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The Researching Paralegal

~ Articles and Research for Legal Professionals

The Researching Paralegal

Category Archives: Legal Writing

Are You Guilty of Using Any of These Overly Used Words?

02 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Bad Legal Writing, Editing, Legal Writing, Readability

≈ Comments Off on Are You Guilty of Using Any of These Overly Used Words?

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Blossom Blog, Editing, Good Writing Habits, Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen, Legal Writing, Overly Used Words

51 Over-Used Adverbs, Nouns, and Clichés in Writing, by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen, Blossom Blog

http://theadventurouswriter.com/blogwriting/51-over-used-adverbs-nouns-and-cliches-in-writing/

This post is like preaching to the choir. I found several words that I often use on this list. Time for a New Year’s Resolution! Remove these words from our writing and vocabulary. -CCE

Do you want your writing to get noticed – in a good way? Ditch these over-used adverbs, nouns, and cliches when writing articles, stories, and books.

*             *                  *

I promised a reader in the comments section of 5 Over-Used Words and Phrases for Writers to Avoid that I’d write this post . . . and here it finally is . . . better late than never. What’s that you say? The cliché ‘better late than never’ is over-used and boring, and belongs on my “over-used words and phrases in writing” list? If you caught that, you get a gold star! (jeez, there I go again with the tired clichés).

Ditch these boring words and phrases! Stop using amorphous adverbs and namby-pamby nouns! Delete crummy clichés!

And, here are 51 over-used words and phrases in writing – which I hope helps you become a more successful, confident writer. Compiling this list has certainly opened my eyes to my own weak writing habits…

Continue reading →

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Quick Legal Writing Course.

24 Thursday Dec 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Bad Legal Writing, Editing, Grammar, Legal Writing

≈ Comments Off on Quick Legal Writing Course.

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Editing, Gary Kinder, Grammar, Legal Productivity, Legal Writing

Video: A Down and Dirty Writing, Editing and Grammar Course For Lawyers, Gary Kinder, Legal Productivity®

http://www.legalproductivity.com/webinars/video-writing-for-lawyers/

Regardless of how good your legal writing may be, there is always room for improvement. Like anything else, your writing skills improve with practice. 

You may not think your writing skills are less than ideal. You may not think it’s a big deal – who cares whether your grammar or punctuation is perfect? Actually, most people, including clients. -CCE

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The Origin of the Bluebook – Let’s Get The Record Straight.

13 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Citations, Legal Writing, The Bluebook

≈ Comments Off on The Origin of the Bluebook – Let’s Get The Record Straight.

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Fred R. Shapiro, Julie Graves Krishnaswami, Legal Bibliography, Legal Citations, SSRN, The Bluebook

Where Did The Bluebook Originate?, by Joe Hodnicki, Law Librarians Blog

http://llb2.com/2015/12/11/where-did-the-bluebook-originate/

Ask most legal professionals where the Bluebook originated and they will likely say ‘Harvard Law School.’ In The Secret History of the Bluebook (Minnesota Law Review, Vol. 100, No. 4, 2016 Forthcoming) [SSRN], Fred R. Shapiro (Yale) and Julie Graves Krishnaswami (Yale) beg to differ. . . .

Following Yale’s lead in what we would call today, the uniform citation movement, Harvard Law School produced its own guide for the Harvard Law Review editorial staff in 1922, ‘Instructions for Editorial Work.’ Many have pointed to the Harvard document as being the precursor to the first edition of the Bluebook which was published in 1926.

*     *     *

This time around, Shapiro and Krishnaswami set the record straight about where and how this work began. Highly recommended for Bluebookologists and anyone else interested in the adoption and use of standardized citation practices and advances in legal bibliography.

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How to Use Word’s Styles to Create A Brief’s Table of Contents.

13 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Brief Writing, Legal Writing, Table of Authorities

≈ Comments Off on How to Use Word’s Styles to Create A Brief’s Table of Contents.

