How to Write a Case Brief: Top Tips for Writing

Writing assignments are a part of education in law schools. Many law students adore resolving law issues and legal cases. The issue is that the majority of them hate writing case briefs. This task presupposes a detailed analysis of a law case with reference to facts, laws, and justification of the decisions and judgments used. It should present a critical assessment and a summary of a legal case decision justified with strong arguments and laws.

Thus, for many students, it is easier to find a professional to do my case brief requests and get a great paper. If you are looking for some pieces of advice on how to write a case brief, the information in this article may help you understand what you should do.

When you get an assignment to write a matter brought before a court in your law school, you receive specific instructions for it. The information below helps you comprehend the main idea of this task and provide you with basic tips on how to compose case briefs. If you think that “brief” in the assignment means a short claim, you are wrong.

This is a persuasive form of a verb that requests that you should make a lengthy and detailed case brief. The following assignment requires much effort and scrupulousness from you. After you have read this article, you will not have any questions when you get such a task.

Why law students write case briefs

Woman working at the desk in office

Being a lengthy assignment that requires many details and research, you may question why to spend time and effort on it instead of taking some practice in the real law cases. Here are a few reasons why students should compose lawsuit studies:

  • Using as a good learning tool
  • Applying theoretical knowledge obtained in a law school
  • Outlining rules and principles of using different laws in real cases
  • Learning how the legal system works

When you do this assignment, you learn to apply the law in real cases. Also, you learn how to make notes and refer the justifications to a legal case.

What elements of a brief to consider

Case Briefing

When you read the assignment on the case brief, you may be unaware of what to start with and which parts to include. Check out the elements of a case brief and ensure to cover all the points.

(a) Title and Citation. Name the claim, list the parties involved in the legal case, and make notes about the major issues one needs to understand what action is in focus.
(b) Facts. Provide all the facts the case has covered. Do not make any assumptions; make emphasis on what is evident.
(c) Issues. List the disputing points. What were the reasons for a lawsuit?
(d) Holding. Write the summary of the response of the course to the issue.
(e) Rationale. Complete justifications on why this particular decision was made. You should always refer to the laws and other evidence to support your argumentation. What were the reasons for holding?

A) Title and Citation

In this section, you need to provide a title of the matter brought before a court and give a detailed analysis of the parties involved. It is necessary to indicate a Plaintiff first, a person who has brought the lawsuit to the court. You should not get confused if you study the claim in detail. Try to provide as many details as you can about the case to help a reader to indicate the particular lawsuit. Use the numbers of electronic legal databases if you can find the case there.

B) Facts

You should list the major facts, pieces of evidence, and other related information. You need to provide the situation as it has taken place using all the facts from the case. Do not make any assumptions at this stage. You should indicate the situation without personal judgment. Just take the case and make notes of all the events that have been set as evident and those which do not require confirmation.

The facts are obvious situations that both parties agree with. You should describe what has occurred. What were the events that led to the lawsuit? Then you have to indicate what actions were taken. Was there any police intrusion? Who affected the situation? You should state the procedures that were taken to resolve the issue on the site. Which legal rules were taken into account? Was it enough to regulate the issue at that stage?

C) Issues

Lawyers holding papers

You should indicate the key reasons to bring the case to court. What was the problem? What results do you expect to obtain? Overall, you need to state clearly the major problem that you wish to resolve. Provide your argument as to why the case should be resolved in your favor. Give your reasons, evidence, and justification.

You may refer to your opinion here. Your opinion should be supported with some arguments and evidence. Do not describe bare or unrelated facts. You have to support those with credible data, laws, and other pieces of evidence.

D) Holdings

Write down the court decision. You may copy the decision from the law documentation or try to rephrase your answer. If the question was developed in such a way that it required only a yes or no response, ensure that you explain what these short responses mean. The reader may check this section only and understand what decision was drawn.

You should always include the justification of the decision referring to the interpretation of the statute, constitution, or judicial doctrines. You should always use only professional language and appropriate terminology.

E) Rationale

This section requires the critical and analytical thinking skills you need to cover the information regarding the court decision. You should clarify why this decision was taken and why no other options were suggested or considered. You should cite the law, refer to evidence, and provide a strong argumentation of why this particular decision became a lawsuit outcome.

If you have any doubts about whether the arguments you have offered are logical, you may follow this plan:

  • Reasoning. You ought to justify the decision to make this particular judgment.
  • Analysis. You should always provide a reasonable rationale for why the court has made a specific focus on this particular decision. Could there have been any possibilities to draw another decision? What facts or pieces of evidence have led to this specific solution? What is the value of the current case? You may also provide your personal opinion regarding the decision or offer an alternative solution. You may do this if you have arguments in favor of any specific solution.
  • Policy. You should always indicate whether the decision leads to a new rule. This section may help give an understanding of the purpose of a rule.

How to Edit and Proofread the case

The editing and proofreading stage is an essential part of any writing assignment. You need to read the whole case and edit the statements that seem weird or unclear. You should pay attention to grammar, sentence structure, style, and overall flow of ideas. If you notice some inconsistencies, you should make the necessary corrections. If it is difficult for you to edit, format, or proofread your case brief, you may always seek professional help online.