write Law Assignments
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eBook- Exams and Studying

Assignment Scheduler

Throughout your law studies , you will need to complete a variety of different assignments. See below to explore four different forms of assignments .

What goes into a case note?
Tips by Students
Step-by-Step
Case Note Examples

A case note is a summary or a summary and critical analysis of a case.

A case note will usually include:

Citations details- include the full citation details.
Procedural history- write about how the matter came to court if there is a history, e.g. is the case on appeal?
Facts- Explain the main points of the dispute or the reason the parties are in court. What orders or decision as they asking the court to make?
Legal Issues- Explain what the legal issues are and how they apply to the facts.
Decision summary- What did the court decide and why? What was the ratio (the rule of law on which the decision is based) and was there any obiter (the Judge's opinion that isn't essential to the decision). Also include and dissenting Judges where applicable.
Critical Analysis- Some case notes will also require you to critically analysis the case, this will involve looking at the case in the wider body of law and discuss the merit or importance of the points of law raised in the case.

You usually have a strict word count for your case note, because of this limit the detail that you have for the background information and focus on the analysis.

Tip: Always read through your assignment instructions for specific information that will apply to your assessment task.

Read advice from other law students on how to survive law school. These links come from the Survive Law Blog .

How to Write a Case Note
Case note assignments This online tutorial from Monash University will take you step by step through writing a case note.
Case Note: Betting Across Boarders This case note examines the recent High Court decision of Betfair Pty Limited v Western Australia.
Case Note: Australian Securities and Investment Commission v MacDonald Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Macdonald [No 11] required the New South Wales Supreme Court to determine whether company directors and officers of James Hardie Industries Ltd had breached their duties.
Case Note: Giller v Procopets This casenote deals with the claims concerning the videoing of the sexual encounters between the parties and the exhibition and/or distribution of the video to third parties.
Essay Template
A Visual Guide to Essay Writing
eBooks on Legal Writing
Reading Cases
Tips Written by Law Students
CDU Honors Research Papers

AGLC Template You can use this template to help you with formatting.

This resource uses a visual approach to take students through the process of essay writing for University. Although not law specific this resource will demonstrate formulating, refining and expressing academic essay writing:

One of the best ways to develop your writing skills is to read. Reading will expose you to different styles of writing and through reading you will form your own style. Think about the reports and cases that you read that frustrated you in finding out what the main ratio was. Compare that to this recent well written coroners report:

Inquest into the deaths of William George Scott [2015 ] NTMC 022 & Lanh Van Tran [2015] NTMC 023

Read advice from other law students on how to survive law school. These links come from the Survive Law Blog :

Five Tips for Writing Awesome Assignments
Tips from your Tutor: How to Write the Perfect Law Essay Introduction
Writing Convincing Assignments: Critical Analysis Checklist

This is a list of CDU student papers that were submitted for the Honours Research Papers. These are excellent examples of legal writing.

Double Jeopardy Reform: Political Expediency of Much Needed Change?
The Euthanasia Fallacy: Why it is time to regulate in Australia
Everybody Knows: Snowden's NSA Leaks, Metadata And Privacy Implications For Australia
Intellectual Disability in the Australian Criminal Justice System
New South Wales Right To Silence Reforms: Maximum Admissions, Minimum Silence
Same-Sex Parents: Won't Somebody Please Think Of The Children!
Testamentary Capacity & Rational Suicide: the Law, Medicine & Safe-guarding your Intentions
Problem Solving Questions
eBook on Problem Solving

Tips from your Tutor: 10 Ways to Improve your Problem Solving Assignment
Using IRAC to Answer Problem Solving Questions
Introduction
Preparing for a Law Exam
Past Exam Papers from CDU

Exams come in different formats, they can be:

Invigilated open book exam
Invigilated closed book exam
Take home exam

Read advice from other law students on how to survive law school. These links come from the Survive Law Blog :

Advice from your Tutor: Law Exam Preparation and Technique
Exam Countdown: Making the most of the Last 24 Hours
How to Make an Exam Answer Template
How to Make a Study Timetable for Exams
How to Study for a Closed Book Exam

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Last Updated: Feb 26, 2024 11:05 AM
URL: https://libguides.cdu.edu.au/lawresearch

Learn to Read, Write Like a Law School Student

College can give your legal education and career a running start if you focus on key law-related skills as an undergraduate.

Learn to Read, Write Like a Law Student

Getty Images | iStockphoto

To prepare for law school students should practice more rigorous methods of note-taking, including using color-coded highlights for different types of information.

After ramming through thousands of pages of homework and hundreds of pages of writing assignments, often at the last minute – perhaps a little too often – college students and graduates may think they are at the top of their game.

How Long and Difficult Is Law School?

Ilana Kowarski Jan. 14, 2019

Law school, however, takes reading and writing to a whole new level. Compared with undergraduate texts, legal code and court opinions can seem written in an alien language. And many law students find legal writing to be the hardest core class they have to take in their first year.

There's no question that college makes you a better reader and writer, but the quirks of undergraduate writing can also leave you with some bad habits. To prepare for law school , improve your written communication skills by following this advice:

Take better notes.
Write succinctly.
Clarify your assumptions.
Don't show off.

Take Better Notes

The writers of the articles and textbooks you read in college often take great pains to communicate difficult concepts clearly and concisely. To prepare for class discussions and writing assignments, it is often enough to highlight key points and jot down a few notes or a brief summary.

Law school, however, is based on the case method . You learn by reading important legal cases and deducing common principles of how to interpret and apply real laws.

If you think your brain can recall all that information based on some highlighted passages, you may find yourself at a loss for words the first time a law school professor calls on you to analyze and critique a judge's opinion.

Instead, law students "brief" each case by writing down key facts and legal findings and compiling long, carefully organized outlines that integrate all those cases.

Before law school, you can get a head start on briefing by developing more consistent and rigorous methods of note-taking. Try using color-coded highlights for different types of information. Try reading an article, summarizing the argument as briefly as possible and then coming up with counterpoints.

Write Succinctly

College often rewards writing long. Written assignments are more likely to have a minimum length than a page limit, and it rarely hurts to throw in extra quotes and supporting evidence for your arguments. You may even get the impression that long-winded sentences sound weightier and more mature.

Legal writing, however, is more structured and focused. While legal papers can be quite long, every sentence must contribute to the overall argument. Law professors have little patience for bloated and meandering paragraphs.

Even if undergraduate professors don't explicitly require it, practice editing your papers to be direct and concise. Cut out redundancies and sentences that are not clearly related to your main points.

Clarify Your Assumptions

Because college is intended to cultivate independent thinking, students are often encouraged to share thoughts and reactions from their unique perspective.

In contrast, legal writing should be universal, because the law is meant to cover everyone equally. In order to develop your arguments, you need to carefully ensure that everyone can understand your reasoning from the evidence you present.

Even in college , you can start thinking about the unstated assumptions behind your arguments. Some of these assumptions may not be worth pointing out, like the meaning of common terms or agreed-upon facts.

Are there any assumptions that might not be so obvious to someone with a different background or perspective? If so, try to state those assumptions clearly, so all readers can understand how you came to your conclusions whether or not they agree with you.

Don't Show Off

College students have a reputation for pretentiousness. The word "sophomoric" is even used to describe writing that is immature, conceited and overconfident. No one can look back at his or her adolescence without cringing about some of the things he or she said or wrote.

Because law school is a professional school, students are held to higher standards. If you start bloviating, referencing ideas you don't understand or using big words just to sound smart, your law professors and fellow students will cut you down to size.

While college is a great time for taking intellectual risks, always be conscious of the limits of your knowledge. Great readers and writers focus more on what they still don't know than what they presume to understand.

