【Episode 16 – Bulletproof Brief (1)】
New York University,
Vanderbilt Hall, Room 222
A Lawyering class.
"Who can tell me what a brief is?"
"A legal document containing arguments."
A brief is a legal document—a written submission to the court containing arguments. Just as the Korean litigation system distinguishes between types of documents submitted by attorneys to the court, such as preparatory briefs and reference briefs, the Anglo-American litigation system also uses more specific terms, such as pre-trial brief, trial brief, and appellate brief. However, the essence of a legal brief is similar in all cases.
It is writing meant to persuade the court or the opposing party.
"Then what is IRAC?"
While it is writing meant to persuade the opposing party, it differs from other argumentative writing.
"It is an acronym for Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion."
Its format is firmly fixed.
A brief must,
first and foremost, state the Issue,
next, mention the Rule applicable to that issue,
then explain why that law should be applied to the present case (Application),
and finally, state the Conclusion.
"Do you know why I ask again what I asked last time?"
It is because this is so important that no amount of emphasis is enough.
It is a fixed format to the extent that it would be no exaggeration to say all writing done by North American lawyers for work follows the IRAC structure, and some elderly judges are so strict that they will not even read a brief that deviates even slightly from the IRAC format.
｢Follow IRAC!｣
Though I had only been able to attend my first year due to personal circumstances, I feel like I heard those words hundreds of times during that single year.
"It's because it's difficult no matter how many times you say it."
If you ask why such a simple rule is difficult, it means you have failed to grasp the essence of the IRAC rule.
Why is the written document called a brief?
Why is it not called writing or a paper, but a brief—a word that means "short"?
If you realize the meaning behind that, you will understand the essence of the IRAC format.
"Suppose you have writing skills good enough to win a Pulitzer Prize. Suppose you have the talent to make readers laugh and cry at will with your writing. But the court will not read that kind of writing. To secure an acquittal for a client who killed someone, even when you must explain what kind of background that person grew up in and why they had no choice but to commit murder, the judge will only read it if you follow the IRAC rule."
There was more than a little exaggeration in emphasizing the importance of the IRAC rule to the freshmen, but it was the truth.
Writing that completely excludes emotion.
It must be as concise as possible yet persuasive enough to be difficult to refute,
and not only must rhetorical flourishes be avoided, but even unnecessary modifiers must not be included,
a rule that demands logical coherence even at moments when appealing to emotion is the only option.
That was precisely the IRAC rule.
"Why won't they read it?"
The reason is that a brief must not become writing meant to captivate.
However, all writing must be captivating. Unless it is so captivating that while reading it, the reader is "spellbound and forgets everything else," it is impossible to persuade the reader.
The task of writing a persuasive piece without employing any compositional techniques capable of captivating the reader.
What an ironic rule that is.
That is why writing briefs is so difficult.
"So that one is not swayed by the lawyer's writing skills and can render as objective a judgment as possible."
Nevertheless, within the same rules, some people write more compellingly than others. That is one of the virtues distinguishing a mediocre lawyer from a skilled one.
---*---
Ding ding-
[Michael: James, read a brief for me. Tell me what you think after reading it.]
[James: Are you crazy?]
[Michael: It's important. Read it for me.]
[James: Have you really lost it? Ugh—okay. My hourly rate is $430. Since you're my brother, I'll give you a discount. Just pay $387.]
[Michael: I'll give you Eleanor Young's email address.]
[James: For real?]
[Michael: Are you going to read it or not?]
[James: Don't send it to my company email. Send it to my personal email.]
[Michael: What's your personal email?]
[James: [email protected]]
[Michael: OMG fucking speechless, man.]
[James: fuck u]
---*---
After school, an apartment in East Harlem.
When he returned home, Mia was contentedly eating japchae that she had received from Dongwook hyung's housewarming party.
"What? You too?"
Her eyes went wide at the news that he had submitted an application to participate in the Immigration Law Moot Court Competition.
"What do you mean, 'me too'?"
"Jen said over the weekend that she had interviewed to enter that moot court competition too."
"Jennifer too?"
"Yeah. I bet she submitted a sample brief too."
She really was a woman who got on his nerves every time he heard about her.
"The prize money went up this year, didn't it?"
"Yeah. Right."
"The competition will be fierce."
"I'll give it a shot."
"But will you be okay? Preparing for that while working as a research assistant?"
