Legal Definitions - précis

A précis is a concise, accurate, and focused summary that captures the core arguments, main ideas, or most important information of a longer document or text. It aims to present the essence of the original work without adding new interpretations or extraneous details, allowing a reader to quickly grasp the fundamental content.

Here are some examples to illustrate the use of a précis:

• Legal Brief Review: Imagine a senior partner at a law firm who needs to quickly understand the arguments presented in a lengthy legal brief drafted by a junior associate. Instead of reading the entire 50-page document, the partner might ask for a two-page précis. This summary would highlight the key legal issues, the main arguments for each side, the most relevant case precedents cited, and the requested relief, enabling the partner to grasp the core content efficiently.

  This illustrates a précis because it condenses a detailed legal argument into its essential components, providing a quick overview without losing the critical information.

• Scientific Research Summary: A medical researcher is attending a conference and wants to quickly review the groundbreaking findings from several complex scientific papers published in a new journal. To prepare, they might create a short précis for each paper, outlining the study's objective, methodology, primary results, and conclusions. This allows them to recall the most important aspects of each research effort without rereading the full technical reports.

  This example shows a précis as a tool for distilling complex scientific information into a manageable and understandable summary of its core contributions.

• Business Report Overview: A busy executive needs to be briefed on a comprehensive market analysis report before a crucial board meeting. The full report is 70 pages long, detailing market trends, competitor analysis, and strategic recommendations. The executive's assistant prepares a one-page précis that summarizes the key findings, identifies the most significant opportunities and threats, and outlines the proposed strategic direction. This allows the executive to be fully informed on the critical aspects of the report in a very short amount of time.

  This demonstrates a précis by providing a high-level, yet comprehensive, overview of a detailed business document, focusing on the most impactful information for decision-making.