Tag Archives: Legal Writing

A Compilation of Punctuation Guides for the Punctuation Police.

10 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by in Legal Writing, Punctuation, Readability, Style Manuals

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If you are a member of the Punctuation Police, you will enjoy this sample of punctuation guides. Depending on your profession, some style guides are more important than others. For example, if you are in the legal profession, you would look to the Bluebook for specific rules on punctuation. 

Another source of multiple style guides, including rules on punctuation and grammar, can be found at http://www.RefDesk.com under http://www.refdesk.com/topgram.html and Library Spot, Grammar and Style, at http://www.libraryspot.com/grammarstyle.htm. -CCE

The Punctuation Guide
http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/style.html

Tips on Grammar, Punctuation and Style
Harvard College Writing Center
http://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/tips-grammar-punctuation-and-style

Punctuation and Style: A Quick Reference Guide
Office of Communications, University of Puget Sound
http://pugetsound.edu/files/resources/3379_PSGuide0309.pdf

Introduction to Basic Legal Citation, by Peter Martin, Cornell University Law School, Legal Information Institute (not just for legal citations – CCE)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/

Does Legalese Have A Legitimate Purpose?

13 Saturday Feb 2016

Posted by in Legal Writing, Legalese, Persuasive Writing, Plain Language, Readability

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Lawyers, Stop Writing (and Saying) These Things Immediately, by Brendan Kenny, Lawyerist Blog© 2007–2016

http://bit.ly/1PJPILK

Many lawyers are tired of hearing about legalese, and many still haven’t embraced plain language in their own legal writing and speaking. This post won’t try to change their minds. If Bryan Garner’s life work can’t convince lawyers, how can I?

But there is another issue often lost in the plain-language wars: where did all these legalese words come from? The perception on both sides seems to be these words and phrases once served a purpose, but don’t anymore. But what if we discovered that they never served any purpose? . . . .

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

02 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by in Bad Legal Writing, Editing, Legal Writing, Readability

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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.

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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…

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Quick Legal Writing Course.

24 Thursday Dec 2015

Posted by in Bad Legal Writing, Editing, Grammar, Legal Writing

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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

Plain Language = Good Writing.

28 Saturday Nov 2015

Posted by in Bad Legal Writing, Grammar, Legal Writing, Persuasive Writing, Plain Language, Proofreading, Readability

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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. . . .

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

03 Tuesday Nov 2015

Posted by in Bad Legal Writing, Legal Writing, Pleadings

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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.

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The Worst Legal Writing Ever?

19 Monday Oct 2015

Posted by in Bad Legal Writing, Legal Writing, Legalese

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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. . . .

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Plain Language Examples – Before and After.

16 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by in Bad Legal Writing, Editing, Grammar, Legal Writing, Legalese, Plain Language, Proofreading, Punctuation, Readability

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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

4 Writing Tips For Persuasive Briefs.

29 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by in Bad Legal Writing, Brief Writing, Editing, Legal Argument, Legal Writing, Persuasive Writing, Readability

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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? . . . .

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Supreme Court Writing Analysis – Whose Briefs Win and Why.

22 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by in Appellate Law, Appellate Writing, Brief Writing, Editing, Grammar, Legal Analysis, Legal Argument, Legal Writing, Persuasive Writing, Readability, United States Supreme Court

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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

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

15 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by in Civil Rights, First Amendment, Legal Argument, Legal Writing, Persuasive Writing

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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

Perfect Benchslap For Redaction Running Amuck.

08 Saturday Aug 2015

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

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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 in Legal Writing

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 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

Free Legal Style Guide from Adobe.

31 Friday Jul 2015

Posted by in Adobe Acrobat, Editing, Grammar, Legal Technology, Legal Writing, Numbers, Punctuation, Style Manuals

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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

 

Legal Writing Tips Honey Pot.

29 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by in Bad Legal Writing, Business Memorandums, Contract Law, Editing, Grammar, Legal Writing, Punctuation

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Writing Cheat Sheets for Your Summer at the Screen, by Ross Guberman, Legal Writing Tips for Attorneys and Judges

http://legalwritingpro.com/blog/writing-cheat-sheets-for-your-summer-at-the-screen/

There is something here for everyone – student, newbie, or seasoned professional. Writing tips for memos, grammar, punctuation, biggest partner complaints, checklist for drafting contracts, and more. Many thanks, Mr. Guberman! -CCE

As a writing trainer for many of the nation’s top law firms with about 500 summer-associate workshops under my belt, I’ve learned first-hand where summer associates go wrong and how to help them succeed.

Here are some questions that will likely come up over the summer, along with links to some free online resources. . . .

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Ever Wanted To Know How To Write Like Chief Justice John Roberts?

