Skip to content
LPBN-Icon-v1
Appellate Advocacy Blog
A Member of the Law Professor Blogs Network

The Appellate Advocate’s Library

By Charles Oldfield

             A recent post to the Legal Writing Professors’ Listserv asked what “how-to” practice books new lawyers should have on their bookshelves. That question prompted me to wonder what books appellate advocates should have in their library. Here, in no particular order, is my list.

  • Tessa L. Dysart, Leslie H. Southwick, & Ruggero J. Aldisert, Winning on Appeal: Better Briefs and Oral Argument (3d ed. 2017)
  • Bryan A. Garner, Garner’s Modern English Usage (4th ed. 2016)
  • Bryan A. Garner, Legal Writing in Plain English (2d ed. 2013)
  • Black’s Law Dictionary (10th ed.)
  • Richard C. Wydick, Plain English for Lawyers (5th ed. 2019)
  • Bryan A. Garner, The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style (4th ed. 2019)
  • Ross Guberman, Point Made (2d ed. 2014)
  • Alan L. Dworsky, The Little Book on Oral Argument (2d ed. 2018)
  • Patricia T. O’Connor, Woe is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English (3d ed. 2009)
  • Benjamin Dreyer, Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style (2019)
  • Antonin Scalia & Bryan A. Garner, Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges (2008)
  • Mary Beth Beazley, A Practical Guide to Appellate Advocacy (5th ed. 2020)
  • David C. Frederick, Supreme Court and Appellate Advocacy (3d 3d. 2019)
  • Bryan A. Garner, The Winning Brief: 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Courts (3d ed. 2014)
  • Matthew Butterick, Typography for Lawyers (2d ed. 2018) (also available for free online at https://typographyforlawyers.com/)
  • Verlyn Klinkenborg, Several Short Sentences About Writing (2012)
  • Colleen M. Berger, ALWD Guide to Legal Citation (6th ed. 2017)
  • Susan Bell, The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself (2008)

What would you add?