When it comes to Court materials, sometimes form is more
important than substance. You may have excellent legal arguments,
persuasive case law and perfect, McGill guide approved footnotes,
but if your materials are voluminous and convoluted, a judge may be
less inclined to review your materials prior to Court. Here are
some tips to keep in mind when preparing your Court materials.
Compendiums
Prepare a compendium of the key documents or key excerpts of the
documents to be referred to in argument to assist the Court in
focusing the case where the Court materials are voluminous.
The compendium can include affidavits, exhibits, transcript
excerpts, and cases all in one brief.
When assembling the compendium, think about ways to make the
brief useful to the Court. For example, list the documents in the
order in which you will refer to them in your submissions so the
judge can easily follow along.
