The Commercially Savvy Lawyer: Never Stop Learning - Book Review

Litigation is not an area in which I have a great deal of expertise. I have watched my fair share of court dramas, like The Good Wife and Kavanagh Q.C. (a British series). I have a BA in Arabic and Law from SOAS, University of London and then I did the Legal Practice Course at BPP in London (the foundation course for solicitors in England and Wales.) And while I did not qualify as a solicitor, in the end, I learned how to be a transactional lawyer there. Had I done the Barristers' Vocational Course, litigation might come more naturally to me. It's not that I lack confidence or that I can't write or express complicated facts, it's that I don't know the formulae and the procedures. That said, having spoken to many NY-qualified lawyers in my travels, I have learned that not many lawyers who are not actual litigators feel comfortable with all the ostensible rules and tricks that go with litigation.

As I have mentioned here before, I sometimes find myself roped into helping my brother who owns an international modeling agency fight the disputes caused my petulant models and devious and greedy agencies ready to poach the models that he has scouted and cultivated. Sometimes, this means going to court even though this is not my bread and butter.

That said, my brother insists I am the only lawyer who can help him, I find myself having to come to grips with litigation. So I scoured the Internet for resoureces and found this little gem of a guide, A Brief Guide To Brief Writing, Demystefying The Memorandum of Law by Janet S. Kole, a retired litigator and writer ("Kole"). I went in search of another book recommended to me by another NY attorney I know and found this gem of a book on Scribd, which I devored in an afternoon. For attorneys like me, who are more transactional than litigious, I cannot recommend this brief guide enough. Not only is it written in a clear and engaging way, it is extremely informative and instructive. Such was my admiration of this book, I found Kole on LinkedIn and she sent me all of her guides which I will review individually. This is the first book review.

This is what you can expect out of Kole's handy guide:

1. An explanation of what a brief actually is: "Generally, it is a short summary of a position that you are taking on behalf of a client. It includes the facts of your case, the relevant law, and how you want the court to apply the law to the facts. A brief is often called a 'Memorandum of Law.'" Kole explains the parameters of the brief and the importance o local procedural rules;
2. How to write a persuasive brief and what to avoid. This section includes the obvious (like having good gramma), but also guidelines on what to avoid at all costs;
3. The importance of asking the court for the remedy your client desires;
4. The importance of humanizing your client;
5. Writing a story: "Lawyers tend to think of briefs as expositions on legal issues. That is wrong. A brief is an explanation of why your client, given the facts of your particular lawsuit, is entitled to relief from the court. That explanation requires you to describe the factual situation in a compelling way and to point out the law that supports your request for relief." This advice alone was worth the few hours I gave to reading this book! Kole provides many warnings and caveats - did you know you could be sanctioned by the court for submitting a badly written brief?!;
6. How to find and argue the law and how to organize your arguments;
7. How to draft a responsive brief (i.e., when you are a lawyer whose client is being sued and you are tasked with writing a responsive brief;
8. The differences between lower and appellate courts;
9. How to draft a summary of your argument;
10. A reminder to follow the rules of the specific court and the importance of being guided by those rules in writing and preparing your brief;
11. A reminder to be conginscent of your ethical and professional conduct duties in your jurisdiction;
12. How to negotiate power struggles when more than one person is working on the brief - as in a large firm where an associate, then a junior partner, then a senior partner will work on the same brief;
13. A brief explanation on how to approach the oral argument; and,
14. A very helfpul checklist at the end.

For me, Kole's book was like getting a new pair of glasses after years of wearing the wrong prescription. If you, like me, are not a seasoned litigator but find yourself in a situation where you have to litigate, this book will be a very welcome weapon to add to your arsenal.