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Attorney at Work Blog, Microsoft Word, Table of Contents, Vivian Manning

Word Styles: Automating a Table of Contents, by Vivian Manning, Attorney at Work Blog

http://www.attorneyatwork.com/word-styles-automating-table-of-contents/

In her latest ‘Power User’ series, Vivian Manning has been showing how to use Microsoft Word Styles to produce documents much more efficiently. In her last column, she showed how Heading Styles can be used to structure and even reorganize documents. This time, she shows how to use Heading Styles to automate your tables of contents. No more retyping page numbers!

Continue reading →

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Plain Language = Good Writing.

28 Saturday Nov 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Bad Legal Writing, Grammar, Legal Writing, Persuasive Writing, Plain Language, Proofreading, Readability

≈ Comments Off on Plain Language = Good Writing.

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Legal Writing, Mark Cooney, Michigan Bar Journal, Plain Language

The Pros Know: Plain Language Is Just Good Writing, by Mark Cooney, 94 Mich. B.J. 54 (Sept. 2015) (with hat tip to William P. Statsky!)

http://www.michbar.org/file/barjournal/article/documents/pdf4article2701.pdf

Is plain language foreign to ‘real’ writers? To the pros, I mean? Would professional writers, editors, and literary agents outside our field scoff at the plain style that this column has long endorsed? Would plain English draw ridicule in those quarters? Too childish? Dumbed down? Illiterate? And would readers of literate magazines, technical journals, or fiction balk at the simplicity, the directness?

This is an easy one: no—on all counts. . . .

Continue reading →

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Grammar Lessons From The CIA.

25 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Grammar, Legal Writing, Plain Language, Punctuation, Style Manuals

≈ Comments Off on Grammar Lessons From The CIA.

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CIA, Grammar & Punctuation, Mental Floss Inc. © 2012, Nick Greene, Strunk & White, Style guide

11 Grammar Lessons from the Leaked CIA Style Book, by Nick Greene, Mental Floss Inc. © 2012

http://mentalfloss.com/article/57743/11-grammar-lessons-leaked-cia-style-book

In 2014, a leaked copy of the Directorate of Intelligence Style Manual & Writer’s Guide for Intelligence Publications found its way to the Internet. That long title belies what it actually is: A well-written style book for the CIA — the Strunk & White for Spies.

Inside the 181 pages (not including the index) is a terrific guide for normal folks, and not just government sleuths. It still offers some unique advice, however, and you won’t find some of these examples in your copy of the Oxford American Dictionary. . . .

Continue reading →

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Failure To Follow Court Rules Earned This Fed Up Benchslap.

23 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Appellate Law, Bad Legal Writing, Benchslap, Brief Writing, Citations, Court Rules, Courts, Issues On Appeal, Judges, Legal Writing

≈ Comments Off on Failure To Follow Court Rules Earned This Fed Up Benchslap.

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Above the Law (blog), Appellate Law, Benchslap, Brief Writing, Court Rules, Kathryn Rubino

A Lawyer Way Out Of Her League Gets Benchslapped By Frustrated Judge, by Kathryn Rubino, Above The Law Blog

http://tinyurl.com/o9hk847

The case did not seem suspicious. A commercial painter claimed he had not been paid for work hired by a building manager. The lawyer took the painter’s case. Unfortunately, under oath, her client admitted that he had faked his evidence with forged invoices.

No one was surprised when the trial court imposed sanctions. The surprise came when the lawyer appealed the case with a badly written brief. The lawyer only made it worse when she submitted her corrected brief to the Court. The judge’s response is a classic benchslap. -CCE

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The Effort to Make and Keep Patents Correct and Clear.

08 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Bad Legal Writing, Intellectual Property, Legal Writing, Legalese, Patent Law, Plain Language, Readability

≈ Comments Off on The Effort to Make and Keep Patents Correct and Clear.

