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	<title>Briefly Writing</title>
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	<description>Blogging about the process of writing appellate court briefs,  appellate court rules, and appellate law.</description>
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		<title>Your Next Summary Judgment Appeal: Focus on the Trial Judge&#8217;s Order.</title>
		<link>https://brieflywriting.com/2015/10/12/your-next-summary-judgment-appeal-focus-on-the-trial-judges-order/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Skotnicki]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2015 19:09:03 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Court Procedure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Writing Techniques]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Appeal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Appellant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Skotnicki]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summary Judgment]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brieflywriting.com/?p=1842</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Trial courts often grant summary judgment motions, and those court orders are often appealed. Yet in reading the appellant&#8217;s briefs in such appeals while I worked as a law clerk and then staff attorney at the Alabama Supreme Court, and in my practice assisting other lawyers withe their appellate briefs, I&#8217;ve noted that many times the briefs have the wrong focus. So what&#8217;s the wrong focus?  The wrong focus is trying to convince the appellate court that summary judgment shouldn&#8217;t have been granted because the plaintiff has the evidence to win the case if it went to trial. Too many lawyers focus their briefs on proving their case, instead of demonstrating error on the part of the trial court judge. It&#8217;s hard enough to&#8230;]]></description>
		
		
		
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		<item>
		<title>The Risks of a &#8220;Hinge Point&#8221; Appellate Argument.</title>
		<link>https://brieflywriting.com/2015/09/29/the-risks-of-a-hinge-point-appellate-argument/</link>
					<comments>https://brieflywriting.com/2015/09/29/the-risks-of-a-hinge-point-appellate-argument/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Skotnicki]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Sep 2015 17:00:02 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Miscellaneous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Writing Techniques]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Appeal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[appeal brief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Appellant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[appellate briefs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brief writing techniques]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Briefly Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hinge Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Issues]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Skotnicki]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Risky]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brieflywriting.com/?p=1631</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[A &#8220;hinge&#8221; allows a door to swing left or right, and back again. In making a legal argument, I use the term &#8220;hinge point&#8221; to refer to a single issue upon which an appeal may be won, or lost. In appellate advocacy there are often many issues raised on appeal and they may often be decided independently of each other. However, a technique that may be made on appeal in certain limited instances is to focus the resolution of the appeal on a certain single question of law or question of fact. In other words, you roll the dice for the entire appeal on winning that one single point. It&#8217;s a confident, win-it-all or lose-it all-strategy that avoids the weakness of providing the court&#8230;]]></description>
		
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			<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		
		
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		<title>The Importance of Making Your Client a Sympathetic Figure: An Example from a Winning Brief.</title>
		<link>https://brieflywriting.com/2015/08/12/the-importance-of-making-your-client-a-sympathetic-figure-an-examples-from-winning-briefs/</link>
					<comments>https://brieflywriting.com/2015/08/12/the-importance-of-making-your-client-a-sympathetic-figure-an-examples-from-winning-briefs/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Skotnicki]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 12 Aug 2015 20:17:16 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Writing Techniques]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Appeal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[appealsandbriefs.com]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[appellate court judges]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brief writing techniques]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Briefly Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Skotnicki]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[storytelling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sympathetic client]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brieflywriting.com/?p=1811</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[One thing I have written about repeatedly in this blog is the need for an appellate attorney to write his or her brief in a way  to make his client appear sympathetic to the members of the appellate court. To put it more bluntly, I&#8217;ve written that in my experience you are more likely to win appeal, regardless of the issues or law involved, if the judges feel warmly toward your client. Whether a living being or a business corporation, your client needs to be &#8220;humanized.&#8221; So how do you do that without making your intent obvious? You do it by putting favorable statements regarding your client in the Statement of Facts, by how you phrase the issues raised, or how you explain the&#8230;]]></description>
		
