Appellate Briefing Strategies: Framing the Issue and Drafting the Statement of Facts
Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A
This CLE webinar will offer practical methods for framing the issues on appeal and drafting the facts of the case so that they tell the court a clear, understandable story. The panel will then guide practitioners in how to efficiently edit what has been drafted, including editing one's own writing, editing the writing of someone more senior, and editing the work of someone more junior.
Outline
- Framing the issue
- The importance of framing the issue
- Approaches to identifying the right issue
- Tools for drafting a persuasive statement of the issue
- Dealing with court rules regarding form of the issue
- Drafting the statement of facts
- Importance of the record
- Tools for managing a massive record
- Naming the parties in the brief
- Elements of storytelling in the brief
- Editing
- Oneself
- Senior attorneys
- Junior attorneys
- Writing resources
Benefits
The panel will discuss these and other key issues:
- What makes a powerful statement of issue(s) on appeal?
- What are the best ways to take advantage of the reasoning (or lack of reasoning) in the opinion below?
- How should the statement of facts be organized to tell a clear and compelling story?
Faculty
Bennett Evan Cooper
Member
Dickinson Wright
Author of Federal Appellate Practice: Ninth Circuit (2015-2016 ed.), a 1,500-page treatise published annually, Mr.... | Read More
Author of Federal Appellate Practice: Ninth Circuit (2015-2016 ed.), a 1,500-page treatise published annually, Mr. Cooper is respected as a leading practitioner before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In addition, he has represented parties and amici curiae in the U.S. Supreme Court and the Second, Third, Fifth, Tenth, Eleventh, D.C. and Federal Circuits, as well as various state appellate courts. Mr. Cooper is a past chair of the ABA’s Council of Appellate Lawyers and began his legal career as a law clerk to Ninth Circuit Judge (and later Chief Judge) Alex Kozinski.
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Harker Rhodes
Partner
Clement & Murphy
Mr. Rhodes' practice focuses on Supreme Court and appellate litigation, as well trial court and bankruptcy court... | Read More
Mr. Rhodes' practice focuses on Supreme Court and appellate litigation, as well trial court and bankruptcy court matters involving appellate issues. He has achieved success for his clients in numerous cases at all levels of the federal judicial system and in state courts across the country, including high-stakes appeals with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line. Mr. Rhodes is an accomplished oral advocate, with a record of winning arguments in front of multiple federal appellate and trial courts, and has written successful briefs in countless Supreme Court and federal circuit court cases. His experience has earned him recognition by Legal 500 U.S. as an “up-and-coming name” in appellate practice, as well as multiple awards for his pro bono work. Mr. Rhodes' appellate matters have involved both civil and criminal cases, and have addressed a wide range of subjects, including constitutional litigation, administrative law, antitrust, bankruptcy, CERCLA, corporate veil-piercing, criminal procedure, ERISA, federal preemption, labor law, personal jurisdiction, sovereign immunity, and white-collar crime. He also has experience advising clients in out-of-court mediation proceedings, and counseling clients faced with significant litigation or regulatory risks. In addition, Mr. Rhodes maintains an active pro bono practice, where he has obtained success in multiple appeals on behalf of indigent and incarcerated clients.
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