"Some people do it while pursuing both a JD and an MBA."
"Didn't I tell you?"
"Huh?"
"That you two are similar."
At first, it had sounded like she was just saying it,
"If you do well, the two of you might meet in the final round."
"We have to be selected for the school team first."
"Jen said she already made the team."
The more he heard, the more curious he became about this person named Jennifer Lin.
"But, Heon."
"Yeah?"
"What's the name of this dish?"
"Japchae."
"Job-chae? It's so delicious. Do they have this at Korean restaurants?"
---*---
242 Mercer Street, New York.
Hayden Hall dormitory.
Perhaps because what she had said in the morning weighed on her mind, Sein brought over leftover housewarming food and came to Michael's room.
"What is this?"
"I asked earlier if you had any of the food Goeun unni packed left. You said you ate it all."
"Oh—thanks."
Michael took the plastic container Sein handed him in a flash. Inside were leftover jeon and japchae.
"Sorry about earlier at school."
"About what?"
"I just... I didn't think you were interested in moot court... so when you said you were doing it..."
"Ah—that. I'm not uninterested. I just want to take the easiest path. It's not that I don't want to be a lawyer."
At Michael's answer, Sein nodded awkwardly.
Ding ding-
Just then, Michael's phone rang.
[James: Hey, who wrote this brief?]
"Hold on. It's my brother. I sent him Heon's brief from school earlier."
"Your brother said he'd read it?"
"Yeah."
Michael apologized to Sein and replied.
[Michael: Why?]
[James: Just tell me who wrote it.]
[Michael: I did.]
[James: Don't make me laugh.]
[James: Hey, stop talking nonsense and tell me who wrote it.]
[Michael: Why does that matter? Just tell me if it's good or not. If there's anything to supplement, let me know.]
[James: Ah, this punk, seriously.]
[Michael: Why do you care who wrote it? There's this smart kid at our school. Why? Is there some problem?]
[James: Give me their email.]
[Michael: Why again?]
[James: If your older brother asks, you just say 'Yes, sir' and give it. Why are you talking back... I'm going to give it to our firm's recruiting attorney, that's why?]
Bulletproof Brief (2)
[James: Are you entering the Immigration Law Moot Court Competition?]
[Michael: How did you know?]
[James: Are you stupid? Why else would you send me an immigration law brief?]
[James: You actually managed to get selected for the team, huh?]
[Michael: Get lost.]
[James: Who wrote it? At a glance, it looks like something written by a kid in Law Review. Is it a graduate? Did they apply to a firm?]
As a smile spread across Michael's face while he exchanged texts with his brother, Sein, curious about the reason, wondered what Michael's brother was saying.
"Why are you smiling? What is he saying?"
"Hold on. I'll tell you as soon as I'm done."
[Michael: A first-year wrote it.]
[James: Really?]
[Michael: Why? Surprised they're smarter than you?]
[James: Smarter than me, my ass. But? Did a first-year really write this?]
[Michael: YEAP!]
[James: Really? I'm not joking. I already told our firm's recruiting attorney about this. I said it'd be a good idea to extend a recruitment offer to the kid who wrote this brief.]
"Oh ho ho—Heon must have written it really well. For my brother to say something like this."
"Why? What is he saying?"
[Michael: So you're saying it was well written?]
[James: Well written?]
[James: Do you know what a firm calls this kind of brief?]
[Michael: ??]
[James: A bulletproof argument.]
Bulletproof argument: an unassailable, "bulletproof" argument.
"He must have written it really well. He's the kind of person who would have said something if there was even one thing to nitpick."
"What is he saying?"
"He said it's bulletproof."
"Really?"
"We're set with this. I hate to admit it, but my brother is quite the accomplished guy. When he was in school, he made it to the quarterfinal round of the Jessup Moot Court Competition."
She knew that Michael's brother had graduated from Columbia Law School and currently worked at Kirkland & Elise LLC, the largest law firm in Chicago, but she hadn't known he was a Jessup Moot Court Competition quarterfinalist.
When Sein looked at him with a surprised expression, Michael scrunched up his face, as if he didn't want to talk more about his brother. That was just how their relationship was. An older brother who was a source of pride but annoyance, a younger brother who was a bother but still a concern.
[James: So what's the email of the kid who wrote this brief?]
[Michael: Hmm. They said they're not interested in your firm.]