Your Client's Story: Persuasive Legal Writing by Ruth Anne Robbins & Steve Johansen & Ken Chestek

Author:Ruth Anne Robbins & Steve Johansen & Ken Chestek
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Law, Legal Education, Legal Writing
ISBN: 9781543803709
Publisher: Wolters Kluwer
Published: 2018-11-05T21:00:00+00:00

Figure 12-4: Strongest and weakest locations: (1) within a paragraph, and (2) paragraphs within a section of the brief.

The power of placement is apparent when you draft a counterargument that manages the adverse material. You must balance the need to inoculate with the countervailing consideration of making sure each paragraph is firmly written from the client’s point of view. Thus, the first sentences of a paragraph should place the client in a positive light. Next, you should confront the adverse material. In this way, you have put the adverse information in the middle—the weakest position. Finally, you should finish the paragraph with a direct or indirect refutation of the adverse material—putting the refutation in a position of strength.

One decision you must make is whether to directly or indirectly refute the adverse material. Usually, it is best to face the adverse information directly. But, of course, in law, the questions of professional demeanor and respect may require you to be a bit more discreet in managing an argument. So, although it appears that directly confronting the adverse material is the best option, Professor Stanchi outlines some reasons and explains some examples from advertising that show how material may be refuted with indirect arguments.12

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.