The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals—like all of the federal circuit courts—uses both the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP), as well as its own set of local rules. The FRAP lays out general practice standards for all of the federal appellate courts, but also allows the circuits to issue their own rules that can [...]
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals—like all of the federal circuit courts—uses both the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP), as well as its own set of local rules. The FRAP lays out general practice standards for all of the federal appellate courts, but also allows the circuits to issue their own rules that can [...]
At Cockle Legal Briefs, we offer the most thorough and complete proofreading in the industry. We don’t just review the draft for rule compliance or assign a single reader to quickly scan the draft for obvious errors. Our teams of two readers examine every line, word, and character to find any possible problem with the [...]
In 1971, an attorney representing Ora Spitler McFarlin presented a petition to Indiana Circuit Court Judge Harold D. Stump, asking to have Ms. McFarlin’s fifteen-year-old daughter surgically sterilized. The petition alleged that Linda was “somewhat retarded” and that she associated with “older youth and young men.” Judge Stump granted the order. He did not give notice [...]
I recently discovered an extremely helpful resource that sets out some essential guidelines for persuasive written advocacy. Edited by Philip Allen Lacovara, senior counsel at Mayer Brown in New York, Effective Brief Writing, Chapter 7 of Federal Appellate Practice (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 2008), is a comprehensive and useful resource for anyone wanting [...]
I recently discovered an extremely helpful resource for legal brief writers. Edited by Philip Allen Lacovara, senior counsel at Mayer Brown in New York, Effective Brief Writing, Chapter 7 of Federal Appellate Practice (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 2008), is a comprehensive and useful resource for anyone wanting to know how to write a [...]
In my last post, I wrote about a cool resource I found that discusses the art of legal writing. Edited by Philip Allen Lacovara, senior counsel at Mayer Brown in New York, Effective Brief Writing, Chapter 7 of Federal Appellate Practice (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 2008), is a comprehensive and useful resource for [...]
Cockle Legal Briefs formats, reads and prints thousands of Supreme Court and federal circuit court briefs every year. And we have seen every kind of writing—professional and pro se, florid and direct, prose and even poetry. But for all of our experience, we still pause when asked a seemingly basic question: how to write a [...]
The Rules of the U.S. Supreme Court provide very specific guidelines for proper legal brief formatting. When the staff at Cockle Legal Briefs examines a brief for rule compliance, we focus on three main areas to confirm that the brief will meet the strict legal brief formatting requirements of the Court: necessary content, proper font [...]
One of the most common questions we hear from our customers is, “How late can I send you my Supreme Court brief draft?” And many of those customers are surprised to learn that in most instances, they can send the draft as late as the morning before the due date (and sometimes even later if [...]