Avoid Restating the Other Side’s Argument
Posted: March 29th, 2012 | Author: mariebuckley | Filed under: Mission Critical Stuff, Talking About the Cases | Tags: legal writing, legal writing coach, legal writing techniques, legal writing training, strong writing techniques | No Comments »Don’t fall into the trap of restating the other side’s argument as a prelude to attacking that argument. A true advocate never dedicates a sentence to explaining the opponents’ position.
For example, if the issue is whether your client has defrauded customers, don’t dedicate a sentence to the other side’s argument that “Courts will pierce the corporate veil where the corporation has defrauded its customers.” Instead, restate the argument from your client’s angle: “The courts will not allow a pierce where a corporation is adequately capitalized unless there are clear markers of fraud.” Or work opposing authority into an “although” clause to avoid dedicating a whole sentence to discussing that authority. For example, say “Although courts have pierced the veil where corporations have defrauded their customers, our clients never acted fraudulently.”
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Make your opponents do their own work. Don’t do it for them.
What do you think?