Reading and writing are lifelong practices. Not only will practice help you succeed in law school, it will make you a clearer thinker.

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About Law Admissions Lowdown

Law Admissions Lowdown provides advice to prospective students about the law school application process, LSAT prep and potential career paths. Previously authored by contributors from Stratus Admissions Counseling, the blog is currently authored by Gabriel Kuris, founder of Top Law Coach , an admissions consultancy. Kuris is a graduate of Harvard Law School and has helped hundreds of applicants navigate the law school application process since 2003. Got a question? Email [email protected] .

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Law research and writing skills: Getting started

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New to Law at Monash? This page provides links and tips to help you through your first semester or trimester.

Week 1 and 2

Take our interactive tutorial about academic integrity .
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How to Prepare for Law School
How to brief a case
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How to write a case brief for law school: Excerpt reproduced from Introduction to the Study of Law: Cases and Materials ,

Third edition (lexisnexis 2009) by michael makdisi & john makdisi.

C. HOW TO BRIEF

The previous section described the parts of a case in order to make it easier to read and identify the pertinent information that you will use to create your briefs. This section will describe the parts of a brief in order to give you an idea about what a brief is, what is helpful to include in a brief, and what purpose it serves. Case briefs are a necessary study aid in law school that helps to encapsulate and analyze the mountainous mass of material that law students must digest. The case brief represents a final product after reading a case, rereading it, taking it apart, and putting it back together again. In addition to its function as a tool for self-instruction and referencing, the case brief also provides a valuable “cheat sheet” for class participation.

Who will read your brief? Most professors will espouse the value of briefing but will never ask to see that you have, in fact, briefed. As a practicing lawyer, your client doesn’t care if you brief, so long as you win the case. The judges certainly don’t care if you brief, so long as you competently practice the law. You are the person that the brief will serve! Keep this in mind when deciding what elements to include as part of your brief and when deciding what information to include under those elements.

What are the elements of a brief? Different people will tell you to include different things in your brief. Most likely, upon entering law school, this will happen with one or more of your instructors. While opinions may vary, four elements that are essential to any useful brief are the following:

(a) Facts (name of the case and its parties, what happened factually and procedurally, and the judgment)

(b) Issues (what is in dispute)

(d) Rationale (reasons for the holding)

If you include nothing but these four elements, you should have everything you need in order to recall effectively the information from the case during class or several months later when studying for exams.

Because briefs are made for yourself, you may want to include other elements that expand the four elements listed above. Depending on the case, the inclusion of additional elements may be useful. For example, a case that has a long and important section expounding dicta might call for a separate section in your brief labeled: Dicta. Whatever elements you decide to include, however, remember that the brief is a tool intended for personal use. To the extent that more elements will help with organization and use of the brief, include them. On the other hand, if you find that having more elements makes your brief cumbersome and hard to use, cut back on the number of elements. At a minimum, however, make sure you include the four elements listed above.

Elements that you may want to consider including in addition to the four basic elements are:

(e) Dicta (commentary about the decision that was not the basis for the decision)

(f) Dissent (if a valuable dissenting opinion exits, the dissent’s opinion)

(g) Party’s Arguments (each party’s opposing argument concerning the ultimate issue)

(h) Comments (personal commentary)

Personal comments can be useful if you have a thought that does not fit elsewhere. In the personal experience of one of the authors, this element was used to label cases as specific kinds (e.g., as a case of vicarious liability) or make mental notes about what he found peculiar or puzzling about cases. This element allowed him to release his thoughts (without losing them) so that he could move on to other cases.

In addition to these elements, it may help you to organize your thoughts, as some people do, by dividing Facts into separate elements:

(1) Facts of the case (what actually happened, the controversy)

(2) Procedural History (what events within the court system led to the present case)

(3) Judgment (what the court actually decided)

Procedural History is usually minimal and most of the time irrelevant to the ultimate importance of a case; however, this is not always true. One subject in which Procedure History is virtually always relevant is Civil Procedure.

When describing the Judgment of the case, distinguish it from the Holding. The Judgment is the factual determination by the court, in favor of one party, such as “affirmed,” “reversed,” or “remanded.” In contrast, the Holding is the applied rule of law that serves as the basis for the ultimate judgment.

Remember that the purpose of a brief is to remind you of the important details that make the case significant in terms of the law. It will be a reference tool when you are drilled by a professor and will be a study aid when you prepare for exams. A brief is also like a puzzle piece.

The elements of the brief create the unique shape and colors of the piece, and, when combined with other pieces, the picture of the common law takes form. A well-constructed brief will save you lots of time by removing the need to return to the case to remember the important details and also by making it easier to put together the pieces of the common law puzzle.

D. EXTRACTING THE RELEVANT INFORMATION: ANNOTATING AND HIGHLIGHTING

So now that you know the basic elements of a brief, what information is important to include under each element? The simple answer is: whatever is relevant. But what parts of a case are relevant? When you read your first few cases, you may think that everything that the judge said was relevant to his ultimate conclusion. Even if this were true, what is relevant for the judge to make his decision is not always relevant for you to include in your brief. Remember, the reason to make a brief is not to persuade the world that the ultimate decision in the case is a sound one, but rather to aid in refreshing your memory concerning the most important parts of the case.

What facts are relevant to include in a brief? You should include the facts that are necessary to remind you of the story. If you forget the story, you will not remember how the law in the case was applied. You should also include the facts that are dispositive to the decision in the case. For instance, if the fact that a car is white is a determining factor in the case, the brief should note that the case involves a white car and not simply a car. To the extent that the procedural history either helps you to remember the case or plays an important role in the ultimate outcome, you should include these facts as well.

What issues and conclusions are relevant to include in a brief? There is usually one main issue on which the court rests its decision. This may seem simple, but the court may talk about multiple issues, and may discuss multiple arguments from both sides of the case. Be sure to distinguish the issues from the arguments made by the parties. The relevant issue or issues, and corresponding conclusions, are the ones for which the court made a final decision and which are binding. The court may discuss intermediate conclusions or issues, but stay focused on the main issue and conclusion which binds future courts.

What rationale is important to include in a brief? This is probably the most difficult aspect of the case to determine. Remember that everything that is discussed may have been relevant to the judge, but it is not necessarily relevant to the rationale of the decision. The goal is to remind yourself of the basic reasoning that the court used to come to its decision and the key factors that made the decision favor one side or the other.

A brief should be brief! Overly long or cumbersome briefs are not very helpful because you will not be able to skim them easily when you review your notes or when the professor drills you. On the other hand, a brief that is too short will be equally unhelpful because it lacks sufficient information to refresh your memory. Try to keep your briefs to one page in length. This will make it easy for you to organize and reference them.

Do not get discouraged. Learning to brief and figuring out exactly what to include will take time and practice. The more you brief, the easier it will become to extract the relevant information.

While a brief is an extremely helpful and important study aid, annotating and highlighting are other tools for breaking down the mass of material in your casebook. The remainder of this section will discuss these different techniques and show how they complement and enhance the briefing process.

Annotating Cases

Many of you probably already read with a pencil or pen, but if you do not, now is the time to get in the habit. Cases are so dense and full of information that you will find yourself spending considerable amounts of time rereading cases to find what you need. An effective way to reduce this time is to annotate the margins of the casebook. Your pencil (or pen) will be one of your best friends while reading a case. It will allow you to mark off the different sections (such as facts, procedural history, or conclusions), thus allowing you to clear your mind of thoughts and providing an invaluable resource when briefing and reviewing.