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Dennis Crouch, Intellectual Property, Michelle K. Lee, PatentlyO Blog, Patents, Plain Language, US Patent and Trademark Office

Director Michelle Lee: Moving toward Patent Clarity, posted by Dennis Crouch, PatentlyO Blog

http://tinyurl.com/q4dvog7

The following is a post from Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO Michelle K. Lee and was published on the PTO Director’s blog.

Patent quality is central to fulfilling a core mission of the USPTO, which as stated in the Constitution, is to ‘promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts.’ It is critically important that the USPTO issue patents that are both correct and clear. Historically, our primary focus has been on correctness, but the evolving patent landscape has challenged us to increase our focus on clarity.

Patents of the highest quality can help to stimulate and promote efficient licensing, research and development, and future innovation without resorting to needless high-cost court proceedings. Through correctness and clarity, such patents better enable potential users of patented technologies to make informed decisions on how to avoid infringement, whether to seek a license, and/or when to settle or litigate a patent dispute. Patent owners also benefit from having clear notice on the boundaries of their patent rights. After and after successfully reducing the backlog of unexamined patent applications, our agency is redoubling its focus on quality.

We asked for your help on how we can best improve quality—and you responded.

Continue reading →

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If You Don’t Need It, Don’t Plead It.-

03 Tuesday Nov 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Bad Legal Writing, Legal Writing, Pleadings

≈ Comments Off on If You Don’t Need It, Don’t Plead It.-

Tags

Above the Law (blog), John G. Balestriere, Legal Writing, Pleadings

Be A Winning Writer, Not A Self-Indulgent One, Starting With Complaints, by John G. Balestriere, Above the Law Blog (with hat tip to Allen Mihecoby, CLAS, RP®)

http://abovethelaw.com/2015/10/be-a-winning-writer-not-a-self-indulgent-one-starting-with-complaints/

‘In law it is good policy to never plead what you need not, lest you oblige yourself to prove what you can not.’ – Abraham Lincoln

We lawyers love to write, at least most of us do (as well we should, since to say it’s a big part of our job is an understatement). But as with all of the work we do, we need to remember our writing has a purpose: any of the writings we submit as litigators to a court or arbitrator must be directed towards winning for our clients.

Continue reading →

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Legal Citation Honey Pot.

27 Tuesday Oct 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in ALWD, Citations, Legal Writing, Public Domain Citations, The Bluebook

≈ Comments Off on Legal Citation Honey Pot.

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ALWD Citation Manual, Andrew Zimmerman, Bluebook, Legal Citations, State Citation Manuals, Universal Citations, Zimmerman's Research Guide

Citations, Zimmerman’s Research Guide©2015, by Andrew Zimmerman

https://law.lexisnexis.com/infopro/zimmermans/disp.aspx?z=1288

Zimmerman’s Research Guide has been around a long time, and is definitely worthy of a bookmark. Here is a very nice collection of legal citation guides that drills down a bit deeper than most. -CCE

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The Worst Legal Writing Ever?

19 Monday Oct 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Bad Legal Writing, Legal Writing, Legalese

≈ Comments Off on The Worst Legal Writing Ever?

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Lawyerist Blog, Legal Writing, Legalese, Lisa Needham, Sam Glover, Sam Hardin

We Created the Worst Piece of Legal Writing Possible, by Sam Glover, Lisa Needham, and Sam Harden, Lawyerist Blog (with hat tip to Raymond Ward!)

https://lawyerist.com/91373/we-created-the-worst-piece-of-legal-writing-possible/#disqus_thread

I have to admit that it’s a good effort at legalese, but is it the worst legal writing you have ever read? Does it deserve a place in the Legal Writing Hall of Shame? You be the judge! -CCE

Legalese is awful. To prove it, we forced three lawyers (Sam Glover, Lisa Needham, and Sam Harden) to combine their skills to write the worst piece of legal writing imaginable. Here’s what they came up with:

Clarity in Legal Writing: Unattainable Goal or Necessary Component of Effective Advocacy?