21 Tuesday Jul 2015

Posted by in Brief Writing, Editing, Legal Argument, Legal Writing, Readability

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Five Ways to Write Like John Roberts, by Ross Guberman, Legal writing tips for attorneys and judges

http://legalwritingpro.com/blog/five-ways-to-write-like-john-roberts/#comment-56

What I really like about this post is how it about using “show, don’t tell.” It is one of the most under-used persuasive writing tools, which I do not understand. When used correctly, you can hit it out of the park. -CCE

When Chief Justice John Roberts was a lawyer, he once wrote that determining the ‘best’ available technology for controlling air pollution is like asking people to pick the ‘best’ car: . . . .

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Judge’s Benchslap Orders Parties To Rewrite Their Acronym-Loaded Briefs.

20 Monday Jul 2015

Posted by in Acronyms, Bad Legal Writing, Brief Writing, District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, Legal Writing, Readability, Style Manuals

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Alphabet Attack, by Ross Guberman, Legal Writing Tips for Attorneys and Judges

http://legalwritingpro.com/blog/alphabet-attack/

I wonder how many judges have wanted to do this? -CCE

It wouldn’t be spring in America without some federal judges publicly criticizing attorneys in a genre now known as ‘benchslap.’

The offended court this time: the D.C. Circuit. The court’s target: acronyms in briefs filed in a complex telecom dispute. The benchslap: ‘It is ordered . . . that the parties submit new briefs that eliminate uncommon acronyms used in their previously filed final briefs.’ The court even cited its own practice handbook for good measure: ‘[i]n briefs the use of acronyms other that those that are widely known should be avoided.’ . . .

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Plain Language Honey Pot.

08 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by in Brief Writing, Editing, Fonts, Jury Instructions, Legal Writing, Legalese, Precedent, Readability

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Legal Examples, PlainLanguage.gov

http://www.plainlanguage.gov/examples/legal/

I have noticed that posts here on legal writing, legalese, and plain language are always popular. Here is a treat for you plain language lovers – a mixed bag of excellent plain language examples of legal writing. They include Pennsylvania’s statute requiring plain language for contracts, California’s plain language jury instructions, Martin Cutt’s classic, Lucid Law, and my personal favorites – two fantastic articles by Judge Mark P. Painter.

Once you click on this link and go to the website, you will see buttons that will take you to other plain language examples, resources, and tips. Enjoy! -CCE

An Expert’s Guide To Formatting An Appellate Brief.

20 Saturday Jun 2015

Posted by in Appellate Law, Appellate Writing, Brief Writing, Citations, Citations to the Record, Court Rules, Courts, Legal Writing, Local Rules, Table of Authorities

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How to Format an Appellate Brief, by Deborah Savadra, Lawyerist Blog

(Deborah Savadra is editor and chief blogger at Legal Office Guru, which offers The WordPerfect Lover’s Guide to Word as well as Microsoft Office video tutorials. You can follow her on Twitter at @legalofficeguru.)

https://lawyerist.com/70334/format-appellate-brief-microsoft-word/

Appellate briefs are not a project for beginners. And, regardless of what you read in this tutorial, you must follow your appellate court rules to the letter.

When your court’s rules tell you that it wants citations done a certain way, it mean exactly that. If the court’s rules say a brief must not go over a certain number of pages, do not even think about “fudging” the rules by changing the font, page size, or line spacing.

You see, all courts, not just appellate ones, write local rules for a reason. Whatever “trick” you may try to skirt around those rules, that court has already seen it and knows it when it sees it again. Courts take their local rules seriously, and so should you.

There are many posts and articles posted on my blog about the strategy and nuances of writing appellate briefs, as well as many excellent books on the subject. This tutorial will help you with the nuts and bolts of writing the bare bones, which is always useful regardless of your writing proficiency.

I also highly recommend Ms. Deborah Savadra’s blog, Legal Office Guru. She does an excellent job. -CCE

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The appellate brief is undoubtedly one of the most complex pleadings, formatting-wise. Formatting requirements vary from court to court, going so far as to dictate the size and font of your type, your margins and your line spacing. (If you’ve ever had to do a U.S. Supreme Court brief, I feel your pain.) Even before you consider the text of your argument, you have to wrap your head around which pages have which style of page numbers, whether you must furnish a table of authorities, and how you have to deal with any appendices or references to the record. . . .

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Excellent Argument About Technology and Citation Placement.

13 Saturday Jun 2015

Posted by in Apple, Brief Writing, Citations, E-Briefs, E-Briefs, E-Filing, Footnotes, iPad, Laptop, Legal Technology, Legal Writing, Mac, Microsoft Office, PC Computers, Readability, Tablets

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If the Judge Will Be Reading My Brief on a Screen, Where Should I Place My Citations? by Peter Martin, Jane M.G. Foster Professor of Law, Emeritus, Cornell Law School, Citing Legally Blog

http://citeblog.access-to-law.com/?p=149

 

As pointed out in this article, more courts require e-filing and are using tablets and other technology to read what you file. If you do not use technology, then you do not know how your document appears on the screen. It is quite different than reading something on a printed page.

