Ill. Brieng a case: The steps Although the exact form of your briefs may and can vary from case to case, the following parts should appear somewhere in your brief in a way that helps you understand the case and recall the needed information. 1. Read through the opinion rst so you will understand the overall story and identify important facts, etc., before beginning to brief the case on paper. 2. Heading: Case name (to identify the parties) Court name a. b. c. Date of the decision d. Page number where the case appears in the textbook