John C. Godbold, Twenty Pages and Twenty Minutes – Effective Advocacy on Appeal: A Retrospective

By: Ralph W. Johnson, III
DRI Certworthy, Winter 2007
In 1976, Judge John C. Godbold, then a member of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, published an article on appellate advocacy in the Southwestern Law Journal: Twenty Pages and Twenty Minutes - Effective Advocacy on Appeal, 30 SW. L.J. 801 (1976) (hereinafter "Godbold"). Today, the article is recognized as one of the most influential writings on appellate advocacy. Simply stated, it is a "must" read for appellate attorneys. The article challenges readers to improve their skills and to stop employing techniques simply because they are the way things have always been done. Judge Godbold's insights are invaluable and indeed, for some, are inspirational.

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