Point Made: How To Write Like The Nation’s Top Advocates

Author: Guberman Ross

Brand: Oxford University Press

Edition: 2

Number Of Pages: 424

Details: Product Description

With Point Made, legal writing expert, Ross Guberman, throws a life preserver to attorneys, who are under more pressure than ever to produce compelling prose. What is the strongest opening for a motion or brief? How to draft winning headings? How to tell a persuasive story when the record is
dry and dense? The answers are “more science than art,” says Guberman, who has analyzed stellar arguments by distinguished attorneys to develop step-by-step instructions for achieving the results you want.

The author takes an empirical approach, drawing heavily on the writings of the nation’s 50 most influential lawyers, including Barack Obama, John Roberts, Elena Kagan, Ted Olson, and David Boies. Their strategies, demystified and broken down into specific, learnable techniques, become a detailed
writing guide full of practical models. In FCC v. Fox, for example, Kathleen Sullivan conjures the potentially dangerous, unintended consequences of finding for the other side (the “Why Should I Care?” technique). Arguing against allowing the FCC to continue fining broadcasters that let the “F-word”
slip out, she highlights the chilling effect these fines have on America’s radio and TV stations, “discouraging live programming altogether, with attendant loss to valuable and vibrant programming that has long been part of American culture.”

Each chapter of Point Made focuses on a typically tough challenge, providing a strategic roadmap and practical tips along with annotated examples of how prominent attorneys have resolved that challenge in varied trial and appellate briefs. Short examples and explanations with engaging titles–“Brass
Tacks,” “Talk to Yourself,” “Russian Doll”–deliver weighty materials with a light tone, making the guidelines easy to remember and apply.

In addition to all-new examples from the original 50 advocates, this Second Edition introduces eight new superstar lawyers from Solicitor General Don Verrilli, Deanne Maynard, Larry Robbins, and Lisa Blatt to Joshua Rosencranz, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Judy Clarke, and Sri Srinvasan, now a D.C.
Circuit Judge. Ross Guberman also provides provocative new examples from the Affordable Care Act wars, the same-sex marriage fight, and many other recent high-profile cases. Considerably more commentary on the examples is included, along with dozens of style and grammar tips interspersed
throughout. Also, for those who seek to improve their advocacy skills and for those who simply need a step-by-step guide to making a good brief better, the book concludes with an all-new set of 50 writing challenges corresponding to the 50 techniques.

Review

“The only way to teach students how to be effective legal writers is to immerse them in as much outstanding legal writing as possible. By concentrating so much great written advocacy so compactly–and by focusing readers’ attention so precisely on the qualities that make the selected texts so compelling–this book supplies an indispensable tool to those engaged in the craft of making excellent lawyers.”
–Dan Kahan, Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law, Yale Law School

“Effective advocacy consists of a skillful blend of clear language and a sense of dramatic structure. Guberman’s exemplars demonstrate again and again how to transform an otherwise ordinary case into a morality tale with a happy ending.”
–Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson
“I love this book and recommend it for everyone. Ross Guberman’s bag of tricks will spiff up your writing. He shares 50 techniques, and then-the fun part-he offers choice nuggets to show you how the hot shots pull it off.”
–Ronald Marmer, Chair-Elect, ABA Section on Litigation; Partner, Jenner & Block
“Point Made is writing-nerd nirvana…It instantly won a place on my short list of favorite legal-writing books.” –Jay O’Keeffe, DeNovo: A Virginia Appellate Law Blog

“Entertaining and informative…a smart approach to writing persuasive legal briefs. Rather than lecturing the reader about what to

Release Date: 04-04-2014

Package Dimensions: 25x206x540