💡How to Persuade like a Lawyer

Hey—It’s Mohammad.

It’s a Thanksgiving holiday week in the US. So, let’s keep this short and talk about CRAC because you might need it for those family discussions.

Read Time: 5 minutes

Lawyers use CRAC to win arguments.

CRAC is an acronym that helps lawyers structure an argument for or against an issue.

• Conclusion: Main conclusion or position.

• Rule: Relevant legal rules, statutes, or principles are outlined.

• Application: Rules are applied to the specific facts of the case.

• Conclusion: Restart Conclusion, reinforced by the analysis.

This framework makes is easier for lawyers to organize their arguments, but we can use it as well when explaining our ideas.

Here’s how lawyers use CRAC.

Here’s a hypothetical:

Your boss yells at you for being late. Company policy allows them to fire you.

• Conclusion: You say you’re not late. I arrived within 5 minutes after my shift started.

• Rule: Company policy says employee is considered late if they arrive 10 minutes after their shift begins.

• Application: I arrived within 5 minutes of it beginning and not 10 minutes more after it began.

• Conclusion: Because I’m not considered late according to policy, there’s no reason to threaten me with termination.

But that’s an easy argument, I’m not a lawyer so how can I use it?

What if I need to sell a SaaS product?

• Conclusion: What’s your main point?

  • Our SaaS platform for automated project management tailored to startups reducing time to reach MVP by 40%.

• Rule: What supports this conclusion?

  • The system uses automates repetitive tasks to free your team to work on the project.

• Analysis: How does this apply to your customer’s situation?

  • Our client was a startup struggling to handle management tasks and project tasks. They were drowning in admin tasks and missing project deadlines. Once they tried our system, they automated management tasks and improved project performance by 80%, saving $300,000 during their 1st quarter, and improved customer satisfaction rates by never missing a deadline.

• Conclusion: restate the conclusion.

  • Our solution helps you save money and satisfy your customers.

Let’s wrap it in a story framework:
Before-Obstacles-change-Resolution-After

• Conclusion (Before): Clearly define the pain point.

• Rule (Obstacles): Explain the reasons behind the problem.

• Application (Change): Show how your product provides a solution.

• Conclusion (Resolution & After): Highlight the benefits and future success.

Before using our system, Mike was a COO of a startup who was drowning in administrative tasks and couldn’t focus on growing his business. This led to missed project deadlines. His team struggled to track tasks and spent hours on manual updates, leading to lost clients.

He was using a ton of tools and spreadsheets to track everything. Something was bound to fall through the cracks. His team couldn’t see all the tasks which led to project delays and missed milestones.

But then Mike used our automated system, and his workload reduced overnight. The system centralized the administrative duties. With features like real-time tracking, smart notifications, and AI-driven analytics, Mike’s team could see who was responsible for each task and predict potential delays before they happened.

Mike’s team completed projects 25% faster than before. They haven’t missed a deadline since. His teammates could track tasks and keep deadlines. They landed a major client who loved their efficiency. Now Mike’s able to focus his efforts on growing the business instead of micromanaging his team.

As a result, Mike’s team completed projects 25% faster and landed a major client who appreciated their new efficiency. Today, Mike spends his time growing the business instead of micromanaging timelines, and his team has never been more productive.

This works for Academic writing too.

• Conclusion: State the thesis or main argument.

• Rule: Present relevant theories, principles, or established knowledge.

• Application: Apply these to the specific research question or topic.

• Conclusion: Restate and reinforce the main argument.

This is what makes CRAC so powerful.

You are opening with the conclusion and restating.

It’s clearer than other structures. because it helps organize complex scientific information in an easy-to-follow manner. It also forces you to be clear on the link between your conclusion and the data you provide.

Persuasive writing is more about clarity than it is about manipulative tactics. That’s what CRAC provides.

See you next Saturday— Mohammad

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