So what to do? Keep writing as you always have and ignore changes brought about by technology or adjust? -CCE

A. Introduction

In a prior post I explored how the transformation of case law to linked electronic data undercut Brian Garner’s longstanding argument that judges should place their citations in footnotes. As that post promised, I’ll now turn to Garner’s position as it applies to writing that lawyers prepare for judicial readers. . . .

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Where Should Citations Go? Texas Appellate Judges Have An Opinion.

05 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by in Appellate Judges, Appellate Writing, Brief Writing, Citations, Footnotes, Judges, Legal Writing

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The End of the Great Footnote War in Texas? by Rich Phillips, Texas Appellate Watch

http://tinyurl.com/oq8z9va

I have posted before (and here and here) about a debate that confirms that appellate lawyers are the nerds of the legal world: should citations go in footnotes or in the text?. . . .

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The Role and Power of Amicus Curiae.

25 Monday May 2015

Posted by in In Custodia Legis

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Amicus Curiae: Information in the Service of Justice, by Ken Strutin, LLRX.com

http://www.llrx.com/features/amicuscuriae.htm

From the pleas of Abraham on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah1 to the appeals of Voltaire2 and Zola,3 intercessors for humanity4 have called for mercy and justice.5 In the legal system, such intonements have taken on the form of specialized briefs called amicus curiae (‘friend of the court’).6 And through extension and by complement they have appeared in the form of law reviews, media articles, exposes, and books.7 Indeed, there is an oscillating relationship between amici and law reviews, which has been beneficial for scholarship and public discourse. In the end, it is the passion for justice that drives individuals, governments, academics, lawyers, journalists and other interested groups to befriend the courts.8

The amicus has the power to speak to many audiences simultaneously. In the courtroom, it is the honest broker; in the public media, it is the educator; in academia, it is scholarly analysis and historical perspective. Bounded by common law, court rules, and the conventions of publishing (briefs, articles or books), the amicus can yet move knowledge into venues where it is most needed. An amicus can serve as an ‘oral shepardizer,’ expert witness, or quasi-litigant that extends the range of judicial notice and culls, concentrates and vets information into a case-specific resource.9

Still, there is a tension between the role of the amicus as independent expert offering facts and a party arguing an agenda, which can ultimately impact the quality and constitutionality of decision-making.10 . . .

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Promises, Promises.

23 Saturday May 2015

Posted by in Contract Law, Legal Writing

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“Promises That” and “Promises To, by Ken Adams, Adams On Contract Drafting Blog

http://www.adamsdrafting.com/promises-that-and-promises-to/

For the sheer heck of it, let’s look at how the verb promises is used in contracts. . . .

The Rule of Short.

16 Saturday May 2015

Posted by in Editing, Legal Writing, Readability

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Manage Your Sentence Length, by Wayne Scheiss, Legible Blog from Legalwriting.net

http://sites.utexas.edu/legalwriting/2015/04/29/manage-your-sentence-length-2/

“The shorter the sentence, the easier it is to understand.” Practical Legal Writing for Legal Assistants. -CCE

What’s a good average sentence length for legal writing?

I once asked a group of lawyers at a CLE seminar that question. ‘Thirteen words,’ one lawyer volunteered. ‘Seven,’ said another. Wow. Writing about legal matters with an average of seven words per sentence isn’t realistic, is it? That means for every sentence of ten words, you’ve got to write one of four words to bring the average to seven. That would be tough.

But the instinct is right. Steven Stark, author of Writing to Win, says the more complex the material, the shorter the sentences should be. So what’s a more realistic goal? The experts say between 20 and 25 words:

  • below 25—Wydick in Plain English for Lawyers
  • about 22—Enquist & Oates in Just Writing: Grammar, Punctuation, and Style for the Legal Writer
  • about 20—Garner in Legal Writing in Plain EnglishHow do you know your average sentence length?

You can program Microsoft Word to tell you. . . .

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Abandon Weak Points To Bolster Your Stronger Legal Arguments.

13 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by in Brief Writing, Editing, Legal Argument, Legal Writing

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First Impressions Endure, Even In Brief Writing, by Bryan A. Garner, ABA Journal

http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/first_impressions_endure_even_in_brief_writing

We have a long history of judges saying that (1) little errors in a brief betoken bigger mistakes, (2) less is more, and (3) good briefs demand little physical or mental effort from the reader. Even so, briefs in most courts are astonishingly ill-proofread, they are rarely tight, and lawyers seldom confine themselves to two or three points. There’s a disconnect between what judges say they want and what lawyers give them. Curious.

There’s also a tendency to disbelieve things that can’t be scientifically proved. Hence I’ve heard lawyers say they don’t care so much about what judges say they find persuasive in written arguments. Those judges might not actually know what motivates them, the skeptical lawyers say. They want proof.

So let’s take the three points mentioned at the outset and see whether, when it comes to judging, there’s any scientific evidence to back up the anecdotal evidence that good writing enhances persuasion. We’ll use the findings of Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, the Princeton psychologist and economist who wrote a superb book: Thinking, Fast and Slow. What he says is most illuminating. . . .

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