BRIEF WRITING

A legal brief is a document written by one or more of the parties (participants) to a legal action. It
includes the facts of the case, the legal issues to be determined, and references to applicable statutes
(written law) and prior cases similar to yours. It is a succinct statement of the proposition of law
or fact or both, which a party or his counsel wishes to establish at the appeal together with reason
and authorities to sustain them. It is important to note that briefs are usually written legal arguments
submitted in National Courts as opposed to Memorials which are submissions for International
Courts.

Mastery of brief writing is mandatory to all legal practitioners who seek audience in the courts of
Nigeria and a bad, faulty or inelegant brief surely attracts adverse comments from the court and
soils a legal practitioner’s reputation

The brief is an attempt to convince the judge that your view of the case is the correct way to resolve
the issues. How you format the brief will depend on the particular court hearing your case. If the
brief isn't formatted correctly, the court may refuse to accept it. This article will guide you through
the basics of properly formatting a legal brief.

THE PURPOSE OF BRIEF WRITING INCLUDES:

To present a summary of a party’s case on appeal in an accurate ad lucid form

To assist the court in appreciating the issues in controversy and thereby facilitate easy resolution
of those issues

PREPARATORY STEPS TO BRIEF WRITING:

Finding the Requirements:

Take note of the Particular court which would be deciding the case because this will determine the
requirements for how you would compose your brief. Certain courts require certain forms to be
followed in the preparation of briefs. Find and follow the court rules. Whether you are in federal
court or state court, there are rules of procedure that control how a brief should be written. You
would be required to follow these rules very carefully to ensure that your brief is acceptable to the
court.
Preparing the Contents:

Make a list of the important facts in your case. This amounts to setting down the sequence of events
that led to your case being in court. The facts of a particular case are what dictate which laws a
court will need to apply to make a decision.

Determine the legal points you need to address. You have to identify the legal point (issue) in your
case that you believe needs to be resolved. For example, you signed a contract to sell your house.
But now the buyer wants to back out of the deal because the house has termites. The legal point
you want to address is whether the law permits the buyer to avoid going through with the contract
under these circumstances.

Research the Law:

Once you know the legal points you need to deal with, you have to find the law that applies to
these issues. You would require access to federal statutes or state laws, and legal cases that are
similar to yours. There are online legal research services and an alternative is to go to a law library,
where you can research online or by using the law books available there. Law librarians can help
you find the research tools you need, but doing the actual research is up to you.

Compile a List of the Legal Cases and Statutes You Plan to Use:

Whenever you find a legal source that you believe supports your argument, you must note the
citation (its name and the legal book in which it is located) to use it in your brief. You also need
the page number (for case law) or the section number (for a statute) of any portion of the legal
source that you want to quote in your brief. Your best bet is simply to print the case or statute so
you have it readily available.

GUIDELINES FOR BRIEF WRITING

CREATE A ‘TITLE PAGE’: A title page contains information identifying the case and naming
the person who filed the motion, and who the brief is representing. Note; this may vary according
to the rules of the court.

PREPARE A ‘TABLE OF CONTENT’: This is the last thing you do before you are done with
your brief and this is because it must contain every heading in the brief as well as a page reference
for each.It is safer to do it last as new ideas may pop up during the course of drafting your brief.
To make a table of content, go to the ‘Reference icon’ on your Microsoft word and click on it, you
will then see an icon for table of content, click on it and select your preferred heading and that is
all. The same rule as regards the court applies here.

COMPILE A ‘TABLE OF AUTHORITIES’: This is also one of the last things you should do
for the same reason given above and may also be referred to as a ‘Table of Cases’. It lists each
authority, or case, as the case may be, and their citation stated in the brief. It is preferred that the
authorities are grouped according to cases, statutes, rules and other authorities and this should be
done in alphabetical order. It is crucial that each authority includes the full citation and a cross
reference to the page in the brief where it is cited. Also, it is important to note that only authorities
used and cited in the work should be kept there i.e. never place an authority that was never used in
writing your work. Most people fail to understand the importance of this in their quest to make
their work as bountiful as possible, because this tactic works against you by making your work to
lose credibility. If an authority is stated but is found no-where in the work, then the work may be
regarded as a deceptive one. To make a ‘table of authorities’, go to the ‘Reference icon’ on your
Microsoft word and click on it, you will then see an icon for table of authorities, click on it, choose
your preferred format, and category, and that is all. The same rule as regards the court applies here.

