The Art of Persuasion

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Preparing persuasive motion papers is an art and not something that any lawyer learns at law school. 

However, in thinking about persuasion, three thoughts are worth bearing in mind irrespective of whether you are writing the motion yourself, pro-se or having a lawyer prepare motion papers for you.  When you look at the finished product ask three questions?

1.  Does it tell a story ? 
2.  Is it compelling ?
3.  Is the relief sought fair and reasonable ?

If you can answer "yes" to the above questions then you may have a persuasive motion. 

A motion has to tell the story of what has happened to bring it to life. This has to be done in a way that avoids excess emotion, but comes across as the "voice" of the client, not the attorney.  A client should be able to read a certification a lawyer has drafted and say "that is exactly how I feel".

All stories have a beginning, middle and end.  As an example: we divorced, I lost my job and circumstances have changed, so now I need to lower my child support. The outline story needs to be expanded to describe fully what has happened. Why did the person loose their job ? What have they done to find a new job ? What is their current financial situation ? Is it temporary or permanent ?  In telling the story, you need to anticipate what information the court will want to know in order to fully understand and decide the case.

A compelling motion is one that leaves the reader at the end thinking the issue should be decided the way you want it to be.  The way to do this is to present issues in a logical format and provide supporting documentation as exhibits.  As an example: our settlement agreement states that I should receive X,  the other party did Y, now I need Z in order to compensate me.  If the facts are in your favor, make it easy for the court to grant the relief you want.

Judges have to read two different versions of the same story, so if one party is fair and reasonable in the position taken and the other not, there is more chance that the motion papers from the fair and reasonable party will be persuasive.  As an example: I normally see my kids every other weekend, but I missed my weekend of parenting time due to unavoidable business travel, and now my ex refuses me make up time, so I would like the court to order this.  Fair and reasonable position ?

Writing persuasive motions is an art, but if you send papers to the court that tell a story, are compelling and seek a fair and reasonable outcome, you have a better chance the court will decide in your favor.