CONTRACTS

Fall 2011
Professor Weaver

How (And Why) To Brief a Case

Before providing some guidance on how to brief a case, it is important to understand why
students in law school are encouraged, and in some cases, required to brief cases. Many of the
cases you will read in law school are lengthy; the facts may be convoluted and the analysis
complex. In addition, most of the opinions you will read in law school are appellate opinions, so
they come to the court with a procedural history in the lower court(s.) It is important to
understand that procedural history in order to know what the appellate court is being asked to
decide and why. In short, reading and analyzing cases is a foundation of legal education.
Briefing cases in an excellent way of organizing and understanding the information that you are
expected to glean from those cases.

Briefing cases will not, however, ensure that you will be able to anticipate the questions that I (or
other professors or your fellow students) may ask in class or the direction a class discussion may
take. Class room discussions, at their best, are living, breathing, dynamic experiences so I
suggest that you not devote too much time and effort to trying to anticipate the questions that
will be asked or the direction of the class discussion. You are not going to know the answer to
every question asked in class and, if all goes well, our class discussions will raise issues that
neither you nor I have anticipated.

So, from my perspective there is nothing “magic” about how you brief a case and, in time, you
will develop your own style. To the extent that a recommended format is helpful to you, feel
free to use and modify the following. 1

I. The Parties
• Who is the plaintiff and who is the defendant, i.e, who is suing whom?
• If the opinion is an appellate opinion, as will be the case with most but not all of
the cases we will read, who is the appellant (i.e, the losing party in the case
below) and the appellee (or, in some instances, the petitioner/respondent)

II. Procedural History

• What is the history of the lawsuit itself?
ƒ Is this an appeal from a trial court to an appellate court?
ƒ Was the decision below by a judge or jury?

III. Factual History

• What is the factual history of the case?
• What happened between the parties to cause someone to file a lawsuit?

                                                            
1
 This format for briefing cases is adapted from Barnett, Contracts Cases and Doctrine, 4th ed. 2008.
 IV. Form of Relief Sought
• What form of relief was being sought by the plaintiff?
• Damages? Specific performance? Injunction?

V. Legal Issue – What was the legal issue that the court was being asked to decide?
• The convention is to state the legal issue as a question or in a “whether” format,
e.g.,
o Does a party to a contract who is legally a minor at the time he or she
entered into a contract have the right to avoid or rescind the contract
because of his or her status as a minor?
o Whether a party to a contract who is legally a minor at the time he or she
entered into a contract has the right to avoid or rescind the contract
because of his or her status as a minor.

VI. Arguments of the Parties

• What legal reasons did the plaintiff offer to justify the relief sought by the
plaintiff?
• What arguments did the defendant offer against granting the relief sought by
plaintiff?

VII. Outcome of the Case (Conclusion)

• Who won?
• What relief did the court order?

VIII. Reasoning of the Court

• What reasons did the court offer for its decision?
• Was the holding of the court a narrow or broad holding?

IX. Your Analysis

• Do you think this case was correctly or incorrectly decided? Why?
• Do you agree with the reasoning of the court? Can you think of any rationales for
the decision other than those articulated by the court?
• How does the case relate to other cases and materials we have read?

Also, be sure you know the meaning of any legal concepts, procedural terms, and even those
archaic or obscure Latin words or phrases, used in the opinion. You should have a high level of
confidence that I will ask you to explain these terms in class.