Legal Writing
Set in Style 
A skilled and experienced editor offers advice to those who could use one.
Post Frequency: 1/day Last Entry: November 17, 2009 at 18:40:10 Recent Entries: 324
Go to Set in Style, find other Legal Writing blogs, or browse all law blogs.
Search
Posts
Client Alerts — Appearances Count
Posted on November 17, 2009If you’re an attorney, then I ask you to think about something you don’t often consider ? how you appear in print. Why? Because it’s important. How you appear in print affects your practice, your ability to attract clients, and what you can charge for the services you provide...
Client Alerts — Appearances Count
Posted on November 07, 2009If you’re an attorney, then I ask you to think about something you don’t often consider ? how you appear in print. Why? Because it’s important. How you appear in print affects your practice, your ability to attract clients, and what you can charge for the services you provide...
What IP Attorneys Don’t Need
Posted on November 03, 2009Let’s say you’re the managing partner of your firm’s IP practice group. Here’s what you don’t need, especially if your firm claims to be technologically savvy: Some unscrupulous marketeer pilfers some articles from your firm’s Web site...
Quick Cut ? Your Tax Dollars in Print
Posted on October 29, 2009Consider the following line from the California Health and Safety Code: Under existing law, a health facility is prohibited from retaliating or discriminating against an employee of a health facility that has presented or initiated a complaint or initiated, participated, or cooperated in an investigation or proceeding of a government entity relating to the care, services, or conditions of the facility...
Quick Cut ? Don?t Waste Readers’ Time
Posted on October 28, 2009Here’s the original (published by a firm that thinks it doesn’t need an editor): Effective December 1, 2009, it will be unlawful for any motor vehicle operator to text message while driving. Violations of the new law will constitute an ?infraction? punishable by a $100 fine...
Law Firms, the News, and Fair Use
Posted on October 27, 2009Yesterday’s post was about how some law firms (two personal injury firms) are republishing the news; i.e., taking published news articles and then republishing them in their entirety, without any credit. Today, let’s see how another firm is republishing the news...
Personal Injury Plagiarists Redux
Posted on October 26, 2009Today’s discussion is about law firms republishing news articles. Here’s the question: is it OK for a law firm — as a part of its marketing effort — to compose a newsletter and claim all rights to it when the newsletter is composed of material copyrighted by others? Let’s begin by looking at what’s going on over [...
Luxury Cars and Law Firms
Posted on October 23, 2009A TV commercial for a car says nothing about the car per sé. Why is that? The commercial could list specifications like fuel mileage, drive train coverage, and horsepower, but it doesn’t: not when it comes to luxury automobiles. The spots for fancy cars are entertaining, 30-second stories that evoke some sense of success, followed by [...
Guilty on Appearance
Posted on October 22, 2009Criminal defense attorneys are so concerned with how their clients appear in court, and that’s because they know the power of appearance, and how it affects the attitudes of judges and jurors*, in particular. Just imagine the defendant — a fellow who used to look so rough — who shows up in court looking like an [...
Blawgs — Anyone can have one; everyone can’t
Posted on October 18, 2009Let’s discuss blogging, or — as some put it — blawgging: i.e., attorneys blogging about the law. Let?s begin with Scott Greenfield?s latest post ? ?Blogging Is Alive, And Aggravating.? If you’re an attorney and you’re thinking of starting a blawg, read Greenfield’s post...
Dear Attorney
Posted on October 14, 2009You know what you don?t want? You don?t want to be talking to someone you hope to impress, and find she?s holding a copy of some of your worst writing ? something you wrote in haste. Just imagine: there she is ? someone with the power to give you a hand up the ladder of success ? and [...
Even More Quick Cuts
Posted on October 13, 2009Yet another example of what editors do for attorneys. In a hurry, an attorney might write something (e.g., for a client alert) like this: IRC § 149(b)(1) provides that the interest on bonds, which are federally guaranteed, is not tax-exempt. But that’s certainly not what the attorney meant...
More Quick Cuts
Posted on October 13, 2009Here?s another example of what editors do for attorneys. In a hurry, an attorney might write something (e.g., for an article for an upcoming seminar) like this: Thus, a bondholder may look for repayment to all sources of revenue, which the municipality is entitled to receive...
Quick Cuts
Posted on October 13, 2009Here’s a typical example of what editors do for attorneys. When they’re in a hurry, attorneys will write things (e.g., articles for upcoming seminars) like this: As a result, 501(c)(3) organizations (assuming they do not exceed the $30 million annual limitation) will be able to take advantage of state wide and other larger issuers that in the [...
Proof Before You Publish
Posted on October 08, 2009If you want to look good, you must take care, and that means proofing before publishing so mistakes like this aren’t exposed (and left uncorrected for five months):
Hide & Seek
Posted on October 08, 2009Like so many others, you publish a blog to attract potential clients. And you make good use of terms to satisfy search engines so potential clients can find the blog. The blog is SEO savvy, and it attracts people searching for terms like bad faith, liability claims, insured’s claims, cause harm, and under the policy...
On Modifiers and Fantastic Proposals
Posted on October 07, 2009Yesterday, I talked about lawyers writing in a rush and then submitting copy with careless errors like misplaced modifiers. Today, let’s turn our focus to lawyers writing in a rush and then submitting copy with careless errors like misplaced modifiers...
Dear Regular Readers
Posted on October 06, 2009I haven’t posted to Set in Style very often lately. Sorry about that. It’s just that I’ve been so danged busy with projects of late. Since I’ve got some time right now, I thought I’d post something. I haven’t abandoned this effort...
Whatever Happened to Winslow Blodgett Taub?
Posted on September 25, 2009Whatever happened to Winslow and so many others? What’s become of Daniel Norayr Kassabian, Robert Daniel Fram, Jonathan Stewart Larsen, Annette Louise Hurst, and all the IP lawyers that used to work for Heller Ehrman? Are they hiding? ____________ Suppose you want to contact Winslow...
Why Solo Attorneys Need Web Sites
Posted on September 24, 2009The Wisconsin Law Journal has an interesting article (?Legal blog start-up soars to prominence?) that puts the spotlight on two attorneys: Aaron Street, publisher of Lawyerist Media LLC, and Samuel Glover, Editor-in-Chief of the popular legal blog lawyerist...
Looking Good
Posted on September 22, 2009A CMO explains CRM to a marketing coordinator. Suppose that producing a Web site or a blog was something like going through boot camp. Think about it! There you are, standing for inspection. Some big, mean-looking guy with a weird accent isn’t far away...
What’s Wrong with this Picture?
Posted on September 11, 2009There are three problems with this statement published by Arnold & Porter: Be the first to identify them, and win this week’s Friday Afternoon Pop Quiz.
Law Firm Uses the News to Attract Attractive Clients
Posted on September 09, 2009This evening, tens of millions of eyes will be focused on the president as he tells us about health care reform, and tomorrow — if the past is any sort of guide — great big law firms will miss the significant opportunity offered by the president...
Lasting Impressions & Law Firm Seminars
Posted on August 27, 2009Let’s say you’re an associate, and have been for five or six years. In the past few years, you’ve been so impressive that the head of the employment law practice group wants you to make a presentation at an upcoming seminar. This is a great opportunity...
So . . . How Can an Editor Help an Attorney?
