Legal Brief IRAC Format

Briefing a case connotes to making the concerned case more concise while remaining details for helpful reference. It is a process that breaks down information about the problem being addressed (the issue); the relevant rules of law to solve it (the rules); how it was justly applied (the analysis or application); and the result (the conclusion).

NB: always read through the entire case at least once before essaying a brief.

IRAC Method in Briefing Cases:

Facts

Summarize the facts provided in the court. Filter out the unnecessary ones during the cost analysis. For instance, a case about a motor vehicle accident would only have more relevance with certain information. One might need to know if the driver was distracted or maybe under an influence. Details like the car's color or model may not be relevant under this circumstance.

Procedure

The procedural history is where you mention information such as the court that authored the opinion. Typically, the court used and year of decision are provided under the case title. Other information can include if a trial Court asserted or reversed the decision or how the lower courts decided the case.

Issue

This implies the matter being addressed in the court. In essence, the details of claims or arguments, and the court’s point of view are usually mentioned here

Rule

Identify the specific rules of law that the court uses to handle the case’s decision. They may be beyond one rule of law for a case and you must determine what rule that the court uses to obtain an outcome.

Analysis/Application

This is regarded as a crucial aspect of briefing a case. After the court's examination of the facts in concurrence with the rules, the analysis and application come to act. The method of analysis helps the court when handling similar cases in future. Mention what the court considers relevant with respect to the rules of law. How is the rule interpreted by the court?

Conclusion

This is where you clearly define the case’s judgement. In one or two sentences, mention the court's major findings.

NB: the above information applies to case briefs alone, not IRAC exams