Legal Writing

Skilling’s Reply Brief

If you’re a fan of legal writing and/or legal blogs, you’ve probably read this elsewhere already.  But I’m still playing catchup from the holidays and thought some of you might be, too, so here goes.

Jeff Skilling filed his reply brief in his Fifth Circuit appeal of his convictions.  You might remember earlier posts about the extraordinary length of his opening brief here and here, the former of which also has a round-up of commentary on its substance.   

According to White Collar Crime Prof Blog, the 161-page reply is the shortest brief filed in the case yet.  The blog follows up with some commentary on the substance of the brief here, including an observation that the transition from the statement of facts to the first argument is “a masterpiece in the art of skillful brief writing.”