Posted on August 26, 2009That’s our perpetual question (one version of it), and here’s another variation on our typical answer: an editor can make sure an attorney looks good in print. Consider the introduction to this client alert about the Treasury Capital Purchase Program: The Treasury Department this morning provided additional information on the implementation of the Treasury Capital Purchase Program, including an [...
What Can an Editor Do for an Attorney?
Posted on August 24, 2009That’s our perpetual question. Here’s another answer to it. Consider the following copy — the intro to an article titled ?Letters of Credit May Not Last as Long as Expected” posted at the Banking & Finance Law Report blog: Parties to a letter of credit following the Ninth Circuit?s opinion in Golden West Refining v...
The Beauty of the Proposal
Posted on August 21, 2009Appearances can be so important. Attorneys (many of them) realize this, and so they tend to their personal appearance before important meetings (e.g., the first meeting with a very attractive, potential client). But when it comes to what they commit to writing, the vast majority of attorneys (and their firms) don’t consider appearances at all...
Setting Law Firm Seminar Materials
Posted on August 20, 2009I don’t know how this happened (though I know Microsoft facilitated it), but — so far as I can tell — the most common way to set type for law firm seminar materials is to use 12-pt Arial for body copy. That’s a mistake because Arial isn’t for body copy; it’s for headings...
On the Role of Editors in Legal Writing
Posted on August 04, 2009Gary P. Rodrigues, a lawyer and publishing consultant, authored this article (?The full stop in legal citation ? has its time finally come??) about whether legal citations should be modernized (e.g., whether a citation should be set as ?LRC 1985 c 1 (5th Supp)? rather than ?L...
Getting Rid of Pretty Lousy Type
Posted on August 02, 2009It’s been said (mostly by me) that “the power of the press used to belong to those who had one. Now that everyone’s got a press (a computer attached to the Internet) the power of the press belongs to those who know how to use it well...
Client Alerts — Set in Style
Posted on August 02, 2009It’s been said (mostly by me) that “the power of the press used to belong to those who had one. Now that everyone’s got a press (a computer attached to the Internet) the power of the press belongs to those who know how to use it well...
The Bestest Law Firm — Part I
Posted on July 28, 2009In my line of work, a typo or grammatical error can be catastrophic. Publishing an error that editors are expected to Catch & Correct just wrecks my marketing efforts. Now, most big law firms advertise that they have (and always seek) the most capable attorneys from the nation’s most prestigious law schools...
Why Do Law Firms Need Editors?
Posted on July 23, 2009There’s this attorney from China and he’s flying to San Francisco, hoping to start a good relationship. He works for a large telecommunications company that’s planning its first venture in the U.S., and he’s looking for a law firm to provide guidance in several regulatory matters...
The Kenyon Challenge
Posted on July 21, 2009Most large law firms don’t have editors on staff, even though those firms function as publishers. I find that odd. Let’s review some of one large firm’s publications to make the point — if you function as a publisher, get an editor...
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Posted on July 13, 2009Here’s the disclaimer you need to accept to enter Morrison & Foerster’s Privacy Library: Note that two graphic images that belong in the right sidebar aren’t where they belong. They’re obscuring part of the disclaimer. Now, here’s how that same disclaimer looks to the people at Morrison & Foerster: ____________ At most firms, all the attorneys and all the [...
To Blog, Or Golf?
Posted on July 09, 2009More interesting reading from Mark Hermann – Blogging About Blogging: Zach Lowe, over at AmLawDaily, did the kind of thing that reporters do: He called the managing partners of the high profits-per-partner firms and asked why they didn’t sponsor blogs...
Laid Off? Write!
Posted on July 09, 2009Debra Bruce, president of Lawyer-Coach, offers some sound advice for recently laid-off attorneys: write! Write, she says, “an article on a legal topic you are interested in” — not for some law review — but for “industry magazines, legal newspapers, business journals and online publications...
Why Attorneys Need Editors
Posted on July 07, 2009Current events — that’s what people are interested in. And the news that California is, once again, issuing IOUs in place of checks means it’s high time for a law firm to issue a client alert about registered warrants. Here’s the intro to a client alert published by Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman: The State of California normally [...
If It Ain’t Broke, Improve It
Posted on July 06, 2009Consider a recent attorney-authored article titled “Judgments for Defendants Continue in Stock Drop Cases” Here’s the intro: In June, the Northern District of Illinois issued two decisions dismissing employer stock drop claims in favor of defendants, one after an eight-day bench trial in Brieger v...
Scranton Lawyers — Beware of Scranton Lawyers
Posted on July 06, 2009Lawyers in Scranton, PA might want to steer clear of Scranton Lawyers, a new site that looks like the precursor of a referral service for Scranton lawyers. This recent post indicates why:
Trolling for Errors
Posted on July 01, 2009You’re a corporate counselor and you’re doing some research. Along the way, Google finds a client alert (published by a firm you’ve been thinking of contacting) that seems very pertinent. You click the link to it, and then — rather than the alert — you get a message saying something like, “We recently updated our [...
Why Attorney/Authors Need Editors
Posted on June 25, 2009I’m reviewing an attorney-authored article — “In Re Bilski and Its Impact on Business Method Patents” Here’s the intro: The big problem with the intro is this — the reference to State Street Bank. Why is that reference a problem? For one thing, it’s a new topic, so it needs a new paragraph...
The Legalese Hall of Shame
Posted on June 24, 2009If you want to see examples of some of the most convoluted constructions as are (legally) possible, then review the The Legalese Hall of Shame, where professional attorney/author Adam Freedman, keeps a whole slew of them. He’s always looking for more examples (hint, hint).
Our Law Firm Can Help You If . . . .
Posted on June 18, 2009If you’re not a mathematician (or a math teacher), you’re not expected to recall the binomial theorem, or the quadratic formula, or what a tangent is. And if you’re not an Englician (or English teacher), you’re not expected to recall just what is a subordinating conjuction, or a nominative absolute, or a distributive pronoun...
Show Sotomayor How It’s Done
Posted on June 16, 2009Would you like to receive honorable mention for showing Sonia Sotomayor how it’s done? If so, just rewrite this clunker so it’s crisp and clear: The Agency is therefore precluded from undertaking such cost-benefit analysis because the [best technology available] standard represents Congress’s conclusion that the costs imposed on industry in adopting the best cooling water [...
Providing Happiness to an Attorney
Posted on June 11, 2009What I sometimes do is this — I spot an error, and then I bring it to the author’s attention. Sometimes, the author appreciates it and even offers me $$$ to spot further errors so others (esp. prospective clients and future employers) never see them...
Recuse Who?
Posted on June 08, 2009The National Law Journal recently posted this article titled “Supreme Court Issues Landmark Ruling on Judicial Recusal.” Here’s the intro: In a landmark ruling that could affect state judicial elections nationwide, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that due process requires a state judge to recuse when a party in a case before him or her [...
RE Syntactic Ambiguity
Posted on June 08, 2009According to this entry at Wikipedia on the topic of Syntactic Ambiguity: Syntactic ambiguity is a property of sentences which may be reasonably interpreted in more than one way, or reasonably interpreted to mean more than one thing. Here’s an example: The plaintiff is required to submit an affidavit setting forth at least one negligent act, error, or omission [...