The issue of clearness and conciseness in writing and preparing legal documents, e.g. court filings, pleadings, and motions and all other possible legal and ancillary documents is often a topic of discussion among judges and legal scholars. . . .

Continue reading →

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Plain Language Examples – Before and After.

16 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Bad Legal Writing, Editing, Grammar, Legal Writing, Legalese, Plain Language, Proofreading, Punctuation, Readability

≈ Comments Off on Plain Language Examples – Before and After.

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Editing, Grammar & Punctuation, Legal Writing, Plain Language, Readability

Before-and-After Comparisons, PlainLanguge.gov

http://www.plainlanguage.gov/examples/before_after/index.cfm

There are a number of superior – and free – websites available to anyone who wants to improve his legal writing skills. PlainLaguage.gov is one of them.

I doubt that anyone wants to write poorly. Often, just showing before-and-after examples improve writing skills. One of the most efficient ways I have found when teaching legal writing is to take a bad writing example, identify why it is ineffective or just plain silly, and suggest different ways to fix it.

Here are examples of government regulations, manuals, handbooks, reports, and other publications that show “before and after” examples that use plain language to improve a sentence, paragraph, or document. -CCE

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4 Writing Tips For Persuasive Briefs.

29 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Bad Legal Writing, Brief Writing, Editing, Legal Argument, Legal Writing, Persuasive Writing, Readability

≈ Comments Off on 4 Writing Tips For Persuasive Briefs.

Tags

Active Voice, Editing, Lawyerist Blog, Legal Writing, Mark Herrmann, Raymond Ward

4 Edits I’ve Never Made, by Mark Herrmann, Lawyerists Blog (with hat tip to Raymond Ward!)

http://abovethelaw.com/2015/09/4-edits-i-have-never-made/

I have revised an awful lot of briefs in my life.

I clerked for a year; worked as a litigation associate at a small firm for five years; worked first as an associate (for three years) and then as a litigation partner (for 17 years) at one of the world’s largest firms; and have now served as the head of litigation at a Fortune 250 firm for the last five years.

I repeat: I have revised an awful lot of briefs in my life.

There’s been a world of variety in the substance of briefs that I’ve revised. Labor law, First Amendment cases, commercial disputes, product liability cases, tax spats, securities fraud, insurance and reinsurance matters, IP cases; you name it.

But there’s been almost no variety in the revisions that I’ve made to briefs.

As I’ve ranted before, I’ve spent my decades generally making all the same changes to draft briefs.

So I’m not going to list here the usual edits that briefs need. I’m going to do the opposite: What edits have I never made to a brief over the course of three decades practicing law? . . . .

Continue reading →

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Link Rot – When A Hyperlink Festers and Rots.

24 Thursday Sep 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Citations, Legal Technology, Legal Writing, Link Rot

≈ Comments Off on Link Rot – When A Hyperlink Festers and Rots.

Tags

Jonathan Zittrain, Legal Citations, Legal Rebels Blog, Link Rot, Perma CC, Tom Majors, Victor Li

Jonathan Zittrain: Fighting ‘Link Rot’ In Court Opinions and Legal Scholarship, by Victor Li, Legal Rebels Blog (with hat tip to Tom Majors!)

http://tinyurl.com/nfrr7gm

Link rot is real. It creates havoc in court opinions that include hyperlinks. Perma.cc, unfortunately, is not the magic bullet for link rot. I have tried using it for links to this blog, only to find later that the link no longer works. Perma.cc is sorry about that, but does not have a real answer for that problem. Use it with caution. -CCE

Sure, it’s annoying when you click on a link and get that ‘404’ message or an automatic redirect to the homepage. But when it comes to legal research, dead links aren’t just annoying; they can undermine the entire premise of an opinion, article or treatise. . . .

