Dear 1L, A legal brief should be evergreen.

“Evergreen” is a term you might recognize from the plant world:
—it refers to trees that remain green through winter.

But “evergreen” writing means writing that surpasses its immediate purpose and audience, keeping its usefulness over time.

👉 Your legal brief this semester absolutely needs to be “evergreen.”

This means you should include EVERYTHING any reader would need to understand your case & the governing law WITHOUT:

-Background context about your case
-Knowledge of the applicable law
-References to other materials

I want you to imagine your reader has ZERO familiarity with your case.

Definitely forget about your professor who assigned the brief.

Instead, write for EVERY potential legal reader:

—a busy judge new to your case,
—a law clerk fresh out of law school,
—a first-year law student in another class,
—an associate who stumbles upon your brief in 3 years.

The best briefs don’t just pass an assignment.

They become something everyone else can
—refer back to,
—learn about the law, and
—update for use in future matters.

TIP: If you’re not sure about whether to include something, you might ask:

⁉️ “If I sent this to Amanda, would she understand the brief without me telling her anything else?”

If the answer is “No,” then you need to do a better job explaining.

—Sending so much good luck to you always— 🍀

💌 Amanda

#Dear1L
#DearLegalWriter

📬 Litigators: What litmus test do you use when deciding how much to include in a brief?