Legal briefs

Legal briefs are what is filed with courts as part of legal cases. Despite the name, they can sometimes be very lengthy. Courts enforce lots of nitpickily-specific formatting rules governing every detail of how they are to be done, sometimes in a very archaic manner and requiring odd paper sizes and document formats not found anywhere else. Some feel that these rules are largely there to limit access to the courts to a "legal priesthood" specializing in learning how to comply with all these rules, and clients willing to pay through the nose for the privilege of being assisted by these people; there is a whole industry (including lawyers, paralegals, specialized printing operations, etc.) catering to this field. Some brave pro se litigants have tried, and sometimes even succeeded, at bypassing this entire industry and creating their legal briefs themselves.

Links

 * Discussion of preparing briefs for the United States Supreme Court
 * US Supreme Court formatting rules
 * Harvard, let everyone have access to the Bluebook!