Continue reading →

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When Peter Martin, aka Bluebook Yoda, Talks About The Bluebook, I Listen.

16 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Abbreviations, Acronyms, Brief Writing, Citations, Initialisms, Legal Writing, Parentheticals, Punctuation, Quotations, Readability, String Citations, The Bluebook

≈ Comments Off on When Peter Martin, aka Bluebook Yoda, Talks About The Bluebook, I Listen.

Tags

20th edition of The Bluebook, ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Citing Legally, Peter Martin, Restatements, Ubiform Code

Bluebook (20th ed.) and Restatements, Model Codes, etc., by Peter Martin, Citing Legally

http://citeblog.access-to-law.com/

Prior to publication of the new Bluebook, law journals, lawyers, and judges were in pretty close agreement on how to cite a Restatement section (e.g., Restatement (Second) of Torts § 46 cmt. j (1965) [as cited in the May 2015 issue of the Harvard Law Review] or Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 349, cmt. a (1981) [as cited in an Aug. 2015 decision of the Seventh Circuit]). Journals put the titles in large and small caps.  Lawyers and judges didn’t. Furthermore, consistent with their treatment of other static material, many lawyers and judges left off the date element. In an era in which briefs are held to a maximum word count, why include the redundant ‘(1965)’ or ‘(1981)’? The Bluebook reflected that consensus. Its prescribed formats for citations to provisions in Uniform Codes, Model Acts, the federal sentencing guidelines, and the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct were consistent with it. See The Bluebook R. 12.9.5 (19th ed. 2010).

Without warning the 20th edition of The Bluebook changed that. . . .

Continue reading →

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Have You Bought Your 20th Edition of The Bluebook®?

16 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Abbreviations, Acronyms, Citations, Footnotes, Legal Writing, Legislative History, Numbers, Parentheses, Parentheticals, Punctuation, Quotations, String Citations, The Bluebook

≈ Comments Off on Have You Bought Your 20th Edition of The Bluebook®?

Tags

Legal Citations, The Bluebook Online®

Personally, I’m waiting for Peter Martin at Cornell to update his excellent Bluebook® Cheat Sheet. But, if you want to know all things Bluebook®, I can recommend this website – https://www.legalbluebook.com/.

This website also provides a way to buy a hard copy, which is my preference when I use it regularly. If you use The Bluebook® at all, I recommend bookmarking and browsing here the entire website and its features. Yearly subscriptions are a reasonable rate.

The good news for Bluebook® users is that, at the beginning of every new edition, there is a list of the differences between this version and the last one. Here is a preview of what is new in the 20th Edition: https://www.legalbluebook.com/Public/Updates.aspx.

Yes, you will wonder about why some of the changes were made. That is a given. But isn’t it nice to have all the changes summarized and listed for you right up front. No guessing and no reason to search the entire book to find the updates. -CCE

 

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Why We Need The Bluebook® Even When It Makes Us Nuts.

12 Saturday Sep 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Citations, Legal Writing, The Bluebook

≈ Comments Off on Why We Need The Bluebook® Even When It Makes Us Nuts.

Tags

ABA Journal, Bryan Garner, The Bluebook

 

The Bluebook® gives us a uniform way to cite to legal authorities. Imagine the breadth of legal writing without a common and reliable citation form to research and locate cases and other sources of law.

Theoretically, each new edition should include citation format to new sources for legal writing, such as the Internet. Unfortunately, every new edition to The Bluebook® does not limit itself to finding new sources of legal opinions and other types of legal writing. Invariably, the editors “tweak” minutiae.

I taught The Bluebook® for many years in legal writing classes and seminars. As the years went by, I began to dread each new edition and the necessary memorization of every new rule that changed already perfectly acceptable and logical citation format. The editors’ propensity to make minor changes to established citation formats made many question the editors’ reasons for their numerous revisions.