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			<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1811</post-id>
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		<title>Going Against the Rules of Conventional Wisdom in Writing Briefs for &#8220;Longshot&#8221; Appeals.</title>
		<link>https://brieflywriting.com/2015/04/27/going-against-the-rules-of-conventional-wisdom-in-writing-briefs-for-longshot-there-are-many-othersappeals/</link>
					<comments>https://brieflywriting.com/2015/04/27/going-against-the-rules-of-conventional-wisdom-in-writing-briefs-for-longshot-there-are-many-othersappeals/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Skotnicki]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2015 18:28:20 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brieflywriting.com/?p=1800</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Whether in my past practice in a mid-sized law firm where I was chair of the appellate practice group, or as a freelance lawyer and brief writer until recently, I&#8217;ve generally been the guy other lawyers turn to for help with a difficult appeal. As a result, I&#8217;ve had lots of experience writing briefs for appellants with little chance of winning or otherwise representing parties with uphill battles in appellate matters and have been lucky enough to win more times than expected. I&#8217;ve written here before that in such circumstances, an appellate attorney must be bold. A boring brief of the kind judges and staff attorneys have seen a thousand times before simply won&#8217;t do. In these types of appellate matters I shun the rules of&#8230;]]></description>
		
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			<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1800</post-id>
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		<title>The Alabama Supreme Court Has Invited Defense Counsel to File Mandamus Petitions &#8230; And They Should.</title>
		<link>https://brieflywriting.com/2014/06/15/the-alabama-supreme-court-has-invited-defense-counsel-to-file-mandamus-petitions-and-they-should/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Skotnicki]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 15 Jun 2014 16:55:49 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Appellate Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Court Procedure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alabama Supreme Court]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[appealsandbriefs.com]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Briefly Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mandamus Petition]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brieflywriting.com/?p=1736</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[In writing this blog over more than two years I have declined to comment on any specific opinion released by the Alabama Supreme Court because the purpose of this blog is to focus on appellate writing and court procedure rather than particular cases or opinions. There are other blogs and services out there that do an outstanding job of following the opinions released by the appellate courts. But earlier this year the Alabama Supreme Court recently released a pair of opinions that deserve comment because they affect the nature of litigation in the Alabama state courts for both plaintiffs and defendants. When I worked as a staff attorney for the Alabama Supreme Court in the 1990&#8217;s the justices of the Court believed that attorneys&#8230;]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1736</post-id>
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		<item>
		<title>I&#8217;ll Be Teaching a CLE Seminar on Writing Persuasive Appeal Briefs on July 8th for the Blount County Bar Association.</title>
		<link>https://brieflywriting.com/2014/06/13/ill-be-teaching-a-cle-seminar-on-writing-persuasive-appeal-briefs-on-july-8th-for-the-blount-county-bar-association/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Skotnicki]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Jun 2014 21:46:22 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Miscellaneous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brief writing techniques]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Continuing legal education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Skotnicki]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brieflywriting.com/?p=1771</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[The President of the Blount County Bar Association has invited me to give a continuing legal education seminar on persuasive brief writing at the next meeting of the Bar, which will be held July 8, 2014. The seminar will be 90 minutes in length, is approved by the Alabama Bar Association for 1.5 CLE credits, and will run from 11:30 to 1:00 during a working lunch. I&#8217;m looking forward to sharing some of my knowledge with the good lawyers of Blount County.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1771</post-id>
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		<title>Even with the Spectre of a &#8220;Good Count &#8211; Bad Count&#8221; Doctrine Reversal on Appeal, Alabama&#8217;s General Verdict Form Still Favors the Plaintiff.</title>
		<link>https://brieflywriting.com/2014/05/22/even-with-the-spectre-of-a-good-count-bad-count-doctrine-reversal-on-appeal-alabamas-general-verdict-form-still-favors-the-plaintiff/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Skotnicki]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 May 2014 04:42:30 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Appellate Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Court Procedure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alabama Supreme Court]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Appeal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bad Count]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General Verdict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Good Count]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trial court]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brieflywriting.com/?p=1751</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[The Alabama judicial system, pursuant to Rule 49, Ala.R.Civ.P., provides for the use of a general verdict form that does not require the jury to state on which of the count or counts it found in favor of the plaintiff. While a plaintiff&#8217;s counsel may favor use of a general verdict because it simplifies the work of the jury and obscures error that may have occurred in reaching the verdict, that benefit can become a quite a detriment to upholding the verdict on appeal. I believe one the doctrines of Alabama jurisprudence most favored by the state appellate courts is the &#8220;good count &#8211; bad count&#8221; rule. As explained in the case of Aspinswall v. Gowens, 405 So.2d 134 (Ala. 1981), and countless more opinions, a&#8230;]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1751</post-id>
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		<title>The Best Statement of Facts &#8230; Ever.</title>
		<link>https://brieflywriting.com/2014/05/12/the-best-statement-of-facts-ever/</link>
					<comments>https://brieflywriting.com/2014/05/12/the-best-statement-of-facts-ever/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Skotnicki]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 May 2014 23:39:59 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Writing Techniques]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alabama Supreme Court]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[appellate briefs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brief writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fiction writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Skotnicki]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Record on appeal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Statement of Facts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[storytelling]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brieflywriting.com/?p=1704</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[When I was a Staff Attorney for an Associate Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in the 1990&#8217;s, I read countless appellate briefs. I really only remember one. That brief contained a Statement of Facts that opened my eyes to how well an appellate brief could be written. It was simply the best Statement of Facts that I have ever read. It was a wrongful death case. A single mother was killed in an automobile accident. She had pulled out onto a county highway from a local road at dusk and her car was struck by a logging truck going well over the posted speed limit. The jury had awarded a sizeable verdict for the decedent&#8217;s estate and the Alabama Supreme Court, then composed&#8230;]]></description>
		