You might be wondering why annotating is important if you make an adequate, well-constructed brief. By their very nature briefs cannot cover everything in a case. Even with a thorough, well-constructed brief you may want to reference the original case in order to reread dicta that might not have seemed important at the time, to review the complete procedural history or set of facts, or to scour the rationale for a better understanding of the case; annotating makes these tasks easier. Whether you return to a case after a few hours or a few months, annotations will swiftly guide you to the pertinent parts of the case by providing a roadmap of the important sections. Your textual markings and margin notes will refresh your memory and restore specific thoughts you might have had about either the case in general or an individual passage.

Annotations will also remind you of forgotten thoughts and random ideas by providing a medium for personal comments.

In addition to making it easier to review an original case, annotating cases during the first review of a case makes the briefing process easier. With adequate annotations, the important details needed for your brief will be much easier to retrieve. Without annotations, you will likely have difficulty locating the information you seek even in the short cases. It might seem strange that it would be hard to reference a short case, but even a short case will likely take you at least fifteen to twenty-five minutes to read, while longer cases may take as much as thirty minutes to an hour to complete. No matter how long it takes, the dense material of all cases makes it difficult to remember all your thoughts, and trying to locate specific sections of the analysis may feel like you are trying to locate a needle in a haystack. An annotation in the margin, however, will not only swiftly guide you to a pertinent section, but will also refresh the thoughts that you had while reading that section.

When you read a case for the first time, read for the story and for a basic understanding of the dispute, the issues, the rationale, and the decision. As you hit these elements (or what you think are these elements) make a mark in the margins. Your markings can be as simple as “facts” (with a bracket that indicates the relevant part of the paragraph). When you spot an issue, you may simply mark “issue” or instead provide a synopsis in your own words. When a case sparks an idea — write that idea in the margin as well — you never know when a seemingly irrelevant idea might turn into something more.

Finally, when you spot a particularly important part of the text, underline it (or highlight it as described below).

With a basic understanding of the case, and with annotations in the margin, the second read-through of the case should be much easier. You can direct your reading to the most important sections and will have an easier time identifying what is and is not important. Continue rereading the case until you have identified all the relevant information that you need to make your brief, including the issue(s), the facts, the holding, and the relevant parts of the analysis.

Pencil or pen — which is better to use when annotating? Our recommendation is a mechanical pencil. Mechanical pencils make finer markings than regular pencils, and also than ballpoint pens. Although you might think a pencil might smear more than a pen, with its sharp point a mechanical pencil uses very little excess lead and will not smear as much as you might imagine. A mechanical pencil will also give you the freedom to make mistakes without consequences. When you first start annotating, you may think that some passages are more important than they really are, and therefore you may resist the urge to make a mark in order to preserve your book and prevent false guideposts. With a pencil, however, the ability to erase and rewrite removes this problem.

Highlighting

Why highlight? Like annotating, highlighting may seem unimportant if you create thorough, well-constructed briefs, but highlighting directly helps you to brief. It makes cases, especially the more complicated ones, easy to digest, review and use to extract information.

Highlighting takes advantage of colors to provide a uniquely effective method for reviewing and referencing a case. If you prefer a visual approach to learning, you may find highlighting to be a very effective tool.

If annotating and highlighting are so effective, why brief? Because the process of summarizing a case and putting it into your own words within a brief provides an understanding of the law and of the case that you cannot gain through the process of highlighting or annotating.

The process of putting the case into your own words forces you to digest the material, while annotating and highlighting can be accomplished in a much more passive manner.

What should you highlight? Similar to annotating, the best parts of the case to highlight are those that represent the needed information for your brief such as the facts, the issue, the holding and the rationale.

Unlike annotating, highlighting provides an effective way to color code, which makes referring to the case even easier. In addition, Highlighters are particularly useful in marking off entire sections by using brackets. These brackets will allow you to color-code the case without highlighting all the text, leaving the most important phrases untouched for a more detailed highlight marking or underlining.

Highlighting is a personal tool, and therefore should be used to the extent that highlighting helps, but should be modified in a way that makes it personally time efficient and beneficial. For instance, you might combine the use of annotations in the margins with the visual benefit of highlighting the relevant text. You may prefer to underline the relevant text with a pencil, but to use a highlighter to bracket off the different sections of a case. Whatever you choose to do, make sure that it works for you, regardless of what others recommend. The techniques in the remainder of this section will describe ways to make full use of your highlighters.

First, buy yourself a set of multi-colored highlighters, with at least four, or perhaps five or six different colors. Yellow, pink, and orange are usually the brightest. Depending on the brand, purple and green can be dark, but still work well. Although blue is a beautiful color, it tends to darken and hide the text.

Therefore we recommend that you save blue for the elements that you rarely highlight.

For each different section of the case, choose a color, and use that color only when highlighting the section of the case designated for that color. Consider using yellow for the text that you tend to highlight most frequently. Because yellow is the brightest, you may be inclined to use yellow for the Conclusions in order to make them stand out the most. If you do this, however, you will exhaust your other colors much faster than yellow and this will require that you purchase an entire set of new highlighters when a single color runs out because colors such as green are not sold separately. If instead you choose to use yellow on a more frequently highlighted section such as the Analysis, when it comes time to replace your yellow marker, you will need only to replace your yellow highlighter individually. In the personal experience on one of the authors, the sections of cases that seemed to demand the most highlighter attention were the

Facts and the Analysis, while the Issues and Holdings demanded the least. Other Considerations and

Procedural History required lots of highlighting in particular cases although not in every case.

Experiment if you must, but try to choose a color scheme early on in the semester and stick with it. That way, when you come back to the first cases of the semester, you will not be confused with multiple color schemes. The basic sections of a case for which you should consider giving a different color are:

Procedural History

Issue (and questions presented)

Holding (and conclusions)

Analysis (rationale)

Other Considerations (such as dicta)

Not all of these sections demand a separate color. You may find that combining Facts and Procedural History or Issues and Holdings works best. Furthermore, as mentioned above, some sections may not warrant highlighting in every case (e.g., dicta probably do not need to be highlighted unless they are particularly important). If you decide that a single color is all that you need, then stick to one, but if you find yourself highlighting lots of text from many different sections, reconsider the use of at least a few different colors. Highlighters make text stand out, but only when used appropriately. The use of many colors enables you to highlight more text without reducing the highlighter’s effectiveness. Three to four colors provides decent color variation without the cumbersomeness of handling too many markers.

Once you are comfortable with your color scheme, determining exactly what to highlight still may be difficult. Similar to knowing what to annotate, experience will perfect your highlighting skills. Be careful not to highlight everything, thus ruining your highlighters’ effectiveness; at the same time, do not be afraid to make mistakes.

Now that we have covered the basics of reading, annotating, highlighting, and briefing a case, you are ready to start practicing. Keep the tips and techniques mentioned in this chapter in mind when you tackle the four topics in the remainder of this book. If you have difficultly, refer back to this chapter to help guide you as you master the case method of study and the art of using the common law.

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Course Overview

First-Year Legal Research and Writing Program

1 North Griswold Hall 1525 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge , MA 02138

Before you begin your studies in the First-Year Legal Research and Writing Program (LRW), it will help you to situate the course in the broader context of your legal education and your future law practice. To follow is a brief overview of the program, and an introduction to several themes that will recur throughout the year.

Program Overview

LRW uses a series of writing, research, and advocacy projects to engage you in the process of legal reasoning. The course instructs you in basic methods of legal analysis, effective written and oral communication of your analysis, and essential legal research tools and methodologies.

The first semester of LRW focuses on the writing of two predictive memos, in which you assess the arguments on each side of the issue and predict which side would prevail. In the spring, you will learn how to write an appellate brief, in which you present your client’s best arguments to a court. For all three assignments, you will produce both a draft and a final version, the better to respond to feedback and hone your writing and analysis. In practice, as in LRW, the writing process will help you take your internal understanding of an issue and make it external, so that you may hold it at arm’s length and examine it critically. As novice lawyers become expert lawyers, they develop greater ability to monitor their own level of understanding, and may resort somewhat less frequently (although not infrequently) to a formal written product like a predictive memo. Nevertheless, even when they eschew a formal written memo, they continue to apply the same analytical steps that are required to complete the writing assignments you will undertake in this course.