Bryan Garner expressed similar issues with The Bluebook®, which he shared in this article from the ABA Journal: “The Bluebook’s 20th edition prompts many musings from Bryan Garner’ at http://tinyurl.com/qbysgbk. Mr. Garner refers to the many minor revisions as ‘nettlesome changes,’ and does an excellent job of explaining why. -CCE

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Classic Legal Writing Never Goes Out Of Style.

11 Friday Sep 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Bad Legal Writing, Contract Law, Legal Writing, Plain Language, Readability

≈ Comments Off on Classic Legal Writing Never Goes Out Of Style.

Tags

Adams on Contract Drafting, Joe Kimble, Ken Adams, Michigan Bar Journal, Plain Language

30 Years of the Michigan Bar Journal’s “Plain Language” Column, by Ken Adams, Adams on Contract Drafting

http://www.adamsdrafting.com/30-years-of-the-michigan-bar-journals-plain-language-column/

The Michigan Bar Journal’s ‘Plain Language’ column recently celebrated its thirtieth year. Joe Kimble, its longtime editor, wrote this piece marking the event. . . .

Continue reading →

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A Different Kind of Employment Contract.

09 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Boilerplate Forms, Contract Law, Employment Contracts, Employment Law

≈ Comments Off on A Different Kind of Employment Contract.

Tags

Contract Writing, Employment Law, Hobbit, Legal Skills Blog, Louis J. Sirico Jr.

The Employment Contract Between Bilbo Baggins and the Dwarves, by Louis J. Sirico, Jr., Legal Skills Blog

http://tinyurl.com/qdt9krl

Louis J. Sirico, Jr., posted this interesting observation about employment contract law. If you have not read the book or seen the movie, The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, this example is going to sound a bit odd.

Before Bilbo Baggins is hired by dwarves to join a quest to conquer a dragon and take back a mountain full of gold, he must sign an unique employment contract. In the book, Mr. Tolkien wrote a fifty-three word employment contract. It is easy to read and understand.

In the movie, the director wanted something more dramatic. The writer took on the challenge and looked to real contracts including his own. The result is a doozy. -CCE

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The 20th Edition of the Bluebook Has Arrived. Let’s Party!

01 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Citations, Legal Writing, The Bluebook

≈ Comments Off on The 20th Edition of the Bluebook Has Arrived. Let’s Party!

Tags

Charlotte Law, Cynthia Pittson, Legal Citation, Pace Law Library, The Bluebook, The Charlotte Law Blog, William P. Statsky

The New Bluebook is Here!, by Charlotte Law, The Charlotte Law Blog, The Official Blog of the Charlotte School of Law (with hat tip to William P. Statsky!)

http://charlotteschooloflawblog.com/2015/09/01/the-new-bluebook-is-here/

The Twentieth edition of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (20th ed. 2015) has arrived!

*           *           *

So What’s New about the Twentieth Edition?

That’s the question everyone wants to know, including me. A detailed answer is in the Preface to the Twentieth Edition on page VII. Cynthia Pittson of Pace Law Library has created a really helpful chart of the changes at http://lawweb.pace.edu/library/bluebook_changes_20th.pdf. The twentieth edition is 50 pages longer than the last edition. . . .

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Supreme Court Writing Analysis – Whose Briefs Win and Why.

22 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Appellate Law, Appellate Writing, Brief Writing, Editing, Grammar, Legal Analysis, Legal Argument, Legal Writing, Persuasive Writing, Readability, United States Supreme Court

≈ Comments Off on Supreme Court Writing Analysis – Whose Briefs Win and Why.

