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Preparation is everything! Whether you’re training for the Olympics or trying to win a case in court, winners know they must exercise, prepare themselves, and be ready for the competition. If you do things the way I teach in my affordable,official, 24-hour step-by-step Jurisdictionary“How to Win in Court” self-help course, you may not have to go to trial. Most court cases can be won before trial, if you follow a certain method of proceeding. But! You will in all likelihood be required to prepare for and attend a few hearings and, if you don’t master what I teach in my course, you will probably have to prepare for and enter the trial arena for a final judgment. Either way, you must prepare. The best preparation begins when the case begins (whether you’re a plaintiff or defendant). Here is when you memorize the “pleadings” (i.e., the allegations of the plaintiff’s Complaint, the defendant’s Answer and Affirmative Defenses, and the plaintiff’s Reply to the defendant’s Affirmative Defenses. These are the most important documents in any case! The allegations in these initial documents tell us what the parties intend to prove, indeed what they mustprove by the greater weight of admissible evidence in order to win. Too many people worry about too many things that have nothing whatever to do with the allegations contained in the pleadings. Everything begins and ends with the allegations contained in the initial pleadings. If your case goes to trial, it will those allegations in your pleadings that you’ll be struggling to prove by bringing in MORE evidence in favor of your allegations than your opponent has in support of his. Whether you’re at a hearing or a full-blown jury trial, the only facts that matter are those alleged by the pleadings. Other facts may be brought in by witnesses, documents, or tangible exhibits – but the only facts necessary are those that tend to prove or disprove the allegations of the pleadings. Everthing else is a waste of time and only results in muddying the waters and giving your opponent more opportunities to confuse the judge and discredit you! Now is the time to list the witnesses, documents, and tangible things you have (or can get with your 5 discovery tools explained in my course) that will tend to prove your allegations are true. Now is the time to list the witnesses, documents, and tangible things you have (or can get with your 5 discovery tools explained in my course) that will tend to dis-prove the allegations of your opponent’s pleadings. Now is the time to move the court to take judicial notice of all facts for which the court can be forced to take judicial notice. Now is the time to move the court to take judicial notice of all laws that apply to the facts of the case. Now is the time to file motions in limine to prevent your opponent from bringing in extraneous or prejudicial facts at trial. Now is the time to file carefully-researched memoranda in support of your motions and overall legal position. Now is the time to line up your witnesses, get affidavits of their testimony before you take their depositions, and then take their depositions so you can be assured their testimony at evidentiary hearings or trial will be what your witnesses “told” you it would be. Now is the time to take depositions of your opponent’s witnesses, so you can undermine them and show they do not have first-hand knowledge of the facts your opponent intends to use them to present, or that they are biased, or that they are convicted felons or otherwise unreliable. Now is the time to order my affordable, official, 24-hour step-by-step Jurisdictionary “How to Win in Court” self-help course and begin to study it carefully so you don’t find yourself behind the 8-ball when it comes time for hearingsor trial. If you do things my way, you may not have to go to trial at all. |
What is good legal writing?
I want you to think about this question … hard and long!
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What is your goal?
Everything we do in life has in one sense or another a particular goal. Some things we do are automatic, like breathing, yet there is always a goal. In business, the goal is to provide a benefit to others. In sports, the goal is to perform to the highest of our athletic ability. In law, the goal is to make a winning record in writing!
Many lawyers and most pro se litigants miss this point … they get sidetracked with unimportant distractions!
Every word spoken in a courtroom or written on paper filed with the clerk or served on the other side must aim toward this specific goal.
All words that aren’t aimed at making a winning record must go!
Since 1997 when Jurisdictionary began, people have sent documents for review. In all but a few the punch, power, and persuasive effect could be improved by eliminating 90% of the words and by keeping only those aimed at making a winning record.
Most of what came for review read more like the writer was trying to tell a story, rather than trying to make a winning court record of relevant facts and controlling law!
Legal writing is NOT story-telling!
Any fact that’s not “relevant” and any law that’s not “controlling” should be eliminated.
I rebuilt a few car engines in my youth. I removed bolts, nuts, gaskets, and pins. I placed the removed parts on a sheet of cardboard on the floor of my garage. All was arranged neatlyin order. When the time came to put the engine back together, every part had a place, and that’s where I put each part … in its place!
A place for every part. Every part in its place.
I didn’t add any parts! I didn’t leave any parts out!
That’s good legal writing!
Every word has a purpose … to make your winning record.
More years ago than I like to remember, I worked as a reporter for the Tampa Times newspaper. My city editor was ruthless with my writing. I learned from him. Since being admitted to the bar in 1986, I’ve applied what he taught me. “Say what needs to be said then stop!”
What was true for newspaper writing is doubly true for legal writing.
Say what needs to be said and stop!
Write like you were “speaking” to an 8th grader. You aren’t Jimmy Buffet. You don’t need a “novelist’s eye” or a “bartender’s ear”. You aren’t telling a story! You’re assembling essential parts of a powerful engine.
That’s what good legal writing does! Each part has a specific purpose.
What I teach will empower your legal paperwork and give you the competitive edge you need to win!
You can use the court’s subpoena power in a traffic ticket trial or criminal court case where you represent yourself. It is the way to force things or people to show up. The way to do it is to get the form, get the court clerk to sign it, and then get it served properly. Continue reading