Sound Too Erudite & Appear Too Simple
Posted on June 04, 2009Some very good advice to attorney-authors who want to be read and respected comes from Daniel Oppenheimer, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Princeton. In his paper — “Consequences of erudite vernacular utilized irrespective of necessity: problems with using long words needlessly” published in the journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology — Dr...
Can Twitter Improve Your Writing? (Part II)
Posted on June 01, 2009Yesterday, I raised this question: is it true, as Josh Camson (host of the Social Media Law Student) claims and as H. Scott Leviant (host of The Complex Litigator) denies, that Twitter can make you a better legal writer? I raised the question, and then I demonstrated some techniques for expressing yourself without exceeding Twitter’s 140-character limit...
Can Twitter Improve Your Writing? (Part I)
Posted on May 31, 2009First, spend a minute or two with Twitter, an on-line service that lets people write and publish short entries (for all the world to read). An entry can be about anything (many use it to say what’s happening like “I’m getting ready for dinner,” or “the Mrs...
Weekend Reading Materials
Posted on May 29, 2009I’ve got three recommendations. The first is a list of blog posts you must read. The list is published by the three intrepid law geeks who run3 Geeks and a Law Blog. Here’s an excerpt from the #1 post, written by Chuck Newton, the man who first claimed that, “information becomes the main material for workers, each [...
A Real Has Been
Posted on May 28, 2009Consider this intro to an attorney’s biography: So & So has been with the firm since 1963. His primary areas of practice include litigation and lobbying. He has also had considerable experience in eminent domain and election law. Now, consider the phrase: He has also had ...
Attorney Hates His Web Site
Posted on May 27, 2009It’s the better part of a year ago, and I’m in a courtroom. Not to worry; I’m sitting in the gallery. The judge looks like a million bucks. She might be on Boston Legal; if she were, Alan Shore would have a new goal in life — seduce justice...
Janet Ellen Raasch — Ghostwriter for Attorneys
Posted on May 21, 2009Would you like to write an op-ed for The National Law Journal, or an article for Corporate Counsel magazine? Wouldn?t that be good? Of course it would. Getting an article published in a well known, well respected, and widely circulated periodical is a wonderful thing to do if you want others to know who you are and what [...
Fixing Errors after Publication
Posted on May 19, 2009I just learned my name is attached to something flawed. My goal is to change that. ____________ Here’s the story: Six months ago, I sent this article to Law Practice Magazine, a popular ABA periodical about law practice management. The article was set to run in the January issue, which focused on marketing tactics for attorneys...
Escape from Big Law
Posted on May 14, 2009You’re a small associate in the IP department of a great big law firm. While you’re so thankful that, unlike some other associates, you still have a job, you’re not satisfied. You’re not doing the work you really want to be doing, and some of the partners are just ...
An Expanding Market for Editors?
Posted on May 12, 2009Only a few large firms have dedicated editors on staff. That’s likely to change. Why? Because of the growing importance of the written word, motivated by the growing use of social networking tools to attract clients. That’s why. Don’t take my word for it...
Less is More
Posted on May 07, 2009. . . especially when it comes to the number of words you require your readers to read. Consider this opening line to a recently published client alert: On April 17, 2009, the Obama administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (?EPA?) issued two proposed findings regarding the following greenhouse gases (?GHGs?): carbon dioxide; methane; nitrous oxide; hydrofluorocarbons; perfluorocarbons; and [...
They Is?
Posted on May 06, 2009An associate advises me to read an article titled “10 STEPS TO EFFECTIVE WRITING.” OK. But, I wonder, who would use numeral ten in place of word ten – especially at the start a title? Definitely not Kosher. I favor this line in the article’s intro: At one extreme, there?s a ?give-it-to-the-intern? attitude that leads to costly and embarrassing [...
The Supreme Court Corrects the Government’s Grammar
Posted on May 05, 2009Yesterday, the Supreme Court published its opinion in Flores-Figueroa v. United States, a case in which the government held that you shouldn’t rigidly apply the rules of English grammar to federal statutes. At issue was this provision (18 U. S. C...
Terrence E. Egland — Attorney Fails 8th Grade
Posted on May 01, 2009Be the first to identify the first grammatical error in Terrence E. Egland’s copy, and you are this week’s winner. Here’s Todd’s copy: Largely caused by the failure of the government and Chrysler to reach a deal with bondholders, President Obama announced today that the Federal government and Chrysler have developed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy strategy that involves financing [...
The Past Need Not Be Perfect — Part II
Posted on April 30, 2009Sometimes, it’s better to be simple than perfect. The past is one of those times. You’re preparing a brief. Given the rules, you’re allowed 9,000 words (e.g., Supreme Court rule 37.3), or 30 pages, where the average page contains 300 words...
On Legible Briefs ? The Court’s Advice
Posted on April 25, 2009REQUIREMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR TYPOGRAPHY IN BRIEFS AND OTHER PAPERS ? a guide published by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ? is required reading for anyone following Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 32. The advice it contains isn’t just for those involved in “the production of briefs, motions, appendices, and other papers” for a federal appeals [...
On Looking for a Lawyer
Posted on April 24, 2009It’s 7:35 AM*. I’ve got a cup coffee and I’m watching one of those morning news programs. Actually, it’s a semi-news program that leads with the fires in South Carolina and the Taliban in Pakistan, but ends up offering advice on how to choose a butcher or a mechanic or some such...
Some Light Reading
Posted on April 23, 2009If you want to Look Sharp Online, read the article, which appears in the ABA’s Law Practice Today. It describes what you can do to make sure your publications (client alerts, blogs, Web sites) have a professional appearance. If you’re thinking about going solo, then you’re likely thinking of starting a blog...
Is Anyone There?
Posted on April 13, 2009You’re looking for a law firm to handle some “complex commercial litigation.” Someone mentions Schindler Cohen & Hochman LLP. You review the firm’s Web site and you like what (little) you see. You send an e-mail message asking for someone at the firm to contact you, and you send your message to the address posted [...
Today’s Quote
Posted on April 09, 2009?I can write better than anybody who can write faster, and I can write faster than anybody who can write better.? – A. J. Liebling
Regarding RFPs ? How Is Your Firm Different?
Posted on April 08, 2009If you read or write RFPs, then you might want to consider this article which discusses how you can differentiate your firm from others. Here’s an excerpt which dismisses the notion that people are too busy to read: The real truth is that people do read ? and they read a lot...
Cynthia Rowland ? “Love What You Do”
Posted on April 06, 2009It?s big news ? big, it is, around all those parts of the world that have TVs and high-speed Internet hook-ups. Michelle Obama is addressing some of the girls who attend the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School, ?a large inner-city girls school,? in London, and the world is watching...
Polishing Before Publishing ? An Example
Posted on March 31, 2009Kevin O’Keefe, the founder and driving force behind LexBlog ? a firm that offers lawyers a “turn-key, professional blog service” ? and a pioneer in making the Internet useful for marketing legal servicecs, recently wrote an article titled“Law firm websites : Do all lawyers need them?” The article says a Web site is essential, but you [...
Another Interesting Intro
Posted on March 25, 2009Check out the heading to this article published by a law firm in Phoenix, Arizona: It’s a small firm, run by one attorney ? a solo prone to errors in grammar and spelling and punctuation and formatting, etc. Her writing is probably doing her more harm than good: after all, who wants an attorney who can’t do [...