Lawyers cannot provide effective representation unless they master the necessary research skills. At a minimum, lawyers must be able to find and update the constitutional provisions, statutes, regulations, and cases that determine their clients’ rights and obligations. To that end, the legal research component of LRW will introduce you to core tools and methodologies that will be essential in your internships next summer, as well as in your future law practice. Indeed, without such skills you will have a difficult time satisfying your employers and competing with fellow students in summer practice and the early years of law practice. More advanced research instruction is available in upper-level elective courses.

LRW’s learning model depends on the substantial feedback that we provide on your work. LRW will likely be the first law school course in which you receive any feedback on written work, and it will be the course in which you receive the most individual feedback by far. Keep in mind that our goals for your achievement are quite high, in keeping with your potential. Our feedback will naturally focus on areas for improvement, so you ought not interpret this emphasis negatively. Our feedback is intended not to discourage you, but to facilitate your learning.

LRW meets weekly in the fall and spring semester of your first year. LRW is graded Honors, Pass, Low Pass, and Fail.

In the fall semester, you will complete two major writing assignments. The first is a “Closed Memo,” in which you write a predictive memo based on a set of research materials that are provided for you. The second is an “Open Memo,” in which you must research the applicable law and write a predictive memo based on your own research.

In the spring semester, the major course assignment is the First-Year Ames Moot Court Program. Working in pairs, you will research and draft an appellate brief concerning a simulated case set in a federal or state appeals court. At the end of the semester, you will argue your case before a three-judge panel. Judges are drawn from Harvard Law School faculty, practicing lawyers, and upper-level law students. With this course overview in mind, we turn next to a discussion of several recurring themes in LRW.

The Conventions of Legal Discourse

Any discourse community has its own discourse conventions, and lawyers have done a particularly thorough job of developing theirs. LRW is intended to familiarize you with these discourse conventions.

LRW introduces you to the generally accepted modes of legal reasoning: rule-based reasoning; analogical reasoning; and policy reasoning. As you progress through the course assignments, you will see the interdependence among these three modes of legal reasoning. When LRW turns to advocacy, you will learn how lawyers use narrative devices to complement the conventional modes of legal reasoning and make their arguments more persuasive.

Discourse conventions govern not only the modes of argument, but also the authorities that frame the argument. You will learn what types of materials constitute acceptable sources of authority in legal discourse, as well as the different hierarchies within which those authorities exist.

Most concretely, LRW will introduce you to two basic forms through which lawyers communicate their legal reasoning. You will learn the conventions applicable to a predictive memo and an appellate oral argument.

Of course, you will be learning the conventions of legal discourse in all of your first-year courses, indeed in all of law school. LRW, however, is intended to focus very specifically on the conventions themselves, more so than in your other courses.

Legal Reasoning and Judicial Discretion

Throughout your legal education, you will encounter a debate over the role of judicial discretion in adjudication. At the extremes, some would suggest that adjudication is rationally constrained by the available legal authorities, while others would argue that adjudication is effectively constrained only by the judge’s own beliefs and values. LRW is not intended to resolve that debate. Nevertheless, your work in this course should illustrate several different concepts about the degrees to which legal authorities can constrain judicial discretion.

Over the course of the year’s projects, you should see that a series of authorities applying the same rule can restrict–at least to some degree–the decision in a future situation governed by that rule. For example, if a statute says “No vehicles in the park,” and the state’s highest court interprets the statute to mean no “motor vehicles,” you can be pretty sure that the statute won’t prohibit you from riding your elephant through the park.

One might think that the ever-increasing number of decisions necessarily increases the degree of constraint. That may be so in some situations, but several factors can have a destabilizing influence. One such factor is the contingent nature of language. You may have seen in other contexts, and you will surely see in your legal career, that saying more about a topic often creates more uncertainty, not less. Each new opinion creates the potential for misstatement and misunderstanding, enabling future lawyers to reinterpret the pre-existing rule. A second destabilizing factor is the social context of our legal system. Authorities rest on a foundation of policy, of societal goals and values, even if those values are not always stated explicitly. As societal goals and values shift, a body of law resting on the discarded goals and values may become obsolete, and eventually reoriented in support of a new rule.

Finally, you should recognize that the limits on judicial discretion are often less substantial than they might seem at first. Each of the major projects in LRW should demonstrate that, with regard to a given legal problem, there is usually more than one possible outcome, even if one outcome seems more likely than the others. Skilled lawyers read authorities with a critical eye, constantly on the lookout for the gap of ambiguity within a seemingly solid wall of legal authorities.

Tension Between the Abstract and the Concrete

To complete any substantial task of legal analysis, the lawyer must at some point bridge the boundary between the abstract and the concrete. Rules rarely, if ever, cover every situation imaginable. For example, the “No vehicles in the park” statute could simply list every make and model of car and truck in existence, to clarify that they are all prohibited from the park. But the rule would be unmanageably long, and new makes and models would come into existence after the rule’s enactment. So the drafters would instead choose a term to describe the category of situations to which their rule was addressed. Rules that denote categories rather than specific situations necessarily involve a degree of abstraction, whether a moderate degree (e.g., “motor vehicle”) or a substantial degree (e.g., “best interest of the child”).

Fortunately for us, this inherent uncertainty is one of the things that makes law practice a creative endeavor. For example, if the vehicles in the park statute referred to “motor vehicles,” would that include airplanes? Mopeds? Golf carts? The “Segway” personal scooters? Lawyers and judges would try to use the policies underlying the rule and analogies to prior decisions to decide each example. But the jump from abstract to concrete would involve a measure of uncertainty, and it is this uncertainty that allows lawyers to make plausible arguments on both sides of a case.

Your Audience

In the oral and written communications that you undertake in this course, you must focus not only on the substantive ideas that you try to communicate, but also on the way in which your audience will receive those ideas. Communication is a two-step process, and even brilliant arguments suffer if the audience is distracted by substandard prose. That is why the feedback in this course will consider the form and style of your writing.

Additionally, you must recognize that your audience has a particular task before it, and will be using your communication (i.e., your memo, brief, or oral argument) as an instrument in completing that task. The audience’s task will often be to decide how to advise a client or rule in a case. To be effective, your communication must be suited to your audience’s needs. So in a memo addressed to an attorney who must decide how to advise a client, simply stating your prediction is not enough. You must also help the attorney understand the applicable legal standard and its likely application, as well as any plausible counter-arguments and the reasons why those arguments would not prevail. Only then will your communication allow the attorney to make an informed decision about how to advise the client.

You are at the start of a fascinating journey. We in the First-Year Legal Research and Writing Program wish you great success and enjoyment as you begin your legal education.

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Guidance on academic writing

Evidence-based.

Bringing it all together
Finally ...

Writing an assignment takes time, more time than you may expect. Just because you find yourself spending many weeks on an assignment doesn’t mean that you’re approaching it in the wrong way.
It also takes time to develop the skills to write well, so don’t be discouraged if your early marks aren’t what you’d hoped for. Use the feedback from your previous assignments to improve.
Different types of assignments require different styles, so be prepared for the need to continue to develop your skills.

We’ve broken down TIME into 4 key elements of academic writing: Targeted, In-depth, Measured and Evidence-based.

What is an academic piece of work

Your assignment needs to be targeted . It should:

Be focused on the questions and criteria
Make a decision
Follow an argument
How to be targeted
Academic keywords or clue words

Your assignment needs to be in-depth . You should consider your questions and criteria thoroughly, thinking about all possible aspects, and including the argument both for and against different viewpoints.

