A legal brief is a two to three-page formal document submitted to the court, a judge or justice. It summarizes the facts, opinions, and conclusions of the legal proceedings. It is concisely written by lawyers to persuade the court rule on a particular legal issue. There are specific page margins to the length of the brief for the brief writers to follow. Also, legal briefs may differ in tone, purpose, and audience. It is addressed to the court (the audience) to persuade (the purpose) it to accept a particular argument. The document’s intention is to convince based on facts presented.

Purpose of a legal brief

A brief may have many different purposes. It may be to clarify some point of law; make the case for defending a client; to argue for some precedent at law; or simply to present their side of the dispute. A legal brief’s tone is always argumentative. Legal briefs have the same force as oral arguments presented before the court; and sometimes even more so since briefs are usually presented before the trial during the pre-hearing stages.

Writing tips

When writing a legal brief, there are some tips you have to keep in mind. These legal brief writing tips can also be applied to when you're writing your personal statement law school. The following are some of these tips that can help you come up with an admissions essay for law school that works.

Keeping it concise yet effective. When writing a legal brief, it's important to keep things short and simple because you have to take note of the attention span of your audience. Same goes when writing an admissions essay. Because the admissions panel reads hundreds or even thousands of application essays each year, it's important to keep your essay concise yet effective. Your essay is effective if it clearly conveys what you want to say to the admissions panel to make them choose you over other law school applicants.

Be consistent with the facts. Because a legal brief is an important document that summarizes a court proceeding, it's important to be consistent with the facts to present a stronger argument. When writing your essay for law school, never invent details, since the admissions panel can recognize inconsistencies in your story. There are ways for you to jazz up your essay without resorting to lying in your personal statement. One of these is to come up with an interesting topic that'll help you present a more personal side to the panel.

Using sample essays as guides

To further help you come up with a winning application essay for law school, search for sample essays online. You can also ask for samples from buddies who have graduated from or are currently studying at your dream law school. By reading various sample essays, you'll be able to identify topics or things you shouldn't discuss in your essay. Just make sure that you don't copy off ideas from sample essays, as this would be considered plagiarism. Use these samples only as guides and let your own words speak for yourself.