--- product_id: 1274076 title: "Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges" price: "AR$115411" currency: ARS in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.com.ar/products/1274076-making-your-case-the-art-of-persuading-judges store_origin: AR region: Argentina --- # Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges **Price:** AR$115411 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges - **How much does it cost?** AR$115411 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.ar](https://www.desertcart.com.ar/products/1274076-making-your-case-the-art-of-persuading-judges) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Presents the basics of writing legal briefs and giving oral arguments, with discussions on the essentials of building a case through legal reasoning and the key elements of persuasive and successful oral pleading in the courtroom. Review: A valuable book for non-lawyers and lawyers - Why would non-lawyers want to read a book on persuading judges? For several reasons actually. First, many of us are involved in work that requires persuading others to adopt our views. While legal argument is substantially more formal and rule-driven than what most of us do, learning how to construct a logical argument as if it were to be delivered to the court, that Is governed by deadlines, restrictions on length, the need to adhere to established fact (or to establish those facts) and to be neither groveling nor inflammatory can be applied to selling your widgets. Perhaps more important is the fact that most people don't understand the impact of the court's decisions on our daily lives, our pocketbooks and our freedoms. Nine people sit on the Supreme Court. They cannot be removed except for the most grievous crimes and then only if Congress were to agree. More than one Justice has demonstrated that you can be senile and sit on the nation's highest court. Going down the food chain, the same applies to the federal appellate and trial courts. It is unlikely that one person in a hundred can even name a local federal district court judge and probably not one in a thousand could name the nine Supreme Court justices. Yet these men and women have tremendous impact on our lives, as do the thousands of state court justices. I am not a lawyer, but I consult to them and am not a stranger to the courtroom, writing drafts for legal briefs, doing legal research and the like. I have seen a lot of judges in action and have learned, in general, to fear them. They can - and do - cause tremendous harm through ill-considered decisions, making decisions with insufficient facts, assuming they know more than they do and myriad other reasons. They are gods in their courtrooms and if your lawyer fails to persuade them of the justness of your cause, you lose. Just how do these people reach their decisions? While justice is supposed to be blind (fat chance!), the justices are human and thus persuadable. Bryan Garner is a noted writer on legal writing. He is actually quite witty as he explains the use of the English language to lawyers who have had their understanding of words driven out of them in law school. Antonin Scalia is a hero to many for the courageousness of his decisions and dissents, his belief that the Constitution is to be strictly interpreted and his generally brilliant writing style. In 115, frequently witty, short chapters the two authors (who occasionally openly disagree) lay down their thoughts on how judges can be persuaded. It is not all about legal writing; e.g, advice to not chew your fingernails and dressing appropriately for court. They advise on giving your oral argument, which a lot of sales and marketing people would do well to read, especially the guidance to "never speak over a judge". In a sales situation, I am surprised at how often the sales person displays his or her contempt for me by not only not listening to me, but presuming they understand the point I was going to make before they spoke over me. I don't know about you, but a lot of salespeople have lost business with me for doing that. Some of the points the authors make are points of contention themselves: i.e., "swear off substantive footnotes - or not". None of the material in this book is truly new. Law students get elements of it in their first year as do some college students. A lot can be found in books on to be a better salesperson: i.e., don't chew your fingernails, etc. And a lot of it is plain commonsense. But that doesn't mean this book is unhelpful. First, it reveals in tiny part how Scalia evaluates the briefs he reads and arguments he hears, which in itself is a fascinating peek. The authors also put things many people may have forgotten through lack of use into perspective. Finally, they remind lawyers and non-lawyers alike that you often have only one shot at winning your argument so you had best put your best foot forward. Scalia and Garner show you how to do it. Overall, this is a fun, informative and helpful read. Jerry Review: Great Read! - So well written, with examples from real court cases, as well as comments from judges on what they like to read in a brief. Garner and Scalia show the importance of a clear brief, being mindful and respectful of the judge's time, and ordering your statement logically. This reminds me of "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White,but focused for successful legal writing. I am so glad I bought this book. Highly recommend! