Point Made: How to Write Like the Nation's Top Advocates

Author: Ross Guberman
Publisher: Oxford University Press USA
ISBN: 9780195394870
Published In: February 2011
Format: Paperback , 338 pages
Jurisdiction: U.S. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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Provides a strategic roadmap for practitioners on how best to formulate their motion or brief
Written by a renowned practitioner, educator and consultant with decades of experience
Provides helpful examples, checklists and trouble-shooting advice on real-life challenges

When attorneys begin their latest motion or brief, they face a predictable set of questions and concerns, including how to start, how to draft winning headings, how to tell a story when the record is dry and dense, how to neutralize bad facts, how to be persuasive when recounting the governing law, how to confront adverse authority, how to analogize cases without drowning in detail, how to distinguish authority without sounding defensive, and how to make a brief interesting without seeming corny or coy. The answers to these questions are more science than art, and the best advocates-from Thurgood Marshall to John Roberts-have far more in common with each another than with their less-adept contemporaries. In Point Made, author Ross Guberman aims to break down the work of great advocates into a step-by-step writing strategy with practical examples. Each chapter focuses on a fundamental challenge that briefwriters face, and includes an overview incorporating insight from judges, followed by specific practice pointers in checklist form and annotated examples of how prominent advocates have resolved the challenge in a variety of trial and appellate briefs.

Readership: practitioners, law students, judges

Ross Guberman, President, Legal Writing Pro

Ross Guberman is the founder and president of Legal Writing Pro, an advanced legal-writing training and consulting firm. He conducts hundreds of programs a year for many of the world's largest and most prestigious law firms and for dozens of state and federal agencies and bar associations. Guberman is also a Professorial Lecturer in Law at The George Washington University Law School, where he teaches an advanced seminar on litigation drafting and strategy. He holds degrees from Yale, the Sorbonne, and The University of Chicago Law School, where he was Articles Editor of The University of Chicago Legal Forum. Before founding Legal Writing Pro, Guberman worked at several major law firms as a litigator and briefwriting consultant. He has commented on business and law for major newspapers, radio stations, and television networks,

"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

"A must for the library of veteran litigators and aspiring moot court competitors. Ross Guberman teaches the art of persuasive legal writing with lively quotes from top-notch briefs, coupled with his own insights and recommendations."
--Stephen Shapiro, Senior Member, Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation group, Mayer Brown

"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 do, Point Made shows you how the headline lawyers do it." --Steven R. Merican,Illinois Appellate Lawyer Blog

"[Guberman] doesn't just tell you what to do: he shows you...I learned a lot from reading Ross's book; I think you will too." --Raymond Ward,the (new) legal writer

"I've seen no other book so clearly provide concrete and diverse examples of 'what this stuff' should look and sound like when it's done right... [my] revision radically improved...incredibly helpful." --Wendy McGuire Coats, the Ninth

"I am loathe to come across so effusive in my praise of the book, as to appear biased. But I can't help but highly recommend the book, it's that good. If you want to improve your legal writing, pick up a copy of Point Made ." --Keith Lee, An Associate's Mind

"Just by reading the book, lawyers and legal writers at all stages of their careers can cull from Guberman's advice valuable lessons that are easy to remember and simple to apply. For these reasons, Point Made would make an excellent addition to any law school, law firm, court, or academic library collection." -- Julie Graves Krishnaswami, Law Library Journal

"Both novel and helpful...Point Made provides much food for thought for the experienced advocate...Guberman provides sound advice supported by the practice of the best in the business." -- ABA