Doug Stern ? Be Natural
Posted on March 25, 2009If you’re an attorney, and you just finished writing something that includes a bunch of hefty phrases like “including without limitation X, and Y, and Z, and so forth, and so on,” and now you’re getting ready to write a client alert (or a letter to a client or a prospective client or someone who [...
Blog Posts with Volition
Posted on March 24, 2009The U.S. Immigrants Blog published by Azulay Seiden has something few blogs do ? a page of instructions advising all that: Anyone can comment on blog posts, regardless of whether they are registered or signed in. It’s a singular/plural disagreement that yields an absurdity.
The Difference Between a Journalist and a Lawyer
Posted on March 24, 2009It looks like this week’s focus is on intros (i.e., introductions to articles, blog posts, client alerts, and the like). Consider the following intro to a story written by a journalist: A North Andover man, who owns a pizza shop in Tyngsborough, is accused of beating an employee with a bat and sticking a gun in his [...
Intros & Errors
Posted on March 24, 2009Here’s the intro to a post at a new blog that just doesn’t bother to do some of the things that professional publishers do: Under California Law numerous exceptions exist to the traditional ?American Rule? wherein each party is required to pay their own attorneys? fees in litigation...
Introducing the Bar Association of Evil Attorneys
Posted on March 23, 2009Consider the following intro, published by The Bar Association of Evil Attorneys: On this date, in the Garden State, the Supreme Court of New Jersey suspended Terrence P. Tormey for unethically representing a 79-year old native of Portugal who had difficulty in speaking and understanding the English language in the sale of his home to another of [...
Stay Tuned
Posted on March 18, 2009My apologies ? I’ve been so danged busy I haven’t had the time to devote to this blog. And I still don’t. But if you’re just hankering for some word from yours truly, check this out: Look Sharp Online. It’s about the things you need to do to make your blog look like a serious, professional endeavor...
Advice to Attorney Bloggers (from Gyi Tsakalakis)
Posted on March 13, 2009Some sound advice from Gyi Tsakalakis on what attorneys can do to make sure their blogs are effective (i.e., attract potential clients). Here’s an excerpt from an article he wrote advising attorneys on how they can promote their practices: 4. Blog- (60 mins...
Why Do Attorneys Need Editors?
Posted on March 10, 2009Here’s a good example of why attorney-authors need editors: POSTED ON MARCH 6, 2009 BY STEPHEN KLEINMAN The Supreme Court Decides Wyeth v. Levine On March 4, 2009, in Wyeth v. Levine, No. 06-1249, the United States Supreme Court upheld, by a 6-3 vote, the Vermont Supreme Court’s holding in favor of a patient who argued that the [...
Troubled Type
Posted on March 09, 2009Consider the following copy from this article published by Jackson Walker: Now, compare that to the same copy after it’s been reset by a skilled typesetter: Take a look at the right side of both. Notice that in the original, none of the lines ends with hyphens...
The Work of the Eyes
Posted on February 24, 2009The last few posts focused on an important aspect of typesetting ? consistent word spacing. I can show you how to achieve it, but ? if you want to know why it’s so important ? you need to listen to those who study things like fixations and saccades...
Girl & Monkey ? Both Offer Help with Words
Posted on February 24, 2009Do you wonder whether you should put an adverb before or after a verb? Do you find yourself writing fewer when you should have written less? What about when to use who and when to use whom? Then here are two good resources you should know of about: Grammar Monkey Grammar Girl
Want to Know a Secret?
Posted on February 23, 2009The secret is in plain sight. Grab a newspaper, or a magazine, or a book ? especially a book. Take a look at the spaces between the words. And note how consistent those spaces are. Now, consider some copy from a client alert published by Ogletree Deakins: Note the spacing between the words...
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Posted on February 23, 2009This image is a 25% reduction of one page of a client alert published by Ogletree Deakins. Are you having a hard time deciding what’s wrong with the image? Then it might be that you’re an attorney, or a paralegal, or you work in a firm’s marketing department ...
Typesetter’s Secret Revealed
Posted on February 23, 2009Consider the following block of type (which appears in this alert published by MBHB), an IP firm near Seattle. Note the consistent word spacing. Justified Copy with Hyphenation Consider the following block of type, and note the inconsistent word spacing...
The Hobgoblin of Multi-Author Blogs
Posted on February 18, 2009I’m reviewing several blogs right now. Each is: published by a firm with from 70 to 160 attorneys authored by from three to eight attorneys inconsistent in appearance Here’s what else they have in common: there’s nothing between what the attorney-authors write and what their prospective readers read...
Ogletree Deakins Act Fast
Posted on February 17, 2009Ogletree Deakins, a firm that focuses on employment law, issued this alert titled “President Signs Stimulus Bill With Significant COBRA Changes for Employers” just minutes after the president signed the bill. A good way to connect to current events? I say so...
Samuel Glover’s Observation
Posted on February 17, 2009You know the old saying ? “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” And ? I suspect ? you know how valid that saying is. But what do you know about audience analysis ? knowing who’s watching you? And what do you know of audience selection ? deciding who you want watching you? ____________ I just read this interesting [...
Today’s Quote
Posted on February 13, 2009Today’s quote comes from Mike Dillon, general counsel to Sun Microsystems. Here it is: After many years in the profession, I’m convinced that the most difficult skill for any lawyer to master is the ability to write with simplicity and clarity...
A Shout Out . . .
Posted on February 12, 2009. . . to the New York Injury Cases blog published by John M. Hochfelder. Very well done!
Ponder Before You Publish
Posted on February 12, 2009I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again ? legal writing is one thing; writing to attract clients is something else. In legal writing, you strive to get someone to agree with you, to buy into your take on things. In copy writing, you strive to get lots of people to ask your for help...
Typography for the Modern Lawyer
Posted on February 10, 2009Let’s begin with a relevant quote: “There’s a lot more to learn about typography than most lawyers realize. Or want to realize.” ? Bryan Garner; Legal Writing in Plain English One of the things lawyers ? those who want to appear as if they know their way around computers ? need to know is when they should use italics [...
Abe Lincoln & Patent Law
Posted on February 09, 2009Interesting article titled “Patent Litigation and Abraham Lincoln” concludes with this: Lawyers are most effective when they eliminate weak arguments and marshal the facts to support their strongest arguments. In addition, both judges and juries appreciate the use of plain English, simple exhibits, and a sense of humor.
Sloppy Writing = Sloppy Thinking
Posted on February 06, 2009This morning, I stumble upon the Web site of Nelson & Carver, P.S. I read the About Us page, and I find this: Our Escrow Team is comprised of highly competent individuals who are prepared to expertly handle your real estate transactions. Fine (except for the caps), but then I read this: Our legal team is highly skilled [...
Space Control
Posted on February 06, 2009Take a good look at this chunk of a recent blog post: Notice, in particular, the space around the photo. There?s less space above it than below it, and the text on the left practically runs into it. That’s not good. Take a look at this chunk published by a pro: The pro uses white space to separate [...
What Are You Waiting For?
Posted on February 04, 2009FindLaw has an idea for enhancing your on-line reputation ? Go Google Yourself! FindLaw has some other great ideas: Publish articles on submission sites ? Do you have information to share with the world? Consider publishing informational articles on content submission sites like EzineArticles...