‘TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS’: This is necessary if you are going to abbreviate any word
during the duration of your work. It contains all the abbreviated forms of the terms you desire to
shorten and a full reference to the term. This is usually arranged in alphabetical order.

THE BASIS OF JURISDICTION: A jurisdiction statement tells the court what authority confers
jurisdiction on the court to hear the case. This is very important as it is a preliminary issue. A
preliminary issue is one that determines whether or not a case can move forward in a court of law,
and, as such, if not argued well by an applicant/ appellant, a judgment of lack of jurisdiction can
prove fatal to an applicant/ appellant case. It may also contain admissibility i.e. whether or not the
facts are admissible before the court. This also varies according to the rules of the court.

SUMMARY OF FACTS: This is usually called the ‘Statement of the Case’ and it entails a full
description of the occurrences and issues involved in the case.
PRESENT LEGAL QUESTIONS: This section frames the issues for the court. It should identify
the legal issues to be resolved, with sufficient reference to the facts and relevant/applicable laws
to make the matter concrete and compelling. This varies according to the brief being written.

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS: This should contain a clear and concise summary of your
argument and as such should only include the most persuasive of your argument. It should follow
the same structure that you will use in your argument.

ARGUMENTS PROPER: As the name implies, this is the main work of your brief where all
your research comes into play. In writing this, it is easier to use the IRAC formula that forms the
fundamental building blocks of legal analysis. The IRAC equation is Issue, Rule, Analysis, and
Conclusion and this should be followed strictly in order to avoid making your work disjointed and
illogical. This should contain both your main and side bar arguments with statutes, cases and rules
supporting your arguments. Use terms that are relevant to your argument consistently throughout
the memorial. Avoid use of different terms if you imply the same thing, as this may mislead the
reader. Spell all the specific terms consistently throughout the memorial. Also, try to anticipate
what your opponent will say and counter it, as this would give more credit to your argument.
However, when countering your opponent’s argument, never be rude or disrespectful, as law is a
profession for gentlemen and this is highly frowned upon; same applies to attacking your opponent.
You can be witty without being wicked.

PRAYERS’: This is a vital part of any good brief as it states what exactly you want the court to
do for you. It would be as pointless and illogical as fetching water with a basket to fail to attach
this important component to the brief after arguing your point vigorously. You leave the court at a
loss of what relief to grant you.

DATE AND SIGNATURE: You conclude the brief finally with your signature, stamp and name
only. You need not include the name of the firm you’re working with.

NOTE:

In writing your legal work e.g. brief, articles etc., it is important that your language is formal. In a
brief, you must not to refer to yourself personally but your client or as the agent of your client,
e.g., the applicant or the agent to the applicant. However, in an article, you can refer to yourself,
but this must be done in a formal manner. Always remember to put in a footnote anything that is
not gotten from your brain in order to avoid plagiarism. To make footnote, go to the ‘Reference
icon’ on your Microsoft word and click on it, you will then see an icon for insert footnote and that
is all. The standard font and font size for any document is Times New Roman and 12 respectively.
It is preferable to use double line spacing. With regards to brief, in making a submission, there is
a structure to follow and; your authorities comes first, then the application of the law, and finally
your submission. For example, the right to life is provided for by virtue of Article 4 of the African
Charter, it has been proven in the case of … that this right is connected to all other right including
the right to food. Thus, it can be stated that the deliberate deprivation of food to Mr. Chop which
led to his death constitutes a violation of the right to life, and as such, redress should be given to
the family. Use foreign and Latin word sparingly and only when they are crucial to the point you
are trying to make. In starting a new paragraph, it is crucial to avoid using words like firstly,
secondly and so on, rather words like ‘flowing from the above’ or ‘from the aforementioned’
should be given preference to.