Tags

Appellate Briefs, Legal Analysis, Legal Writing, Persuasive Legal Writing, Plain English, U.S. Supreme Court

Who Wins in the Supreme Court? An Examination of Attorney and Law Firm Influence, by Alan Feldman, University of Southern California, Political Science, SSRN.com (Date posted: August 18, 2015 ; Last revised: August 21, 2015)

http://tinyurl.com/q48ywgq

This paper is a detailed analysis of what type of legal writing and briefs from 1946 through 2013 have been the most influential  with the United States Supreme Court and the lawyers who write them. Interestingly, lawyers who write short sentences in the active voice and who use fewer words than the majority of brief writers are the most successful. It is a fascinating read, and strongly recommended. -CCE

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Use “The Streisand Effect” To Hit The Perfect Legal Writing Chord.

15 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Civil Rights, First Amendment, Legal Argument, Legal Writing, Persuasive Writing

≈ Comments Off on Use “The Streisand Effect” To Hit The Perfect Legal Writing Chord.

Tags

Breaking Energy Blog, Civil Rights, Elie Mystal, Legal Writing, Persuasive Writing, Raymond Ward, Song Lyrics

Peabody Energy Tries To Strike Song Lyrics From Complaint: Welcome To The Streisand Effect, by Elie Mystal, Breaking Energy Blog (with hat tip to Raymond Ward!)

http://tinyurl.com/ozm4j5l

Kudos to the lawyers who came up with this legal writing strategy. A couple sued Peabody Energy and alleged a civil rights violation. The police arrested the couple for holding up a banner during Peabody’s shareholder’s meeting.

The Complaint filed against Peabody Energy included lyrics to a song called “Paradise,” by John Prine. Who knows how the plaintiff’s counsel found it. The lyrics are a perfect choice.

The song is about coal mining exploitation by a company. You guessed it – the company’s name is Peabody. The lyrics about the big, bad coal company abusing the rights of common people strike the right chord.

Peabody’s reaction was understandable, but a costly mistake. Peabody filed a Motion to Strike. Strike what? The song lyrics – in a lawsuit about freedom of speech. To be kind, perhaps Peabody’s counsel did not think that one through.

The plaintiff’s response is classic and brilliant legal writing strategy. -CCE

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Perfect Benchslap For Redaction Running Amuck.

08 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Benchslap, Court Orders, Federal Judges, Judges, Legal Writing, U.S. District Courts

≈ Comments Off on Perfect Benchslap For Redaction Running Amuck.

Tags

Above the Law, Benchslap, Joe Patrice, Judge Charles Breyer, Legal Writing, Redaction

Judge Trolls Lawyers Without Saying Anything At All, by Joe Patrice, Above The Law

http://abovethelaw.com/2015/08/judge-trolls-lawyers-without-saying-anything-at-all/

Joe beat me to it. Many thanks to Jessica L. Craft at Holden & Carr for the heads’ up. -CCE

Judge Charles Breyer proves that a redaction can be worth a thousand words. . . .

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Legal Writing Papers at SSRN.

03 Monday Aug 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Legal Writing

≈ Comments Off on Legal Writing Papers at SSRN.

Tags

Legal Writing, Legal Writing E-Journal, Social Science Research Notebook, SSRN

 Legal Writing E-Journal, Social Science Research Notebook

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/JELJOUR_Results.cfm?form_name=journalbrowse&journal_id=902240

If I am reading this correctly, there are over 1,000 legal writing articles compiled by SSRN. You may find some of these articles to be a bit esoteric and academic. Nevertheless, it is definitely worth investigating. Please add this to your legal writing library bookmarks. -CCE

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Free Legal Style Guide from Adobe.

31 Friday Jul 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Adobe Acrobat, Editing, Grammar, Legal Technology, Legal Writing, Numbers, Punctuation, Style Manuals

≈ Comments Off on Free Legal Style Guide from Adobe.

Tags

Adobe, Adobe Legal Department Legal Style Guide, Legal Writing, Style Manual

Adobe Legal Department Legal Style Guide (with hat tip to William P. Statsky)

http://www.adobe.com/legal/legal-innovation.html

A free, concise legal writing style guide from Adobe. Definitely worth a look. -CCE

 

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