Subject-Object Agreement
Posted on February 03, 2009Most of us are hip to the notion of agreement between subjects and verbs. We know it’s incorrect to say the employees is or the employee are, but what do we know about agreement between subjects and objects? Consider the following intro to a recent post at the New Jersey Law BLog: During recessionary times, most people [...
Connect Your Blog to Kindle
Posted on February 03, 2009Here’s an interesting idea ? make your blog available via Kindle, Amazon’s nifty little reader. And so it is with Kimberly Kralowec’s popular blog: The UCL Practitioner Here are the details.
Capping Consistently
Posted on February 03, 2009Consider this intro to a blog post recently published by Littler Mendelson?s Governmental Affairs Team: In what may be considered a gift to organized labor, President Obama issued a series of Executive Orders on Friday aimed at undoing Bush-era policies involving federal contractors...
Details! Details! Details!
Posted on February 03, 2009Consider the following intro to a post at the Alaska Personal Injury blog: In Noratak v. City of Chevak (Case No. 4BE-06-258 CI), plaintiff on behalf of his 2 year old child alleged the City of Chevak negligently maintained its playground, which resulted in an injury to his child...
Where Does the Comma Go?
Posted on February 03, 2009Consider the following intro to a recent post at the Art Law Gallery blog, published by Sheppard Mullin: The liaison between fashion and contemporary art has been continuously growing changing over the years. Painters, photographers, visual artists, illustrators, performers and creative artists, are commissioned by top luxury brands of fashion and trendy stylists to create new [...
Get Your Act Together
Posted on February 02, 2009So, you’ve been invited to speak before an audience of your peers . . . and you show up wearing your bath robe and your slippers . . . your hair’s a mess and your breath smells like death. You wouldn’t, would you? Then why in the heck would you publish a blog post chock full of [...
Dan Harris — Super Hero!
Posted on February 01, 2009Check out this article in Law Practice Magazine about the China Law Blog and its primary author, Dan Harris. Very impressive! Or check out this interview with Dan about what makes a good blog good.
What Can an Editor Do for an Attorney?
Posted on January 31, 2009Consider the intro to this article published by a Florida firm. It’s about some recent news: The FDA released new information on the Peanut Butter Plant that shows the company knew about the Salmonella potential, but failed to act on the information...
Personal Injury Plagiarist — Part II
Posted on January 29, 2009Let’s see — well established newspapers are having a tough go of it right now, and so are some great big law firms. Perhaps they should get together. Why? Well, just the other day, I noted how some personal injury lawyers completely ignore the rights of others — in particular their copyrights...
Law Firm Branding — “We Are So Mediocre!”
Posted on January 28, 2009Both Sedgwick Detert Moran & Arnold LLP and Dilworth Paxson LLP have been celebrating their 75th anniversaries, but in different styles. Here’s Sedgwick’s style: And here’s Dilworth’s Quite a difference. Sedgwick shows good style, but Dilworth uses an image from a video feed and it looks lousy...
A Study in Contrast
Posted on January 27, 2009Have you ever watched a foreign-language film, the dialog is set in subtitles, but you can?t read it because there?s not enough contrast between the text and the background, or because the background is just too busy? A bit of a pain, is it not. Lots of attorney-authored blogs and law firm Web sites suffer a [...
Personal Injury Plagiarist
Posted on January 26, 2009Hayman & Kirshenbaum are the sort who make personal injury lawyers seem no better than common crooks and scoundrels. Why do I say such a thing? Take a look at their untitled blog, which is chock full of news reports about accidents and such. Here’s the intro to their latest post: It was a driver?s education course, about [...
Today’s Qurious Quote
Posted on January 23, 2009Today’s quote comes from the latest post at the DC Injury Law Journal, a new blog published by Gabriel Assaad, a personal injury lawyer. Here’s the start of the post: The West Virginia Record wrote on January 9, 2009 a wonderful article about former Justice Larry Starcher overviewing his last days of his term and his fight [...
Getting the Justice You Can Afford?
Posted on January 22, 2009In this article, Martha Neil describes a 22-year-old man (an African American named Harris) who pled guilty to a possession-with-intent charge. She writes: Harris, who had no prior record, had been convicted of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver and being a party to the crime after entering a guilty plea ...
Most Unusual
Posted on January 21, 2009A well written, attorney-authored blog wins a writing award. Imagine that.
What Can Happen When You Miss Publishing 101
Posted on January 21, 2009Suppose you went to a law firm’s Web site. Suppose you clicked on the Newsletters link, and this appeared. What’s weird is this — if you click the link to the article titled “The Role of the Derivative Plaintiff: Second Circuit Withdraws Equity Committee?s Derivative Standing, Emphasizing Central Role of Debtor and Bankruptcy Court Regarding Legal [...
Be Interesting
Posted on January 21, 2009Running a blog? Trying to catch juicy potential clients — the ones who could make you wealthy? Then be interesting. That’s right. Be interesting. Here’s a good example, written by Melisa Rockhill, Tarkoff?s Legal Secretary. Here’s yet another good example...
What Can an Editor Do for a Lawyer?
Posted on January 21, 2009This time, let’s see what a skilled and experienced editor might do for a busy personal injury lawyer — one trying to promote his practice with a blog. Here’s the intro to a post titled “When Do You Need a Personal Injury Lawyer?“ Here’s what an editor might turn that intro into: Let’s consider some of the changes [...
Sorry. Couldn’t Resist!
Posted on January 21, 2009Just got a message via e-mail from the Legal Marketing Association. They’re advertising a distance learning program titled Effective Business Writing. From the message: Participants will learn to . . . organize your thoughts quickly and clearly...
Today’s Excellent Writing Advice
Posted on January 20, 2009Remember — the passive voice is to be avoided. And that’s because — as E. B. White advises — the passive voice is less vigorous and less direct than the active voice. But don’t go overboard on it. If you tell Microsoft Word to do a spelling and grammar test on something you wrote, and it turns [...
Want To Get Published?
Posted on January 15, 2009If you’re an attorney and you want to promote your practice, then yes — you want your work published. If you’re not sure how to get your work published, you might want to join this Linked In group: Lawyers and Other Professionals Interested in Getting Published for Business Development...
Qurious Quote of the Day
Posted on January 15, 2009Today’s Qurious Quote comes from a blawg — a popular one — that caters to home-office attorneys. Here it is: Growing up my father was a practicing ophthalmologist in Texarkana, Texas. This is a good example of the sort of problem that 8th-grade English teachers were designed to eliminate — the dangling participle*...
Touched by an Editor
Posted on January 14, 2009Today’s example comes from a firm’s annual report on Trends in Trademarks. Here’s the original copy: Here’s the revised copy: What was changed, and why? The font was changed from Arial (a display face) to Verdana (a face designed for easy reading)...
Blawg, Humbug!
Posted on January 13, 2009Mark Herrmann –author of the Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law and co-author of the very popular Drug and Device Law Blog — wrote this interesting post about whether blawgging brings in business. If you’re thinking of starting a blawg to promote your practice, give it a read...
The Top 30 Blogs on Writing
Posted on January 12, 2009Molly DiBianca (proprietor of The Delaware Employment Law Blog) has identified The Top 30 Blogs on Writing, several of which focus on legal writing.