You should:

Identify topic areas
Plan your assignment
Think about your introduction and conclusion
How to be in-depth
How to read quickly

An academic writing style is measured. By this, we mean that it’s:

Emotionally neutral
Formal – written in the third person and in full sentences
How to be measured

Your assignment needs to be evidence-based . You should:

Reference all the ideas in your work
Paraphrase your evidence
Apply critical thinking to your evidence
How to be evidence-based
How to paraphrase

Once you’ve found all your evidence, and have decided what to say in each section, you need to write it up as paragraphs. Each paragraph should be on a single topic, making a single point. A paragraph is usually around a third of a page.

We find Godwin’s (2014) WEED model very helpful for constructing paragraphs.

W is for What

You should begin your paragraph with the topic or point that you’re making, so that it’s clear to your lecturer. Everything in the paragraph should fit in with this opening sentence.

E is for Evidence

The middle of your paragraph should be full of evidence – this is where all your references should be incorporated. Make sure that your evidence fits in with your topic.

E is for Examples

Sometimes it’s useful to expand on your evidence. If you’re talking about a case study, the example might be how your point relates to the particular scenario being discussed.

D is for Do

You should conclude your paragraph with the implications of your discussion. This gives you the opportunity to add your commentary, which is very important in assignments which require you to use critical analysis.

So, in effect, each paragraph is like a mini-essay, with an introduction, main body and conclusion.

Allow yourself some TIME to proofread your assignment. You’ll probably want to proofread it several times.

You should read it through at least once for sense and structure, to see if your paragraphs flow. Check that your introduction matches the content of your assignment. You’ll also want to make sure that you’ve been concise in your writing style.

You’ll then need to read it again to check for grammatical errors, typos and that your references are correct.

It’s best if you can create some distance from your assignment by coming back to it after a few days. It’s also often easier to pick out mistakes if you read your work aloud.

How to proofread

Online tutorial for writing assignments

We have an online tutorial to support academic writing. Click on the image below or go to Academic Writing to view the tutorial.

10 Strategies For Writing Law Assignments Like A Pro

Are you a law student who’s struggling with writing law assignments? You’ve got a tough assignment coming up. You’re nervous, and you’re not sure how to write it.

Well, you’re not alone, most law students often struggle with law assignments and prefer to seek law assignment help . This is because law school assignments are quite different from other types of written work. They require in-depth research and a good understanding of the subject. Plus, you also need to present your ideas clearly and concisely in a way that made sense to the audience.

But don’t worry! We’ve got some great tips to help you write like a pro, no matter what type of law assignment you’re dealing with. Whether you’re learning about the law of torts, contract law, or property law, these strategies will help you tackle any type of legal assignment.

And best of all? They won’t take much time out of your busy schedule. So let’s start exploring proven strategies to write an outstanding law assignment!

How To Write Law Assignments Like A Pro?

Whether you’re a student or a lawyer, here are 10 strategies to help you write like a pro:

1. Read, Take Notes, And Then Read Some More.

The first step in writing a law assignment is to read the question carefully. In order to write an effective answer, you need to understand the question first. Read it over and over again, looking at each word and phrase for meaning.

Look at the assignment instructions as well—are there any specific formatting requirements? What kind of format do you need to follow?

Read relevant case law, legislation, or other sources of information that might help make your argument stronger. It’s important to know where in these documents you can find what you need. So when it comes time for writing your own version of an argument, everything fits together nicely!

Take notes as you go along—this will help keep track of all those details about what was said where (and when). Then review those notes before moving on. Make sure they are clear enough so you can understand them without too much trouble too!

1. Break It Down Into Steps And Set Yourself Deadlines.

In law school, assignments are often long and complicated. This makes it easy for us to get overwhelmed by the amount of work we have on our plates. To help stay organized and focused, break down your assignment into manageable steps and set yourself deadlines for each step.

Also, Be consistent with your writing style and tone. You don’t want your reader confused by whether they’re reading someone who’s trying really hard or someone who doesn’t care about their work or their audience at all.

2. Use Different Sources And Be Critical Of Them.

If you’re writing a law assignment, it’s important to use multiple sources. This helps give you a balanced view of the material and makes sure that you get all sides of an argument. While this can sometimes feel like too much work, it will pay off in the long run by giving your reader access to an accurate representation of what happened in court cases or legislative debates.

You should also be critical when evaluating these sources: check their dates of publication. Make sure they were written by experts on their topic. Ensure they are unbiased (not taking sides). Determine if they’re credible (whether or not they have credibility within their field).

3. Plan Your Essay Before You Start Writing.

When you’re writing an essay, it can be tempting to dive right in and start writing. But this is a mistake because it leads to writer’s block and procrastination. Instead, plan your professional law essay help before you start writing!

Planning helps you stay on track by giving your brain something familiar to focus on during the process of creating new sentences and paragraphs (instead of being stuck on one word). Planning also helps prevent writer’s block from happening. Once you have an outline for your paper or assignment, there are no more excuses for not being able to write anything else—you’re just doing what needs doing!

4. Make A Schedule And Stick To It

Making a schedule and sticking to it is one of the most important things you can do when writing law assignments.

Make sure that you set aside time each day for writing. It’s easy to get distracted by other things, so make sure your schedule includes breaks in between writing sessions!
Don’t try to do too much at once—it’s more productive if you take breaks and spread out your workload over several hours or days instead of trying to complete everything all in one go (or even worse, procrastinating and ending up doing nothing).
One of the best ways to stay organized is by using a planner or calendar. This will help you plan out your assignments so that you don’t get overwhelmed by all the work that needs to be done.
It’s also important to make sure that your schedule takes into account any other commitments or responsibilities in your life—such as part-time jobs, etc.

5. Take A Break And Come Back To It With Fresh Eyes.

You don’t have to keep writing until you finish the assignment. It’s fine if you take a break every few pages or so and come back with fresh eyes. There are many ways that taking breaks can help improve your writing.

First, it gives you time to think about what you’re doing and how it makes sense. Second, taking breaks allows writers to process information better than if they were just sitting behind their computers all day long trying desperately not to fall asleep.

When you’re writing, it’s easy to get distracted by social media or TV shows, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that these things will help you write better. Instead, use them as rewards after your work is done!

6. Don’t Forget About The References!

References and citations are essential for your assignment. Make sure to format your references correctly and cite them correctly, too. Be sure to include citations in the body of the text, and use them correctly. For example, if you cite a case, put the citation in parentheses after the quote. If you cite an article, put it in square brackets after the quote.

The best way to avoid plagiarism is by following the proper citation method of author, title, page number(s), year published, and name of publisher or journal (if possible). For example: “Chapman & Hall Law Review article by Bhatia v. State of Texas (2016)”

The key is to ensure that when your reader looks at your paper they know where to find what you’re talking about. If ever you have any doubts about what a source says in its reference section then check it with another source first before quoting it directly.

7. Proofread And Proofread Again.

Proofreading is the most important step in writing law assignments as a professional. It is a key part of writing and should be done before you submit your work for review

Make sure you have a good grasp of the material before proofreading and make sure to use a dictionary and grammar checker. If you’re not careful, your work could be riddled with errors that make it hard for the reader to understand what you have written.

You can ask a friend or family member to read your paper before your professor grade it. You can also pay someone else to do this work for you or maybe even hire an expert proofreader at an hourly rate!

8. Know When To Ask For Help

If you’re struggling with an assignment, don’t hesitate to ask for help. It’s perfectly fine to reach out and ask your professor or classmates for assistance in completing the assignment. If there are no other options available, though, don’t hesitate to reach out to senior students who might have more experience than you do with this type of writing assignment.

