Many attorneys believe good lawyers know how to make complicated arguments. To make matters worse they will submit long briefs believing it was necessary to handle such as complicated argument. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Nothing could be further from the truth. in reality good attorneys know to make complicated arguments simple and express them concisely This often leads to a much shorter brief.
The simpler the argument, the more persuasive it is.
People naturally favor the path of least resistance and are more receptive to clear, straightforward, and well reasoned arguments than to arguments that strain their mind. Therefore lawyers should develop tools to simplify their argument.
"If you can’t explain it simply, then you don’t know it well enough.”
– Albert Einstein
Attorneys often justify lengthy, complex arguments by claiming the issue itself is complicated. Usually the complexity of their argument reflects a lack of understanding it. If Einstein could explain theoretical physics in simple terms, lawyers should be able to do the same with legal issues.
“Some judges associate the brevity of the brief, with the quality of the lawyer.” - Antonin Scalia
Many lawyers equate long arguments with quality, but judges generally find concise arguments more compelling. One appellate public defender once told me that every appeal he has won was based on a short brief. Simpler and shorter arguments are usually more persuasive.
If you can't clearly explain why you have a good case in one minute, then you probably don't have a good case.
When going over cases with other attorneys I originally gave myself two minutes to explain to other attorneys why I have a good defense. Then one day I heard John Grisham say he has 30 seconds to explain his next book idea to his wife. If he couldn't do it in 30 seconds he would go look for a new idea. After that I gave myself one minute to articulate why I have a good case.
Similarly if a lawyer thinks it’s a bad case, he should be able to articulate why it is a bad case in less than a minute. If you can’t state why it's either a good or bad case in a minute then you probably don’t understand your case. Sometimes its a close call whether you have a good case or not, but you should still be able to clearly explain why.