Quote of the Day
Posted on January 12, 2009Today’s quote comes from an essay written by Mark Richardson, assistant professor of writing and linguistics at Georgia Southern University. The essay — titled “Writing Is Not Just a Basic Skill” — appears in The Chronicle of Higher Education: Writing is not the expression of thought; it is thought itself.
RE the Sherry Fowler Best Writing on a Legal Blog Award
Posted on January 09, 2009At the end of last year, I ran across this post written by Dennis Kennedy, a technology lawyer who runs a very popular blawg. That post lists the winners of the Blawggies — annual awards for blawggers. What caught my eye was the Sherry Fowler Best Writing on a Legal Blog Award that was won by [...
Dan Harris — A Flavorful Blawgger
Posted on January 08, 2009Ask Google to search for these two terms: China and Law Do that, and the first item returned is a link to China Law Blog, owned and operated by the Seattle firm of Harris & Moure. With an Alexa rank of 200,000 and a Technorati rank under 20,000, this award-winning blog is among the most popular of [...
Great Minds Think Alike
Posted on January 08, 2009I firmly believe that — if they’re good — you can use your writing skills to attract clients. Jim Hasset, author of the Legal Business Development blog, seems to agree: ” . . . I often talk to lawyers who are writing articles or books in their marketing time...
Who Publishes Nothing but Old News?
Posted on January 08, 2009Here’s another New Year’s resolution — if your firm’s site has a section titled Publications, and it’s obvious that nothing’s been added to it in the past few years, do something about it. Two options: Remove the links and references to Publications...
Today’s Quote — The Myth of Precision
Posted on January 08, 2009Today’s quote comes from one well known in legal writing circles — Bryan Garner. This is from Garner’s Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage: Traditionally, lawyers have aimed for a type of “precision” that results in cumbersome writing, with many long sentences collapsing under the weight of obscure qualifications...
Keeping Up (With a Changing World)
Posted on January 08, 2009Things change, and if you don’t keep up with them, you could look silly, or worse. The Charlotte Business Journal claims that Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein is laying off attorneys and staff: The layoffs included 13 lawyers, four paralegals and 11 other staffers in various practice areas...
Today’s Quote
Posted on January 07, 2009Ross Guberman offers Ten Resolutions for the New Year, each meant to improve an attorney’s brief-writing skills. Here’s one : 7. Each sentence contains the fewest number of words needed to make the point. That’s good advice, and so is this: When you edit a brief, replace a longer phrase with a shorter one, if you can...
For Which For That
Posted on January 06, 2009Here’s an interesting discussion about a strangely-worded provision in the rules for “processing improperly rejected ballots” in the contest between Al Franken and Norm Coleman. Here’s the very strangely-worded provision: Why in the heck did the author substitute for which for that? Tip of the hat to Martin Magnusson of Fairyland Castle for bringing this to our attention.
Qurious Quote of the Day
Posted on January 05, 2009From this blog published by Farella Braun + Martel: Global corporations of all stripes have been hailed into the small Texas towns of Marshall, Texarkana and Tyler to defend their products against claims of patent infringement. Once sued in the Eastern District of Texas, defendants have typically found themselves stuck...
Looking Smart
Posted on January 05, 2009Since it’s the start of a new year, let’s see how we’re looking. Step 1: View your firm’s Web site. Look for the Contact Us or E-Mail Us link — the link that people can use to contact your firm. Click it. Send a brief message...
Today’s Quote — Effective Attorney Advertising
Posted on December 18, 2008Here it is: Why make note of it? Because this copy — now appearing at DurretteBradshaw’s home page — has a rare quality (among law firm Web sites, that is). And that quality is this — it works! And just how/why does it work? It’s very readable...
Getting Ready for Your Future
Posted on December 17, 2008Your firm needs to be in the very place where more and more people go to find firms. It needs to be in the electronic marketplace evolving on the backbone of the Internet. The Past Suppose it’s the 1890s, and some law firms are installing telephones in their offices...
Kimberly Kralowec — On the Ingredients of a Successful Blawg
Posted on December 16, 2008Are you thinking of starting a blawg? Or do you already have one, but all it does is take up a part of your day? In either case, I suggest you share a cup of coffee with Kimberly Kralowec, the attorney behind The UCL Practitioner and The Appellate Practitioner...
Client Alerts are not Briefs!
Posted on December 15, 2008OK. You spend your days reading and writing legal matter. Fine! But now you’re writing a client alert about some recent development. Do you write the client alert as if it were a brief to be filed with a court? No, not if you want people to read it...
A Twitterer on Twittering
Posted on December 15, 2008Connecticut Law Tribune has this interesting article by Bob Ambrogi about how attorneys can take advantage of Twitter. He offers 16 benefits to twittering, and concludes with this warning: Before you post to Twitter, consider the consequences. A casual tool such as this makes it easy to unwittingly create an attorney-client relationship or overstep an ethical [...
On Improving Your Firm’s Writing
Posted on December 15, 2008Frank Ramos, a partner with Clarke Silverglate & Campbell in Miami, Florida, maintains a blog titled Advice for the Young Lawyer. He recently wrote this post about what firms can do to get their lawyers to write better. These two excerpts point to the tension in some firms between quality and ego: Face it...
The Good, the Bad, and “Isn’t That Ugly?”
Posted on December 11, 2008Some of us pay big bucks to look good. When we’re on the job, we wear suits that cost thousands of dollars; we wear watches that cost as much as brand new cars; we wear shoes that cost as much as a vacation in Hawaii for a family of four. You’d be amazed at what [...
The Stylish Pro v. The Frumpy Amateur
Posted on December 10, 2008You care how you look in person. Don't you care how you look in print?
Today’s Quote is about How to Affect the Likelihood of Review by SCOTUS
Posted on December 10, 2008Here it is: In a 1988 study, political science professors Greg Caldeira and Jack Wright of Ohio State University controlled for the “full array” of well-known influences on the court’s decision to hear a case ? like a split in the lower courts or the participation of the U...
Today’s Quote is about the Importance of How You Present Yourself
Posted on December 09, 2008Here it is: . . . how you talk to your prospect, how you present yourself and how you relate to the customer are as important as the facts about your product or service. Your potential clients are looking for an attorney they can trust — someone they feel comfortable with...
Social Media — The Good, The Bad and . . . .
Posted on December 08, 2008If you’re an attorney and you’re wondering what all the fuss is about Facebook and Twitter and such, and you’re wondering if you should get in on the action (or you’re worried about being left behind), read this: Social Media - The Good, The Bad and the Time-Sucking (Part II) It’s thoughtful (despite the obviously missing serial [...
Curious Quote of the Day
Posted on December 08, 2008Here it is: Some people have assets totally in joint accounts with their children. These assets will pass outright to your children upon your death without the need for probate.
RE: Sixteen Reasons to Tweet on Twitter
Posted on December 08, 2008In this article published by Law.com, attorney/blogger Robert Ambrogi offers 16 reasons for lawyers to Tweet on Twitter.
RE: A Chief Judge and Terrific Editor
Posted on December 08, 2008Here’s an interesting article about Judith S. Kaye, chief judge of New York’s Court of Appeals. From the article: The chief judge said that nothing gives her more pride than the opinions she has written while on the Court of Appeals - opinions to which she worked to bring the clear and economical language of the practiced [...