Finally, think about taking advantage of resources outside of class. Library staff members will often feel happy simply by hearing from their peers that they need some extra help!

9. Make Sure You Don’t Forget Your Priorities

It’s important to remember that you can’t always be writing . You also have to eat, sleep, and exercise—you need your body to be healthy so that it can do its job.

You should also make sure you’re not neglecting other important things like going out with friends or having fun!

If you find yourself struggling with writer’s block, don’t feel like it’s a sign of failure. It can happen to anyone, even professional writers. The most important thing is to remember that you’re not alone—and there are plenty of ways you can overcome it!

If possible, go back and check your research sources again before starting on your paper—you might find something new!

10. Turn Your Law Assignments From Nightmares Into Manageable Tasks.

The k step to turning your law assignments into manageable tasks is staying on top of things. You can do this by setting deadlines, sticking to them, and keeping everything organized—like your research material. As long as you keep focused and stay on top of things, you can turn your law assignments from nightmares into manageable tasks.

Here are some tips for managing your time effectively:

Keep track of when you’re going to write each assignment. This will also help prevent procrastination from creeping up on you!
If possible, try scheduling breaks during working periods instead of staring at a computer screen all day long. This will help keep your mind fresh and you can give proper attention to your task.

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Assignment is a legal term whereby an individual, the “assignor,” transfers rights, property, or other benefits to another known as the “ assignee .” This concept is used in both contract and property law. The term can refer to either the act of transfer or the rights /property/benefits being transferred.

Contract Law

Under contract law, assignment of a contract is both: (1) an assignment of rights; and (2) a delegation of duties , in the absence of evidence otherwise. For example, if A contracts with B to teach B guitar for $50, A can assign this contract to C. That is, this assignment is both: (1) an assignment of A’s rights under the contract to the $50; and (2) a delegation of A’s duty to teach guitar to C. In this example, A is both the “assignor” and the “delegee” who d elegates the duties to another (C), C is known as the “ obligor ” who must perform the obligations to the assignee , and B is the “ assignee ” who is owed duties and is liable to the “ obligor ”.

(1) Assignment of Rights/Duties Under Contract Law

There are a few notable rules regarding assignments under contract law. First, if an individual has not yet secured the contract to perform duties to another, he/she cannot assign his/her future right to an assignee . That is, if A has not yet contracted with B to teach B guitar, A cannot assign his/her rights to C. Second, rights cannot be assigned when they materially change the obligor ’s duty and rights. Third, the obligor can sue the assignee directly if the assignee does not pay him/her. Following the previous example, this means that C ( obligor ) can sue B ( assignee ) if C teaches guitar to B, but B does not pay C $50 in return.

(2) Delegation of Duties

If the promised performance requires a rare genius or skill, then the delegee cannot delegate it to the obligor. It can only be delegated if the promised performance is more commonplace. Further, an obligee can sue if the assignee does not perform. However, the delegee is secondarily liable unless there has been an express release of the delegee. That is, if B does want C to teach guitar but C refuses to, then B can sue C. If C still refuses to perform, then B can compel A to fulfill the duties under secondary liability.

Lastly, a related concept is novation , which is when a new obligor substitutes and releases an old obligor. If novation occurs, then the original obligor’s duties are wiped out. However, novation requires an original obligee’s consent .

Property Law

Under property law, assignment typically arises in landlord-tenant situations. For example, A might be renting from landlord B but wants to another party (C) to take over the property. In this scenario, A might be able to choose between assigning and subleasing the property to C. If assigning , A would be giving C the entire balance of the term, with no reversion to anyone whereas if subleasing , A would be giving C for a limited period of the remaining term. Significantly, under assignment C would have privity of estate with the landlord while under a sublease, C would not.

[Last updated in May of 2020 by the Wex Definitions Team ]

business law
landlord & tenant
property & real estate law
trusts, inheritances & estates
wex definitions

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Rahimi, Decision Timing, and Opinion-Writing Predictions

May 08, 2024
Categories:
Supreme Court
Second Amendment
Prohibited Persons

By: Andrew Willinger

On November 7, 2023, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in United States v. Rahimi —a Second Amendment challenge to the federal ban on individuals subject to certain domestic violence restraining orders possessing guns for the length of the order. The Fifth Circuit struck down the law, finding that it was unsupported by the American historical tradition of gun regulation (we covered that decision here and here ). It has now been nearly six full months since the Rahimi argument, and two major questions are on the minds of many Second Amendment scholars and others following the case: when will the Supreme Court issue its decision, and which justice will write the majority opinion?

On the first question, we don’t have much guidance simply because the Supreme Court has heard so few Second Amendment cases overall. Bruen , McDonald , and Heller —the Court’s three major pronouncements in this area—were all issued in late June, close to or on the Court’s final decision day of the term. Bruen had a much longer gap, however, from oral argument to decision. Bruen was argued on November 3, 2021 and not decided until June 23, 2022 (232 days later). McDonald and Heller , by contrast, were each decided about 3-4 months after they were argued (118 days for McDonald , and only 100 days for Heller ). The Supreme Court has decided one other Second Amendment case in the modern era: Caetano v. Massachusetts , where the court summarily reversed the Massachusetts Supreme Court’s holding that stun guns were not protected “arms” in a per curiam decision without holding oral argument. That decision was issued on March 21, 2016—294 days after Caetano filed her petition for certiorari and after the petition was re-listed for 11 different conferences. For high-profile cases argued early in the term, like Rahimi and Bruen , a gap of seven-plus months is not unusual. Dobbs had a similar gap from argument to decision (205 days), as did other recent blockbuster constitutional cases such as Bostock v. Clayton County (240 days) and Masterpiece Cakeshop (181 days).

Although it’s impossible to predict with any certainty, the most likely scenario seems to be a mid-to-late June decision in Rahimi . After wrapping up arguments for the current term on April 25, the justices currently appear to be hard at work on the 40-plus outstanding opinions they will issue by the end of June (the Court has issued 18 decisions so far). The Court’s calendar lists the next possible decision day as this Thursday, May 9.

Perhaps the more interesting question is which justice will write the majority opinion in Rahimi . As of late April , Justice Sotomayor had the highest number of majority opinions among the set already issued with four. Justice Barrett was close behind with three, followed by Justices Jackson, Kagan, and Gorsuch with two each. Justice Alito was the only justice without a majority opinion in any decided case. With so many opinions still outstanding, it’s difficult to draw any major conclusions from this data—and the author may depend in large part on the scope of the decision in Rahimi (in other words, to what extent the Court attempts to cabin its holding to only the specific provision at issue as opposed to opining on the constitutionality of related gun restrictions such as felon possession bans).

To me, at least, the most likely candidates to write the majority opinion in Rahimi are, in order of decreasing likelihood [1] : (1) Justice Barrett, (2) Justice Kavanaugh, (3) Chief Justice Roberts, and (4) Justice Thomas. Justice Barrett seems a natural choice given her Kanter dissent and the possibility that the Court adopts a version of the principle she endorsed in that case: namely, that “[h]istory . . . demonstrates that legislatures have the power to prohibit dangerous people from possessing guns.” The Solicitor General argued in favor of this “dangerousness” principle at oral argument. While the government likely supports a more expansive conception of dangerousness with regard to past criminal convictions than Justice Barrett, she seems likely to agree with the SG about how the concept applies in the domestic violence context. Justice Kavanaugh is a close second, for me, because he is often credited with developing the text, history, and tradition test as a circuit judge (dissenting from a 2011 decision rejecting a challenge to D.C.’s assault weapons ban), and because he emphasized in that case that governments have “flexibility and power to impose gun regulations under a test based on text, history, and tradition.” The Chief Justice joined Justice Kavanaugh in what was essentially a cautionary concurrence in Bruen , and thus seems a likely candidate to a write a decision in a high-profile case explaining that Bruen was not meant to disturb the type of law at issue. If the Court ends up taking a narrow approach to the case, then it’s also possible that Justice Thomas could emerge as the author—essentially offering a clarification of his earlier majority opinion in Bruen .

