Written Arguments

• Author: Rebecca A. Taylor
• Pages: 17-21

Written Arguments 17

Written Arguments

Chapter 4

17

Good writing is an essential element of your law practice. Some-

times a well-written argument with abundant citation to legal au-

thority will obviate the necessity for oral argument of a matter, or

will at least make your job much easier at the hearing. Sometimes a

judge will decide whether to grant you a hearing based on what

you submit in writing first, as in appellate practice, but many trial

courts are now following certain procedures on this as well; for

example, one judge requires that you submit a motion for rehearing

for his review first, and he will then decide if he will grant hearing

on the motion or simply deny it without further hearing.1

In foreclosure defense circles, you will often see boilerplate

forms circulating that may have no factual relation to your specific

case. Avoid using such forms without tailoring the forms and alle-

gations contained therein to your case. Use of these forms will of-

ten tip off the courts that your papers are filed solely for delay

purposes, which is usually not an effective strategy.

In preparing a written argument, begin by determining all of

the issues you need to research. The entire time you are doing re-

search, you will be learning more about your case and forming

your argument in your head. You don’t want to start writing before

1. Civil Division (09) Procedures, Hon. David Krathen, available at http:/

/www.17th.flcourts.org/div09procedures.pdf at p.11.