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			<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1704</post-id>
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		<title>The Art of Having a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari Granted by the Alabama Supreme Court.</title>
		<link>https://brieflywriting.com/2014/04/19/the-art-having-a-petition-for-a-writ-of-certiorari-granted-by-the-alabama-supreme-court/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Skotnicki]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 19 Apr 2014 18:41:27 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Appellate Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Court Procedure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Action verbs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alabama Court of Civil Appeals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alabama Supreme Court]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[appealsandbriefs.com]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[certiorari petition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Record on appeal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Statement of Facts]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brieflywriting.com/?p=1702</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[One of the most difficult goals for an Alabama appellate attorney to accomplish is having the Alabama Supreme Court grant certiorari review of a ruling of the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. Certiorari review by the Supreme Court is available pursuant to Rule 39, Ala.R.App.P.  However, the procedures established by Rule 39, which has been substantially amended several times, have a long history of being difficult for practitioners to fully comply with. When I served as a law clerk and then staff attorney to several justices on the Supreme Court from 1993 to 1998, almost every certiorari petition that came across my desk for review and recommendation to the justice I worked for could have been denied based on procedural noncompliance alone. While minor&#8230;]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1702</post-id>
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		<title>So How Many Issues Do You Raise on Appeal?</title>
		<link>https://brieflywriting.com/2014/04/03/so-how-many-issues-do-you-raise-on-appeal/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Skotnicki]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Apr 2014 03:27:23 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Appellate Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Court Procedure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Appeal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[appeal brief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Appellate court]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[appellate court judges]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Briefly Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Issues]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Skotnicki]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brieflywriting.com/?p=1675</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Sometimes I see judges or appellate lawyers advise that an appeal brief should not include every valid argument that could possibly be raised on appeal, but only the very best arguments available.  There are many good reasons for limiting the number of arguments raised on appeal. It&#8217;s hard for a lawyer to fit many arguments in an appeal brief and still do a thorough job supporting each one, judges lose focus when many issues are raised, and the weakness of some arguments may damage the appellant&#8217;s credibility as to stronger ones. Yet, I have seen this approach taken to an extreme by some in advocating that an appeal only raise one or two issues and no more. I&#8217;ve had a lawyer tell me with&#8230;]]></description>
		
		
		
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