Brief Writing for Appeals and Trials

Roach Newton proudly claims a team of brief writers second to none. Some of our attorneys were award-winning writers prior to law school, and several won writing awards in law school. Five Roach Newton attorneys have taught advanced appellate brief writing to law students at either the University of Texas school of law or the University of Houston law center.

Roach Newton is frequently asked to write or edit appellate briefs and trial briefs for other law firms. In some high dollar cases with a Client represented by a team of different law firms, Roach Newton has also been asked to integrate all the proposed edits from the various firms into a consolidated draft for final edits by lead counsel.

What distinguishes Roach Newton’s brief writing from other Firms, apart from writing skills, is its focus on judge-driven, law-first advocacy. Developed over 30 tears of co-teaching judicial advocacy with outstanding judges, Roach Newton’s briefing focuses on the jurisprudential principles and values that underlie judicial decision making.

For 30 years, Randy Roach has taught his unique approach to appellate brief writing to law students, and he has presented over a dozen CLE programs to practicing lawyers on how to write effective briefs for appellate courts and trial judges. Randy also authored a frequently referenced program on writing Respondent’s briefs to the Texas Supreme Court. Before starting his legal practice, Randy had won writing competitions in high school, college, and law school. In law school, Randy won two Best Brief awards and wrote on the Texas Law Review. Prior to law school, Randy was a writer for a US Senate Select Committee and for the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court.