Law School Briefs Congratulations on making it to law school. Now the fun starts. In your first year of law school, you will hear a lot about case briefs and how to correctly write them. This website will give you the standard form for outlining cases as well as tips on how to save time and actually remember what you're writing. It's one thing to make a case brief. It's another to know what you're talking about. When you get called on in class, reading from your laptop or out of a spiral isn't what the professor is looking for. If you're looking for a short cut, let me give you a hint - it's the long way. Just get it done and do it right the first time and you'll remember more in class and more importantly on the final exam (knowing the answers in class is great, but I'd rather get an A). Some cases in law books are interesting. Some are entertaining. Others are boring. The first rule to case briefs is not to get carried away by the cool facts are the case. Facts are important but they're secondary to the law and reasoning the court uses to make its decision. When you've got your book cracked open for the first time and you're ready to start, take a mechanical approach to the case and break it down into simple easy to understand parts. By doing this, the case is going to make sense to you and you're going to get it done faster because you don't have to keep reading and rereading it over and over. Below I will outline the elements of a case brief and then I'll provide you tips on what works for me as far as absorption and reciting in class with the help of my brief. How to Write a Law School Brief Procedure - What courts has this case been through and where did it end up at. This usually isn't overly important but some professors will harp on it just to make sure you're staying sharp. Facts - The relevant facts of the case. You've got to learn how to weed out the unimportant stuff and only extract the important facts of a case. These facts will be ones that matter in the decision. If you find yourself rewriting paragraphs, stop. Facts should not take you forever to write. Issue(s) - Each case has a legal issue that will be decided. The actual issue in the case will pertain to a particular person or group of people, but you'll want to look beyond this in the scope of law (this is what law professor's are really trying to extract from you). Remember to think critically about the issue and not just as the issue for the particular set of facts in the case. Holding - What did the court decide. Very short. Reasoning - The rationale behind why a court decided the way it did. The most important part of the brief. The reasoning has big time exam potential. Tips for Studying in Law School Now that you know how to brief, here are a few tips on how to be more efficient with your briefing and studying in general. First, don't try to brief and read at the same time. I attempted to do this and the result was you spend too much time going back and correcting what you thought was an important fact or an issue that was really collateral to the main legal question in the case. My advice is to read through the case diligently but at a quick pace and make notes in your book as you go on for what you think will be parts of the law school brief - facts, issue, etc. After you've read the case, you'll probably have a good understanding of it. Next, scan through it and extract the important pieces of information using your facts and memory. Now compose your brief and then read through it to make sure you feel you've got a great condensed version of the case. Finally, for class highlight some of the key points so you can quickly identify specific lines in case you are called on. Lastly, I just want to provide you with some general advice. When you're studying for class, don't ever let yourself get too bogged down on a case because you've got to remember that there's a lot more to do than just that one case. Do your best to attack each and every case and learn the best you can on your own. If you pay attention in class, you'll pick up almost all of the loose ends. Also, know that your rigors will pay off come final exam time. Some people in your section or law class might not be studying as much as you and seem to be getting by ok (and they may actually be) but in law school, there's no way around learning the material besides learning it and the best way to absorb the law is through repetition and practice. If you've put in the time during the semester, your final exams will be a lot easier to study for and you won't be scrambling at the last minute to try cram everything in. Trust me, it is well worth it to get mechanical with your briefs and put in the time daily. Your grades will be higher and you'll remember more for the bar and practice. Email Me | Site Privacy Policy | Law School Case Briefs and Outlines