This popular paralegal-specific text introduces the skills of reading and analyzing court opinions. It focuses on briefing cases and applying case law in legal memoranda and advocacy letters. This is a major revision with new cases, expanded writing chapters, and a greatly enlarged teaching support package.

PART I: HOW TO BRIEF AN OPINION: Introduction to Court Opinions and the Legal System

Introduction to Briefing. Identifying the Parties
Identifying the Objectives and Theories of the Parties
Identifying the History of the Litigation
introduction to Identifying Key Facts
Identifying Issues and Holdings
Identifying the Reasoning. Dictum, Disposition, and Commentary on an Opinion
A Composite Brief

PART II: THE APPLICATION OF COURT OPINIONS: Fact Comparison in the Application of Case Law: Fact Similarities, Fact Differences, and Fact Gaps

Rule-of-Law Comparison
Factors Determining the Length and Comprehensiveness of Case Analysis
Primary and Secondary Authority: Their use and Abuse in legal Writing
Using and Abusing Legislative History in Legal Writing
Writing the Memorandum of Law
Letter Writing and Case Analysis
The Appelatte Brief
Clarity in Legal Writing

APPENDICES:

Opinions to be Used for Some of the Assignments
Suggested Responses to the Practice Assignments
Overview of Civil and Criminal Litigation
Citations in Legal Writing
Quotation Marks, Brackets, and Ellipsis Dots
Usage Rules and Guidelines From A to Z
Proofreader's Marks

Glossary
Index.