A local counsel brief should be short enough to read under pressure and complete enough to act on. The goal is not to tell the whole story. The goal is to make the local task safe to perform.
Start with the task
Open with one sentence: what needs to happen, where, and by when. For example: attend a directions hearing, file a response, check a registry entry, or advise on local service.
Add procedural context
Give the court or authority, case number if shareable, current stage, deadline, and consequence of missing the step. Local counsel needs the procedural map before the factual background.
State authority limits
Say what the colleague may agree to, what must be referred back, and who to call if something unexpected happens. This prevents helpful improvisation from becoming a problem.
Attach only what is needed
Label documents clearly: must read, background only, file if needed, do not share. A smaller, better-labelled bundle is more useful than a full file dump.
Request a close-out note
Ask for the result, documents filed or received, deadlines created, and practical next steps. That note is what lets you update the client quickly.
A good brief makes the colleague effective before the first call.