Case briefs and legal briefs

A brief is a document presented to interested members of a court of law. Briefs are addressed to a specific audience and typically include a short description of a legal case, highlighting key issues, relevant facts, and, if applicable, a history of related court decisions; an analysis and interpretation of how the case applies to a particular organization; and the legal principles and jurisdictional issues related to the desired outcome.

Your instructor may ask you to follow the IRAC model when you write case and legal briefs. IRAC is an organizational approach used in legal writing as a method for problem solving and structuring an analysis. The acronym IRAC stands for the following steps:

Another organizational approach is based on the acronym PEAR:

The explanations of the IRAC and PEAR models are adapted from the Criminology, Law, and Society Writing Guide from George Mason University.

Related topics:

Research papers

Analytical papers

Argument or position papers

Investigative and administrative reports

Policy memos

Case plans (or case notes)