A former law clerk's hints about advocacy

Minneapolis attorney Rachel Clark Hughey has published an article titled Effective Appellate Advocacy before the Federal Circuit: A Former Law Clerk’s Perspective in the Journal of Appellate Practice and Process. The piece contains judges’ comments about each section of an appellate brief. For example, several judges say the Statement of the Issues is seldom helpful to them because it is usually too long and argumentative. Judges also stress that the Conclusion section should state what the party wants. The piece also emphasizes that “pejorative language has no place in a brief.” These and other suggestions in the article will be helpful to students in both brief writing and oral argument.

 (jdf)