One or more presenters will be selected from Call for Papers.
This program will discuss the past, present, and future of appellate briefs. The program will begin with a scholarly exploration of the history of appellate briefs, focusing on the earliest American briefs and the transition from purely oral advocacy to written advocacy. The most famous brief in U.S. history, the Brandeis Brief, will be contextualized, discussed, and critiqued. The program will then turn to a focus on how briefs have changed in recent years and on innovative practices today’s top advocates deploy. The tensions between the orthodoxies that law students are taught about briefing and how elite lawyers actually litigate their disputes will be explored. Finally, a discussion of the future of briefs will serve as an opportunity to explore how technology and academic research could productively change the way that lawyers brief their cases. For instance, the discussion will explore how cognitive psychology concepts and new media technology could (or should) inform the way that lawyers advance their legal arguments.
Business Meeting at Program Conclusion.