RE The Spelling of 18 (in Spanish)
Posted on December 08, 2008Here’s an interesting article about errors in “a series of pamphlets aimed at helping Spanish speakers navigate through [The Delaware Court of Chancery].” Court officials said they’ve found errors and are correcting them manually, such as writing the number “18″ over the term it originally had for “eighteen...
When it comes to blawging, anything worth doing . . . .
Posted on December 06, 2008If you’re thinking about blawging, read the article published by Law.com titled “How to Build a Better Law Blog“ by C. C. Holland. From the article: If your blog is boring, banal or shamelessly self-promoting, it’ll do you little good and will likely die a slow death...
Attracting Clients in a Reluctant-buyer’s Market
Posted on December 06, 2008This is about blawging; it's about attorneys trying to attract clients in a tough market that's getting tougher.
Curious Quotes of the Day — Beware of Freedom
Posted on December 04, 2008Here’s something I found in the first graph of this blawg post: The freedom provided by a motorcycle can easily turn into grave injuries or even death. Imagine a corresponding obituary: “Tom’s death was due to an overdose of a lethal mixture of freedom and liberty...
Writing for Readers
Posted on December 04, 2008Another post on Writing for Readers, and this one's about making it easy for readers to understand your writing.
Two Classes of Big Law Firms
Posted on December 03, 20083 Geeks and a Law Blog just published this list of Big Law firms that publish blogs (or have attorneys who do). It put each firm in one of two classes — Blog-Proud or Blog-Tolerant. A Big Law firm is Blog-Proud if it’s easy to find its attorneys’ blogs; else the firm is Blog-Tolerant.
Trollers and Rollers
Posted on December 03, 2008Trollers and Rollers -- it's about showing up for an important business meeting with rollers in your hair.
A Tale of Two Complaints
Posted on December 02, 2008Just wrote this post about pride in appearance: http://misterthorne.org/set_in_style/2008/12/02/a-tale-of-two-complaints
The March of the Big Law Blawgs
Posted on December 02, 2008If you’re interested in big law blawgs, then you should know of this list compiled by 3 Geeks, and this list compiled by LexBlog. According to 3 Geeks, 56 of the National Law Journal 250 have blawgs. According to LexBlog, 72 of the AmLaw 200 have blogs...
Good Looks — Clothes and Shoes — Fonts and Breaks
Posted on November 28, 2008Just wrote a post about looking good in print -- Clothes and Shoes -- Fonts and Breaks
Seminar Materials — They Can Make You Look Good, or Not
Posted on November 21, 2008I recently attended a day-long seminar presented by a large and well-known law firm. This post is about that experience. It’s about seminars, and the materials given to those who attend them. It’s about setting those materials in style. Logistics The brochure for the seminar came to me (I received the electronic version via e-mail, and the printed [...
The Law Firm as Publisher
Posted on November 17, 2008As I’ve said over and over — if you’re a law firm and you maintain a Web site and you publish client alerts and newsletters and such, then you’re also a publisher. Seems as if Mark Jones, Global Community Editor for Reuters, agrees...
Oh No! Too Much SEO!
Posted on November 17, 2008I just discovered this interesting post at Law Firm Blogger. It’s about the tendency — strongly advocated by some – to write copy more for search engines than for potential clients.
Volokh on Academic Legal Writing
Posted on November 17, 2008Let’s see — you’re a young associate at a Great Big Law Firm and have been for the past few years. You’ve been making some great money, and you’ve been working your butt off (and you’re still in so much debt). And now you’re worried about job security...
The Law Firm Client Alert — a Tale of Two Versions
Posted on November 13, 2008Comparing the original version of a law firm client alert – one that was published by a reputable, well staffed, and well regarded law firm – to one that’s been touched by an editor yields yet another answer to our perpetual question: What Can an Editor Do for You? original revised The image on the left shows a portion of the original [...
What Can an Editor Do for an Attorney?
Posted on November 09, 2008That’s our perpetual question, and here’s another version of an answer: an editor can make sure an attorney looks good in print. Consider the introduction to this client alert about the Treasury Capital Purchase Program: The Treasury Department this morning provided additional information on the implementation of the Treasury Capital Purchase Program, including an application form and [...
Get Popular Now!
Posted on November 07, 2008Here’s a good article at law.com about how to become more popular (e.g., boost your Google rating) by knowing how to take advantage of all that LinkedIn has to offer. Hey, let’s go Twitter tonight. It’s so totally cool!
Client Alert Gets Favorable Press
Posted on November 07, 2008Mark Sunshine, president of First Capital, has been writing about the credit crisis, and he’s written this fine review of this client alert that was written by Richard Gray, an attorney who specializes in banking transactions. The alert was published by Milbank Tweed...
Mark Herrmann — A Curmudgeon Offers His Advice
Posted on October 31, 2008So, you’ve earned your J.D., and you’re going to be a lawyer. Good for you. Let me give you a bit of advice — before you go to work, get a copy of a small book packed full of invaluable advice: The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law...
Marketing You Law Firm
Posted on October 30, 2008Here’s a curious site that is ?sponsored by a few lawyers that [sic] are actively involved in internet marketing and web development.? They plan to provide “articles about marketing you [sic] law firm on the web.” David Lluis the Los Angeles attorney who operates (or doesn’t) the site claims to “have internet strategist who assist in promoting [...
On Getting Noticed — Part V
Posted on October 27, 2008In the previous four parts to this post, we looked at various measures of the popularity of some law firm blogs. We examined their Alexa rankings, which indicate how much traffic they get. We examined their Technorati rankings, which indicate how popular they are...
Pedestrians Ran Down By hit and Run Accident
Posted on October 27, 2008That’s the title to a recent post at the Tampa Injury Law blog.
Was the Obama Born? If So, Where?
Posted on October 27, 2008Those are the sorts of questions raised in a suit filed by Philip J. Berg, an attorney and host of Obama Crimes. Barack Obama claims he was born in Hawaii, but Berg says that ain’t so — he was born in Kenya, so he’s not a natural born citizen and he can’t become president...
Environmental Attorney Says Wood is a Fossil Fuel!
Posted on October 25, 2008Christopher G. Foster, an attorney with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck — a firm that boasts “you can rest assured that you’re being represented by a team of seasoned attorneys with the knowledge, relationships and legal skills to help you mitigate even the most complex environmental risk” — claims wood is a fossil fuel! Here’s the [...
Attorney Advertising — The Weirdest Kind
Posted on October 25, 2008Rutledge & Yaghmai — a small law firm in Anniston, Alabama — is doing something weird: it’s hosting a blog — FORT MCCLELLAN LITIGATION – to promote a lawsuit: The City of Annitson Alabama et al v. Honarable Joel E. Laird...
On Getting Noticed — Part IV
Posted on October 22, 2008So, what’s the relationship between the North Texas Family Law Blog, the Greater Houston Criminal Defense Law Blog, and Sheppard & Mullins’ China Law Update? Odd as it is, the family and defense law blogs link to Sheppard & Mullins’ blog...