It would surprise me if Justice Alito, Gorsuch, Kagan, Sotomayor, or Jackson ended up writing the majority opinion—although it’s entirely possible we could see concurrences or dissents from one or more of those justices. Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, and especially Jackson all appear to be in favor of a broader repudiation of the Bruen test, one that almost certainly lacks majority support on the current Court. Justice Alito appeared somewhat skeptical of the government’s case at oral argument and focused on the procedural mechanics of the DVRO law, but I think it is unlikely the Court will decide the case on that basis. And Justice Gorsuch seemed to be of the opinion that (as Professor Jake Charles has argued in these two prior posts) Rahimi’s facial challenge must fail because the law is constitutional in some applications; but that an as-applied challenge might be possible if the underlying protective order did not contain an actual finding of dangerousness. This makes Gorsuch a likely vote to reverse, but other justices did not seem as interested in the facial challenge aspect.

[1] This analysis largely assumes the Court will to reverse the Fifth Circuit and uphold 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), which appears to be the most likely outcome based on oral argument.

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Man or bear? Hypothetical question sparks conversation about women's safety

Women explain why they would feel safer encountering a bear in the forest than a man they didn't know. the hypothetical has sparked a broader discussion about why women fear men..

If you were alone in the woods, would you rather encounter a bear or a man? Answers to that hypothetical question have sparked a debate about why the vast majority say they would feel more comfortable choosing a bear.

The topic has been hotly discussed for weeks as men and women chimed in with their thoughts all over social media.

Screenshot HQ , a TikTok account, started the conversation, asking a group of women whether they would rather run into a man they didn't know or a bear in the forest. Out of the seven women interviewed for the piece, only one picked a man.

"Bear. Man is scary," one of the women responds.

A number of women echoed the responses given in the original video, writing in the comments that they, too, would pick a bear over a man. The hypothetical has people split, with some expressing their sadness over the state of the world and others cracking jokes. Some men were flabbergasted.

Here's what we know.

A bear is the safer choice, no doubt about it, many say

There were a lot of responses, more than 65,000, under the original post. Many wrote that they understood why the women would choose a bear.

"No one’s gonna ask me if I led the bear on or give me a pamphlet on bear attack prevention tips," @celestiallystunning wrote.

@Brennduhh wrote: "When I die leave my body in the woods, the wolves will be gentler than any man."

"I know a bear's intentions," another woman wrote. "I don't know a man's intentions. no matter how nice they are."

Other TikTok users took it one step further, posing the hypothetical question to loved ones. Meredith Steele, who goes by @babiesofsteele , asked her husband last week whether he would rather have their daughter encounter a bear or a man in the woods. Her husband said he "didn't like either option" but said he was leaning toward the bear.

"Maybe it's a friendly bear," he says.

Diana, another TikTok user , asked her sister-in-law what she would choose and was left speechless.

"I asked her the question, you know, just for giggles. She was like, 'You know, I would rather it be a bear because if the bear attacks me, and I make it out of the woods, everybody’s gonna believe me and have sympathy for me," she said. "But if a man attacks me and I make it out, I’m gonna spend my whole life trying to get people to believe me and have sympathy for me.'"

Bear vs. man debate stirs the pot, woman and some men at odds

The hypothetical has caused some tension, with some women arguing that men will never truly understand what it's like to be a woman or the inherent dangers at play.

Social media users answered this question for themselves, producing memes, spoken word poetry and skits in the days and weeks since.

So, what would you choose?

A newsletter briefing on the intersection of technology and politics.

A college professor wants to use Section 230 against Big Tech

Happy Wednesday! We can add Katy Perry’s mom and whoever runs Instagram’s Instagram account to the long list of folks who could use a primer on how to spot deepfakes . Send news tips to: [email protected]

A college professor’s lawsuit turns Section 230 against Big Tech

Ethan Zuckerman , a longtime technologist and social media scholar, thought he fully understood Section 230, the 1996 statute that contains the famous “26 words that created the internet.” But three years ago, he was reading its full text aloud to his class at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst when suddenly, in his words, “a lightbulb went off in my head.”

It struck him that the law, widely understood to shield tech companies from being sued for their users’ posts, also protects users. In particular, it protects people who build tools to filter or moderate online content. People like Zuckerman’s friend Louis Barclay , a developer who in 2021 was permanently banned from Facebook and Instagram for developing a tool called “Unfollow Everything” that lets users, well, unfollow everything and restart their feeds fresh.

Three years later, that eureka moment has turned into a lawsuit — one that, if successful, could loosen Big Tech’s grip on how people use social media.

The suit, filed by Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute on Zuckerman’s behalf, asks a California court to declare that Meta can’t ban or sue him for building an unfollowing tool inspired by Barclay’s. (You can read it here .) If the suit succeeds, Zuckerman plans to release the tool, called “Unfollow Everything 2.0,” and hopes a wave of other tools to give users more control over their online lives will follow.

He has in mind tools like technologist Tracy Chou ’s Block Party, an app that helped Twitter users squelch spam and harassment — as well as third-party algorithms or content moderation systems that let people filter and order their social media feeds in different ways. Such tools are sometimes called “middleware” and have been touted by the Stanford political scientist Francis Fukuyama as a way to break Silicon Valley’s chokehold on online speech.

Zuckerman’s tool, like Barclay’s before it, is meant to help Facebook users break their scrolling habits and reset the social network to one populated by people they’re actually close with. He also plans to offer users the chance to participate in a study to track how their Facebook use changes. He said he designed it to be “privacy-preserving,” anticipating Meta’s possible objection to the tool on data privacy grounds.

“I think in many ways Section 230 has become shorthand for, ‘The internet giants have too much power,’” Zuckerman said. “The funny thing is, when you actually read 230, it has language in there that could give us a path to more control” for users.

Meta, which declined to comment, has a history of shutting down such projects.

Protecting users’ privacy was the company’s justification in 2021, when it pulled the plug on New York University’s Ad Observatory, a tool to study the placement of political ads on the social network. Like Barclay, the New York University researchers behind the project found themselves banned from the site . Facebook said it made the move to comply with a Federal Trade Commission privacy agreement — an excuse the FTC rejected .

Chou, the founder and CEO of Block Party, said she welcomes Zuckerman’s suit. “It's no secret that people are widely dissatisfied with platforms, their algorithms and their dark patterns, and only more so because they have no choice about any of it,” she said. “Enabling more tools to live in this ecosystem could be as transformative as the app store for iOS, with applications that people could never have imagined in the beginning.”

The lawsuit’s chances of success are unclear.

An overly broad ruling that forces Meta to allow “any third party to come along and hoover up data in the name of middleware” could risk opening the door to a repeat of the Cambridge Analytica affair, as Daphne Keller of Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center pointed out in a post on X . But she suggested that a tool like Zuckerman’s could perhaps be immunized for collecting the data necessary to function while still being liable for any misuse of the data.

Jeff Kosseff , a professor of cyberscience at the Naval Academy and author of a book on Section 230 , said the case relies on a theory that has yet to be tested in court. He said the provision it draws on was meant at least in part to protect the use of parental control tools that filter out adult content. It has also been used by anti-malware companies to defend themselves against claims that they’re unfairly filtering other sites. But he’s not aware of anyone using it to seek a preemptive declaration that middleware is permitted.

