Your Brief Is the Main Thing
Steve Merican over at the Illinois Appellate Lawyer Blog recently posted some interesting comments about the role of oral argument to the appellate decision-making process. Within that post, he linked to an article he wrote entitled How to Write an Appellate Brief That Judges Want to Read and Answers Their Questions.
Like most appellate advocates I know, I'm a fan of oral argument in appropriate cases, such as when the law is unsettled. But as a rule, to rip from Steve's observation while paraphrasing a Pat Riley quote, "your brief is the main thing." The importance of presenting a persuasive, well written brief that anticipates the questions appellate justices might have can't be emphasized enough.
