Brevity is the Soul of What?

Posted By Cliff Tuttle | March 29, 2015

No. 1,133

The Federal judiciary is proposing to limit briefs to 12,500 words.  The current limit is 14,000.

The advocates of the Rule change are mostly judges.The opponents are  primarily appellate lawyers who worry that they might commit malpractice if they fail to cite a case or state every argument they can invent.

Of course, if lawyers read more widely, they might learn that the human mind is quickly bored, including the minds of  judges.  And if they remembered more of the literature they read before becoming so tedious, they might remember that brevity is the soul of . . . something. Here’s a brief refresher course:

Welcome

CLIFF TUTTLE has been a Pennsylvania lawyer for over 45 years and (inter alia) is a real estate litigator and legal writer. The posts in this blog are intended to provide general information about legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus. However, this information does not constitute legal advice and there is no lawyer-client relationship created when you read this blog. You are encouraged to leave comments but be aware that posted comments can be read by others. If you wish to contact me in privacy, please use the Contact Form located immediately below this message. I will reply promptly and in strict confidence.

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