“Will you walk into my parlor?” said the spider to the fly;“Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy.”[1] In my salad days as an appellate lawyer, fresh off a clerkship with a California Supreme Court Justice, I believed my appellant’s opening brief should discuss the case and the arguments completely, leaving no…

You’ve just begun your oral argument to an appellate panel, and the Justices quickly go on the attack.  They launch a series of questions at you that strongly suggest one thing: they’ve read your briefs, and they aren’t buying your arguments.  They are about to rule against you.  What to do?  If you want to…

I have a problem.  In past columns, I’ve adorned these pages with advice about what I call “aggressive reasonableness.”  This means being bold when writing a brief, strongly asserting the justice of your client’s cause.  But it includes being reasonable, both in tone and substance.  Leave out the personal attacks on opposing counsel.  Omit the…

When I receive an Appellant’s Opening Brief or Respondent’s Brief from my opponent, I print it out.  Then I close my eyes and hold it in my hand, feeling its weight.  Then I ask myself: “How many words?”  The wheels of my brain turn for a few seconds, and then I proclaim the answer: “Around…

I’m no hard-core tech expert, but I do handle tech appeals (three now pending).  So I’ve been following the recent developments in artificial intelligence.  Many advances, plus lots of fear. Fear of what?  Well, coincidentally, I’ve been pushing my 12-year old son Ari to elevate his tastes.  So the other night we watched The Terminator…

There must be something wrong with this title.  Editing is drudgery—necessary—but ugh!  How can there be any joy in it? I love editing.  It’s like taking a scuffed-up gold ring and polishing it to a smooth sheen.  I got to thinking about this a while back, when helping my then-ten-year-old with his homework.  Math and…