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Messing Noah A. The Art of Advocacy: Briefs, Motions, and Writing Strategies of America's Best Lawyers. Aspen Publishers,2013. — 310 p.. 2013

The Art of Advocacy: Briefs, Motions, and Writing Strategies of America's Best Lawyers presents more than 150 examples of masterful advocacy to show lawyers how to write winning motions and briefs. The book focuses on the strategic and substantive choices that top litigators make, drawing examples from important, timely, and controversial cases. Detailed annotations give readers insight into what makes each document so effective. In addition to presenting a host of storytelling, stylistic, and organizational strategies, the book's examples demonstrate how to build and rebut different types of arguments. The Appendices provide a wealth of additional resources, including Karl Llewellyn's previously unpublished advice from 1957 about the art of advocacy, which one top law professor described as the best advice on legal writing I've ever seen.

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Table of Contents
About the Author
Summary of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
How to Get the Most from This Book
The Art of Advocacy
PART 1 FACTS
In this part of the book, we examine how lawyers use facts to advocate for their clients.
Chapter 1 Facts: The Basics (Victims and Villains)
In this chapter, we review various examples of how to tell the court about the facts that led to your client’s dispute.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Example 1.1
Example 1.2
Example 1.3
Example 1.4
Example 1.5
Example 1.6
Example 1.7
Example 1.8
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BASICS OF USING FACTS
Chapter 2 Facts: Using a Case’s Procedural History to Help Your Client
When top lawyers discuss the procedural history of their case, they use that discussion to advance their clients’ interests.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Example 2.1
Example 2.2
Example 2.3
Example 2.4
Example 2.5
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT USING PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Chapter 3 Facts: Advanced Techniques
We’re not done with facts.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Example 3.1
Example 3.2
Example 3.3
Example 3.4
Example 3.5
Example 3.6
Example 3.7
Example 3.8
Example 3.9
Example 3.10
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT ADVANCED TECHNIQUES WITH FACTS
PART II ARGUMENTS
As we saw in the first three chapters, facts persuade.
Chapter 4 How to Build Arguments Based on Authorities
The effective use of authorities requires three primary skills.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Example 4.1
Example 4.2
Example 4.3
Example 4.4
Example 4.5
Example 4.6
Example 4.7
Example 4.8
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT BUILDING AFFIRMATIVE, AUTHORITY-BASED ARGUMENTS
Chapter 5 Countering Your Adversary’s Arguments
We just considered how to build arguments with authorities. We now explore how to dismantle these arguments.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Example 5.1
Example 5.2
Example 5.3
Example 5.4
Example 5.5
Example 5.6
Example 5.7
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT COUNTERING AN ADVERSARY’S ARGUMENTS
Chapter 6 Applying Facts in Arguments
This chapter focuses on the most important technique for proving that a rule applies or should apply (or that it doesn’t apply): using facts.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Example 6.1
Example 6.2
Example 6.3
Example 6.4
Example 6.5
Example 6.6
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT APPLYING FACTS IN ARGUMENTS
Chapter 7 Textual Arguments
The meaning of words is surprisingly elusive.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Example 7.1
Example 7.2
Example 7.3
Example 7.4
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TEXTUAL ARGUMENTS
Chapter 8 Arguments Based on Legislative History
When lawyers try to persuade judges, they often find it advantageous to discuss the process by which a legislature enacted a law.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Example 8.1
Example 8.2
Example 8.3
Example 8.4
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Chapter 9 Policy Arguments
Many judges ascribe to Judge Richard Posner’s observation that lawyers should emphasize the facts that “influence a legislative decision” and “the practical stakes in their cases.”1
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Example 9.1
Example 9.2
Example 9.3
Example 9.4
Example 9.5
Example 9.6
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT POLICY ARGUMENTS
Chapter 10 Historical Arguments
Judges love precedent. Nothing comforts them like knowing that their actions reflect a traditional, sensible, time-tested approach to a problem.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Example 10.1
Example 10.2
Example 10.3
Example 10.4
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT HISTORICAL ARGUMENTS
PART III OTHER ISSUES RELATING TO BRIEFS
Having explored the two bulkiest parts of a typical motion or brief — the Statement of Facts and the Argument — we turn to several other vital advocacy skills.
Chapter 11 Selecting and Organizing Arguments
Your Table of Contents is so pivotal to good advocacy that this chapter may be the most important in the book.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Example 11.1
Example 11.2
Example 11.3
Example 11.4
Example 11.5
Example 11.6
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT SELECTING AND ORGANIZING ARGUMENTS
Chapter 12 Questions Presented
In an appellate brief, the Question Presented is a statement of the legal issue or issues that each party wants the court to resolve.1
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Section 12.1 Short, Neutral Questions
Section 12.2 Short, Aggressive Questions
Section 12.3 The Trend Toward Longer Questions Pdecision overturning that verdict.resented
Section 12.4 The Massive, Single-Sentence Question
Section 12.5 Multiple Questions
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT QUESTIONS PRESENTED
Chapter 13 Introductions and Summaries of Argument
This chapter explores two related parts of a brief: the Introduction and the Summary of Argument.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Example 13.1
Example 13.2
Example 13.3
Example 13.4
Example 13.5
Example 13.6
Chapter 14 Motions
Motions are how lawyers typically ask a trial court to resolve one or more issues within a case.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Example 14.1
Example 14.2
Example 14.3
Example 14.4
Example 14.5
Example 14.6
Example 14.7
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT MOTIONS
Chapter 15 Specific Types of Appellate Briefs
Certain types of briefs raise distinct strategic challenges, so this chapter highlights those differences (some of which will help you when you write at trial courts, too).
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Example 15.1
Example 15.2
Example 15.3
Example 15.4
Example 15.5
Example 15.6
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT BRIEFS OTHER THAN THE “OPENING” BRIEF
PART IV GENERAL WRITING ADVICE
Chapter 16 The Writing Side of Legal writing
Most of this book focuses on the word legal in “legal writing” — challenges such as the art of building arguments and of weaving a client’s facts into a story that compels a favorable legal conclusion.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
TIP 1 Write short sentences.
TIP 2 control the number of messages per sentence.
TIP 3 Vary sentence structure.
TIP 4 Use strong topic sentences that match the contents of the paragraph.
TIP 5 Use strong verbs, especially monosyllabic verbs.
TIP 6 Use verbs instead of nominalizations.
TIP 7 Avoid passive verbs.
TIP 8 Place familiar information before unfamiliar information.
TIP 9 Place the sentence’s subject and principal verb near the beginning of the sentence.
TIP 10 Watch out for ambiguity.
TIP 11 Prune your prose.
TIP 12 Develop the confidence to break the general principles of style — completely, ruthlessly, and shockingly — if doing so will help your client win.
Appendix A Karl Llewellyn on Legal Advocacy
Appendix B Topic Sentences
Appendix C Monosyllabic Verbs
Appendix D Attribution of Examples
Index
Table of Contents

Books and textbooks on the discipline Fundamentals of Advocacy:

  1. Mendelson Jason, Paul Alex. How to Be a Lawyer: The Path from Law School to Success. Wiley,2022. — 152 p. - 2022 ãîä
  2. Jacob Kai, Schindler Dierk, Strathausen Roger (Eds). Liquid Legal: Transforming Legal into a Business Savvy, Information Enabled and Performance Driven Industry. Springer,2017. — 473 p. - 2017 ãîä
  3. Newman Daniel. Legal Aid Lawyers and the Quest for Justice. Hart Publishing,2014. — 192 p. - 2014 ãîä
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