“I think it’s a fascinating case that could have pretty significant implications for middleware,” Kosseff said. “I wouldn’t even hazard to predict how it’s going to come out, because these issues are so novel.”

Government scanner

Commerce Department revokes more export licenses to China’s Huawei (By Eva Dou and Ellen Nakashima)

In Tesla Autopilot probe, US prosecutors focus on securities, wire fraud (Reuters)

U.S., U.K. police identify and charge Russian leader of LockBit ransomware gang (TechCrunch)

Microsoft launches AI chatbot for spies (Ars Technica)

Hill happenings

TikTok files court challenge to U.S. law that could lead to ban (By Drew Harwell)

Inside the industry

OpenAI is readying a search product to rival Google, Perplexity (Bloomberg)

OpenAI says it can now detect images spawned by its software — most of the time (The Wall Street Journal)

Meta will let advertisers create campaigns using new generative AI tools (Bloomberg News)

Substack courts TikTokers with new ‘creators’ program (By Taylor Lorenz)

Privacy monitor

How to opt out of the privacy nightmare that comes with new Hondas (Sherwood)

The iPad lost. Smartphones won. (By Shira Ovide)

The Senate Commerce Committee holds a hearing , “Strengthening Data Security to Protect Consumers,” today at 2:30 p.m.
Justice Department antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter discusses competition enforcement and Big Tech at a Washington Post Live event on Thursday at 3 p.m.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee holds a hearing , “Perspectives from the Fields: The State of Rural Broadband in America,” Friday at 10 a.m.

Before you log off

aubrey drake graham and kendrick lamar duckworth sound like two 19th century explorers who both died in a race to the south pole — kingseeker peter frampton (@revhowardarson) May 7, 2024

That ’ s all for today — thank you so much for joining us! Make sure to tell others to subscribe to The Technology 202 here . Get in touch with Cristiano (via email or social media ) and Will (via email or social media ) for tips, feedback or greetings!

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Guest Essay

I Was an Attorney at the D.A.’s Office. This Is What the Trump Case Is Really About.

In a black-and-white image, a scene of people gathered outside a courthouse in Manhattan.

By Rebecca Roiphe

Ms. Roiphe is a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Now that the lawyers are laying out their respective theories of the case in the criminal prosecution of Donald Trump in New York, it would be understandable if people’s heads are spinning. The defense lawyers claimed this is a case about hush money as a legitimate tool in democratic elections, while the prosecutors insisted it is about “a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election.”

Yet this case is not really about election interference, nor is it a politically motivated attempt to criminalize a benign personal deal. Boring as it may sound, it is a case about business integrity.

It’s not surprising that the lawyers on both sides are trying to make this about something sexier. This is a narrative device used to make the jurors and the public side with them, but it has also created confusion. On the one hand, some legal experts claim that the conduct charged in New York was the original election interference. On the other hand, some critics think the criminal case is a witch hunt, and others claim it is trivial at best and at worst the product of selective prosecution.

As someone who worked in the Manhattan district attorney’s office and enforced the laws that Mr. Trump is accused of violating, I stand firmly in neither camp. It is an important and straightforward case, albeit workmanlike and unglamorous. In time, after the smoke created by lawyers has cleared, it will be easy to see why the prosecution is both solid and legitimate.

It would hardly make for a dramatic opening statement or cable news sound bite, but the case is about preventing wealthy people from using their businesses to commit crimes and hide from accountability. Manhattan prosecutors have long considered it their province to ensure the integrity of the financial markets. As Robert Morgenthau, a former Manhattan district attorney, liked to say , “You cannot prosecute crime in the streets without prosecuting crime in the suites.”

Lawmakers in New York, the financial capital of the world, consider access to markets and industry in New York a privilege for businesspeople. It is a felony to abuse that privilege by doctoring records to commit or conceal crimes, even if the businessman never accomplishes the goal and even if the false records never see the light of day. The idea is that an organization’s records should reflect an honest accounting. It is not a crime to make a mistake, but lying is a different story. It is easy to evade accountability by turning a business into a cover, providing a false trail for whichever regulator might care to look. The law ( falsification of business records ) deprives wealthy, powerful businessmen of the ability to do so with impunity, at least when they’re conducting business in the city.

Prosecutors and New York courts have interpreted this law generously, with its general purpose in mind. The element of intent to defraud carries a broad meaning, which is not limited to the intent of cheating someone out of money or property. Further, intent is often proved with circumstantial evidence, as is common in white-collar cases. After presenting evidence, prosecutors ask jurors to use their common sense to infer what the possible intent may be, and New York jurors frequently conclude that a defendant must have gone to the trouble of creating this false paper trail for a reason.

Mr. Trump is accused of creating 11 false invoices, 12 false ledger entries and 11 false checks and check stubs, with the intent to violate federal election laws, state election laws or state tax laws. The number of lies it took to create this false record itself helps prove intent. His defense attorneys will claim that he was merely trying to bury a false story to protect his family from embarrassment. The timing of the payments — immediately after the potentially damaging “Access Hollywood” tape was released and right before the election — makes that claim implausible.

As many have pointed out, Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, is a witness with a remarkable amount of baggage. But as with most business records cases, his testimony will largely add color to the tweets, handwritten notes, bank documents and shell corporations. Documents don’t lie.

More important, jurors are particularly good at applying common sense. Mr. Trump didn’t go to all this trouble just to protect his family members, who might have known about accusations of his involvement with the porn star Stormy Daniels or similar ones. We may never learn which crime the jurors believe Trump was seeking to commit or cover up, but they can still conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that this was his intent.

It is not unusual for lawyers to give narrative arcs to their legal theories, reasons to care about the evidence and animating thoughts that may make jurors more inclined to convict or acquit.

When the jurors deliberate, they will weigh the warring narratives in light of the evidence, and the judge will instruct them in the law. Then the narrative frames should recede into the background. The key is to offer one that is both captivating and closely tied to the facts so that when the jurors put the pieces of evidence together, it is the story they believe.

If one side promises too much, it risks losing the jurors. In their opening remarks, Mr. Trump’s lawyers insisted that he was innocent, that all the witnesses were liars. Such a sweeping theory is a dangerous strategy because if the jurors believe part of the prosecution’s case, just one or two of the witnesses, then the jurors may lose faith in the defense altogether.

For the prosecution, the elements of the crime in this case do not require a finding that Mr. Trump interfered with the 2016 election. Nor does it matter whether he had sex with Ms. Daniels. Instead, the real elements concern the way Mr. Trump used his business for a cover-up. By emphasizing the crime he was intending to conceal rather than the false business records, the prosecution also risks confusing the jury into thinking about whether the lies affected the election. It might lead them to wonder why Mr. Trump wasn’t charged with this alleged election crime by the federal government — a talking point that he has promoted publicly.

Even if the case seems simpler in this light, we are still left with the question: Is it really worth charging a former president for this? While the New York business records law is important, it is no doubt true that the conduct pales in comparison with the effort to overthrow the 2020 election, at issue in the special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 prosecution of Mr. Trump.

Taking this case on its own terms as a business records case offers a different and arguably more convincing way to defend its legitimacy. It is a simple case that is similar to hundreds of other cases brought in New York. The simplicity and run-of-the-mill nature of the prosecution make it easier to defend against claims of politicization in the following sense: Mr. Trump was a businessman for many years in New York long before he was president. If others would be prosecuted for this conduct and no man is above the law, then he should be, too.

So by all means, listen to the stories that the lawyers tell, soak up the drama of hush-money payments and the alternate universe in which Hillary Clinton won the election. But just as the jurors should ultimately consider the facts and the law, it would be wise for everyone else to focus on what the case is really about.

Rebecca Roiphe, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, is a law professor at New York Law School.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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COMMENTS

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