Great lawyers do not evaluate an opinion in terms of their agreement with the result, or according to how congenial with their personal philosophy it may be, or simply because they want to apply a value judgment in the choice, interpretation, or application of the controlling legal precept, for this too may be a personal valuation. Rather, they measure opinions on:
a) how thoughtfully and disinterestedly the court weighed the conflicts involved in the case and
b) how fair and durable its adjustment of the conflicts promises to be
The first factor goes to the ‘reasonableness’ of the court’s decision, the second to the logical validity of the reasoning. (Harry Jones, 1974)