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #27,216 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1 in Trial Practice (Books) #3 in Courts & Law | | Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 748 Reviews | ## Images ![Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71XOFBoc1jL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A valuable book for non-lawyers and lawyers *by J***N on February 8, 2010* Why would non-lawyers want to read a book on persuading judges? For several reasons actually. First, many of us are involved in work that requires persuading others to adopt our views. While legal argument is substantially more formal and rule-driven than what most of us do, learning how to construct a logical argument as if it were to be delivered to the court, that Is governed by deadlines, restrictions on length, the need to adhere to established fact (or to establish those facts) and to be neither groveling nor inflammatory can be applied to selling your widgets. Perhaps more important is the fact that most people don't understand the impact of the court's decisions on our daily lives, our pocketbooks and our freedoms. Nine people sit on the Supreme Court. They cannot be removed except for the most grievous crimes and then only if Congress were to agree. More than one Justice has demonstrated that you can be senile and sit on the nation's highest court. Going down the food chain, the same applies to the federal appellate and trial courts. It is unlikely that one person in a hundred can even name a local federal district court judge and probably not one in a thousand could name the nine Supreme Court justices. Yet these men and women have tremendous impact on our lives, as do the thousands of state court justices. I am not a lawyer, but I consult to them and am not a stranger to the courtroom, writing drafts for legal briefs, doing legal research and the like. I have seen a lot of judges in action and have learned, in general, to fear them. They can - and do - cause tremendous harm through ill-considered decisions, making decisions with insufficient facts, assuming they know more than they do and myriad other reasons. They are gods in their courtrooms and if your lawyer fails to persuade them of the justness of your cause, you lose. Just how do these people reach their decisions? While justice is supposed to be blind (fat chance!), the justices are human and thus persuadable. Bryan Garner is a noted writer on legal writing. He is actually quite witty as he explains the use of the English language to lawyers who have had their understanding of words driven out of them in law school. Antonin Scalia is a hero to many for the courageousness of his decisions and dissents, his belief that the Constitution is to be strictly interpreted and his generally brilliant writing style. In 115, frequently witty, short chapters the two authors (who occasionally openly disagree) lay down their thoughts on how judges can be persuaded. It is not all about legal writing; e.g, advice to not chew your fingernails and dressing appropriately for court. They advise on giving your oral argument, which a lot of sales and marketing people would do well to read, especially the guidance to "never speak over a judge". In a sales situation, I am surprised at how often the sales person displays his or her contempt for me by not only not listening to me, but presuming they understand the point I was going to make before they spoke over me. I don't know about you, but a lot of salespeople have lost business with me for doing that. Some of the points the authors make are points of contention themselves: i.e., "swear off substantive footnotes - or not". None of the material in this book is truly new. Law students get elements of it in their first year as do some college students. A lot can be found in books on to be a better salesperson: i.e., don't chew your fingernails, etc. And a lot of it is plain commonsense. But that doesn't mean this book is unhelpful. First, it reveals in tiny part how Scalia evaluates the briefs he reads and arguments he hears, which in itself is a fascinating peek. The authors also put things many people may have forgotten through lack of use into perspective. Finally, they remind lawyers and non-lawyers alike that you often have only one shot at winning your argument so you had best put your best foot forward. Scalia and Garner show you how to do it. Overall, this is a fun, informative and helpful read. Jerry ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great Read! *by S***9 on July 1, 2026* So well written, with examples from real court cases, as well as comments from judges on what they like to read in a brief. Garner and Scalia show the importance of a clear brief, being mindful and respectful of the judge's time, and ordering your statement logically. This reminds me of "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White,but focused for successful legal writing. I am so glad I bought this book. Highly recommend! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Elegant, useful *by R***N on May 7, 2008* Simply the best book on legal persuasive writing ever written. Interesting, useful, fun, full of great anecdotes. Terrific discussion of statutory interpretation. Great references to scholarly classical treatises on rhetoric. This book is wonderful both for its analysis of oral argument and for its discussion of written forms of persuasion, like briefs. I wish I had had it earlier. My only complaint is the same one I have with virtually all modern style manuals: they advocate a simplistic prose style, characterized by short, conversational sentences, avoiding unusual words, eschewing Latin phrases. But I personally often find prose that breaks these rules a refreshing change. I enjoy reading a word or phrase I rarely see but that is perfectly chosen. And I enjoy learning new words or phrases. This book would condemn two of the greatest legal prose stylists out there: John Marshall and Learned Hand, both of whose opinions often contained sentences that would not work so well conversationally, that were full of long, convoluted sentences and classical allusions. My sense is that in this joint work Justice Scalia, who can write rich and interesting prose, pushed back against some of the simplifying strictures of his co-author. Furthermore, I think that often too much emphasis on simple words and sentences serves to make more complex ideas too difficult to express or to understand. Thus, the book (like most books) argues against "jargon," but jargon, once learned, is often a much clearer way of expressing something than a rephrasing. And the Roe v. Wade anecdote is great! It explains a lot... In any case, I am hardly qualified to criticize Justice Scalia, whose writing is far beyond my own. Anyway, this is a great book. ## Frequently Bought Together - Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges - Legal Writing in Plain English, Third Edition: A Text with Exercises (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing) - Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.com.ar/products/1274076-making-your-case-the-art-of-persuading-judges](https://www.desertcart.com.ar/products/1274076-making-your-case-the-art-of-persuading-judges) --- *Product available on Desertcart Argentina* *Store origin: AR* *Last updated: 2026-09-20*