A pre-trial brief takes a lot of effort, but it can really set the stage for success before you walk into the courtroom – particularly in a bench trial.
Preparing for trial is exhausting enough, so it’s tempting to put the pre-trial brief on the backburner. Don’t. Give the court all of the information that should be necessary for you to win, and then a little bit more. Acknowledge the weaknesses in your case so the court isn’t surprised when you walk into trial with half as good a case as your brief would suggest.
Here is an example of a brief Brandon Bass of our office recently used in a construction negligence case where a driver was critically injured in a car wreck on an Interstate exit ramp. We alleged that the State failed to use appropriate signs and other markings to advise drivers and that the failure to do so left the intersection confusing and dangerous. We used photos in the text of the brief to help her understand the confusing nature of the intersection without having to like flip back and forth to an appendix.
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