Clear Writing Through Purposeful Sentences, by Stephen D. Feldman, Ellis & Winters, LLP

http://www.elliswinters.com/updates/feldman_clear_writing_14

Clear writing makes winning more likely.  Why?

Consider our courts’ workloads.  A federal district court judge, on average, annually handles over five hundred filings.[1]

The federal appellate courts annually receive more than 50,000 appeals.[2]  State courts experience the same pressures.[3]

These docket pressures, however, do not diminish the role of briefs.  If anything, it is enhanced.  Judges—even when they hear oral arguments—regularly make their rulings based on the briefs.[4]  A winning brief, then, must convey to the reader the key points for victory—and do so in one reading. . . .