Many courts have imposed font size and margin requirements in reaction to lawyers who try to evade length requirements by using smaller margins, smaller fonts, or other techniques.

Note that courts may sanction counsel who violate length requirements.⁷In addition to font and length requirements, some courts have issued suggestions to help counsel make their briefs easier to read. The Seventh Circuit, for example, has published a “ Requirements and Suggestions for Typography in Briefs and Other Papers” on its Web site, and it recommends that counsel read a law review article to help improve the typography of documents submitted to the court.⁸If the court to which you are submitting your brief does not specify anything beyond page limits, presume standard margins (one-inch all around) and a standard font size (12-point, nonproportional spacing).