Dear Legal Writer, There’s a right way & a wrong way to use cases persuasively.

2026Legal Writing
Written By Amanda Haverstick

A long list of string cites won’t cut it.

It is FAR more convincing to describe one or two of the cases in a full sentence BEFORE you advance your conclusion.

—Bare parentheticals make your argument harder to follow.

—They also make extra analytical work from your reader, which is never good.

Attached are three examples meant to illustrate the difference.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

💌 Amanda

#DearLegalWriter

Amanda Haverstick
Previous

Dear Rising 1L, Hello & major kudos on getting into law school; it was a tough cycle. Stay tuned here for new, original content designed to help you get ready for law school.
Next

Don’t go to law school to meet your husband. I did and failed miserably.