Justice Scalia on Amicus Briefs . . . and Plows

This is a brief, and albeit random bit of information, but I was going through an old notebook looking for an outline and found a quote from Justice Scalia on amicus briefs that made me chuckle.  This is from a seminar he gave with Bryan Garner last summer in D.C. on their book Making Your Case:  The Art of Persuading Judges.

"Don't re-plow the ground that you expect the parties to plow unless you expect the parties to plow with a particularly dull plow." 

Now say that five times, quickly.

Exploring The Decision To Retain an Appellate Lawyer

Greg May, over at the California Blog of Appeal, is starting a new series on the reasons why attorneys, and more importantly their clients, are sometimes reluctant to hire appellate counsel.  Sure to spark an interesting conversation . . . check it out here.