More and more judges are reading briefs on computer screens, rather than paper. While the basic principles of effective brief writing apply regardless of the manner in which the court consumes your brief, the electronic medium presents new opportunities to leverage both technology and the principles of document design and web usability to give your brief even more persuasive power. These slides were put together by legal research and writing expert Lisa Solomon to show how to persuasively present information intended to be read on a screen in pdf format. - How judges are reading briefs today - Differences between screen-reading and paper-reading - The F-pattern for reading web content - Tips for writing for the 21st-Century legal reader

1. Pixel Persuasion:
Legal Writing For the 21st Century

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4. About OurPresenter
• Assists attorneys with legal
research and writing needs
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and run successful practices as
contract (freelance) attorneys
• Teaches lawyers how to write
more persuasive briefs
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LisaSolomon,Esq.

5. Watch On YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=1J7xlkuTvvo

6. HowUsersReadAcademicorJournalArticlesOnline
7%
15%
48%
10%
20%
Print document to read on
paper only
Read online first, then
print to read on paper
again
Scan online first, then print
to read in more detail
I do not use online sources
for this document type
Read online only
Source: Shaikh, Paper or Pixels:
What are People Reading Online,
Usability News, July 2004

8. Heat maps from user eye tracking studies of three websites. The
areas where users looked the most are colored red; the yellow areas
indicate fewer views, followed by the least-viewed blue areas. Gray
areas didn't attract any fixations.
Source: Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, April 17, 2006: F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content

9. Before
After
Source: Dubose, Legal Writing for the Rewired Brain

10. Thecourt’srulingisgrosslyerroneous.
Worthingtonhadabsolutelyno
involvementwiththetransaction
whatsoever.
Danton’scontentionsarecompletely
lackinginmerit.
The court erred by excluding the
report because it was a statement
by an interested party.
Worthington lacks standing because
it was not a party to the Price
transaction.
Source: Dubose, Legal Writing for the Rewired Brain

12. Version 1
A. There was in-
sufficient evidence
that Jones made a
material
misstatement
B. Reliance by Smith
was not proved by
sufficient evidence
Version 2
A. There was in-
sufficient evidence
that Jones made a
material
misstatement
B. There was in-
sufficient evidence
that Smith relied on
any misstatement
Source: Dubose, Legal Writing for the Rewired Brain

13. Caseload Activity in the Appellate Division-2009
First Dept. Second Dept. Third Dept. Fourth Dept. Total
Civil Criminal Civil Criminal Civil Criminal Civil Criminal
Records on Appeal Filed 1,587 768 3,147 764 1,482 396 912 641 9,697
Disposed of before argument or submission
(e.g. , dismissed, withdrawn, settled)
134 127 5,995 1,299 109 1 0 0 7,665
Disposed of after argument or submission
Affirmed 961 687 1,725 708 903 265 442 561 6,255
Reversed 323 29 774 59 192 35 157 41 1,610
Modified 246 39 390 37 140 29 116 62 1,099
Dismissed 177 7 411 6 138 6 146 20 908
Other 88 3 118 141 10 0 5 1 366
Total Dispositions 1,924 892 9,415 2,250 1,492 336 866 688 17,863
First Dept. Second Dept. Third Dept. Fourth Dept. Total
Oral Arguments* 1,216 2,321 715 1,027 5,279
Motions Decided* 4,648 10,321 6,195 3,489 24,653
Admissions to the Bar 3,819 2,712 3,360 322 10,213
Atty Disciplinary Proceedings Decided 1,691 176 54 63 1,984
*not broken down by civil or criminal
Source: NYS Unified Court System, 2009 Annual Report

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