3 Signs Your Case Briefs are Working for You

Briefing every assigned case is hard work—it honestly deserves a reward.  But if your briefs aren't useful when it counts, you're wasting valuable time.

Here are three simple ways to determine if your case briefs are truly effective.

1.  Your brief helps you follow along in class.  Whether you're cold-called or volunteering, if your brief enables you to clarify class discussions and engage in easy dialogue with your professor, it's effective.

2.  Your brief reflects your understanding, not just a copy-paste of the opinion. Professors rarely ask for a simple case outcome. Instead, they might ask how the appellate court's decision differs from the trial court's. To answer, you need to understand both outcomes and their implications. If your brief captures this understanding, it's effective.

3.  Your brief helps you remember the case for exams.  An effective brief lets you recall the case's significance at a glance. Briefs that do this well focus on relevant facts, explain the main takeaway in your own words, and highlight similarities and differences with other cases on the same topic.

If your case briefs meet one or more of these criteria, congratulations! Start (or keep on) proudly participating in class and enjoy the rewards of your hard work.

If they don't, consider signing up for a one-on-one coaching session with me so we can uncover the reason(s) your briefs don’t help you.  

You shouldn’t have to put in that much work to not realize a benefit!