On Getting Noticed — Part III
Posted on October 21, 2008This discussion began with this question — what’s the relationship between the North Texas Family Law Blog, the Greater Houston Criminal Defense Law Blog, and Shepphard & Mullins’ China Law Update? I’m getting to that. But, first, I want you to consider another blog of sorts...
On Getting Noticed — Part II
Posted on October 17, 2008In yesterday’s post, I discussed two rating services — Alexa (for Web sites) and Technorati (for blogs). Let’s consider how they come up with those numbers (rankings) that tell us how popular is a blog or a Web site. Alexa rankings are based on how many people visit a Web site, and how many pages they [...
On Getting Noticed
Posted on October 16, 2008Nielsen ranks TV shows. Arbitron ranks radio shows. Alexa ranks Web sites. Technorati purports to rank blogs, but it can be fooled. And some have turned fooling Technorati into a high-tech art form. With both Alexa and Technorati, the lower your rank, the more popular you are...
Joshua Stein — Attorney & Author
Posted on October 14, 2008About Joshua Stein If you?re involved in New York?s commercial real estate market, then you?ve likely heard of Joshua Stein, a partner in the New York office of Latham & Watkins LLP. And if you practice commercial real estate law, especially in New York, you?ve probably read some of what he?s written — four books on [...
Why Lawyers Need Editors — Sum Waye Moore Then Otters
Posted on October 10, 2008Once again, attorney Brian Puricelli is in the news — The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Examiner, and ABC News. Now, how does an attorney who’s so obscure that he’s not even listed by Martindale-Hubbell get such press? Because he inspires fascinating judicial opinions, like this recent opinion written by U...
Dingle, Dangle
Posted on October 09, 2008There’s a terrible thing, and it’s called the dangling participle. It’s a terrible thing because — if you have one and you show it to others — they might think you’re an idiot; they might point to it and laugh at you...
Barry Landsberg — On the Road to Success
Posted on October 09, 2008Barry Landsberg, senior partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP in Los Angeles, is the sort of lawyer that so many young associates at Great Big Law Firms aspire to be — Quintessential & Successful. But few of those young associates have lawyering in their essential acids the way Landsberg does...
Law Firm Advertises the Wrong Number
Posted on October 07, 2008Let’s just suppose you’re trying to attract new clients. Great! Now, let’s suppose you’re handing out business cards that look sharp, but have the wrong phone number. And not just any wrong number, but a number that’s been disconnected...
Principle v. Principal
Posted on October 05, 2008Kimberly Kralowec has this interesting post about courts confusing a pair of homonyms. She offers three examples from three opinions issued in three days.
Don’t Overload an Intro
Posted on October 05, 2008Here’s the first line of a client alert: At this point, it is hard to assess the significance of the July 21 decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that vacated the FCC?s fine against CBS for the notorious Janet Jackson 2004 Super Bowl incident...
Womble Carlyle Takes Advantage of the News
Posted on October 03, 2008I’d say that Womble Carlyle is smart for publishing this sort of information about an outfit that’s much in the news of late — the FDIC. It’s informative*, it’s geared to a broad audience, it answers questions that many are asking right now,and it’s likely to bring visitors to the firm’s Web site...
Pop Quiz
Posted on October 03, 2008It’s Friday, which means it’s time for a pop quiz. Are we ready? Over at the UCL Practitioner blog, Kimberly Kralowec informs us of the following: In Freedom Communications, Inc. v. Superior Court, ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Sept. 30, 2008), the Court of Appeal reversed an order prohibiting the Orange County Register from reporting on the trial of a wage [...
Getting Noticed
Posted on October 02, 2008The October issue of the ABA Journal has a list of tips to help attorneys “stand out in today’s stagnant economy.” Here’s Tip #1: 1. Get published. Opportunity-makers use writing as a chance to enhance their business development potential...
Write What You Know
Posted on October 02, 2008Forbes has this interesting article by Rick Eid, who used to write for the ever-so-popular TV series, “Law & Order.” Eid began his career as an associate at Skadden Arps. A few years later, he joined Manatt Phelps. Eight years after becoming a lawyer, he quit the profession and became an unemployed writer...
The Worm Is in the Heart . . . .
Posted on September 30, 2008The corner liquor store is a financial institution covered by EESA, and so is the dry cleaners, the deli, the bakery, and the grammar school. Here’s the definition of financial institutions covered by EESA, according to the Congress (w/o an editor): FINANCIAL INSTITUTION...
Caution — Pseudo-editors at Work!
Posted on September 24, 2008Here’s the opening to this alert published by Farella Braun + Martel, a firm that claims it is “known for our imaginative legal solutions and the dynamism and intellectual creativity of our lawyers.” It’s a good read — far better than the usual “on Date, some Court ruled that such-and-such is prohibited by this-or-that...
On the Value of Being Timely
Posted on September 19, 2008Yesterday, I wrote about the value of publishing a client alert promptly — while the subject of the alert is still news. While I was writing, CFO.com was publishing this article about the risks of credit-default swaps. And guess what? That article discussed and quoted this client alert about risks and opportunities in the credit-default swap market...
Target the Right Audience
Posted on September 18, 2008What happens is this — most attorneys write most client alerts for an audience of other attorneys (esp. corporate counselors). Fine — so long as their alerts are well written, informative, and published promptly. (As I mentioned in a recent post, a survey of GCs shows that — when they’re really interested in something, they [...
Sieze the Moment
Posted on September 18, 2008News isn’t usually news for all that long. One week, it’s Sarah Palin. The next, it’s a huge storm. After that, it’s the woes on Wall Street. Next week, it’ll be something else. Who knows what? News organizations move fast...
David Beats Goliath (Again)
Posted on September 17, 2008For some companies (think Amazon), Web site rankings are absolutely critical. For others (think a Great Big Law Firm), they don’t matter at all (they say). So, why wonder why a site run by an artist at an ad agency — Puppies and Flowers — gets more traffic* than Weil Gotshal, a firm that claims it’s [...
The Attorney Who Represents Himself . . . .
Posted on September 12, 2008You know the old saying — the attorney who represents himself has got a fool for a client. Ditto for the attorney who serves as his own editor (or figures he’s such a terrific writer, he doesn’t need one).
Has Anyone Seen Brian Kennan?
Posted on September 10, 2008Consider this post from Davis Wright Tremaine’s Digital Media Law Blog, or this post from the firm’s Privacy and Security Law Blog. Now, suppose a prospective client reads either post and decides to contact the author. He clicks the link to Brian Kennan, but, rather than Kennan’s contact info, the prospective client sees this: OK...
RE Dysfuntional Drafting
Posted on September 09, 2008Contract drafting guru Kenneth Adams has this interesting piece in The National Law Journal about dysfunctional drafting. Once again, he bemoans the use of legalese. Here’s a snippet: [L]egalese renders a contract a chore to read, negotiate, interpret and use as a model...
What Can an Editor Do for an Attorney?
Posted on September 09, 2008Once again, why should an attorney consult an editor when writing a white paper, or a client alert, or an article for the Daily Journal? Here’s a good example. It’s from a white paper written by two lawyers — both heavy hitters, one the former general counsel of a large federal agency...
The Web — According to Thrope
Posted on September 08, 2008Here’ s an interesting article by Jonathan Thrope, aspiring writer for The American Lawyer. Titled “Still Loading: Law Firms Lag Behind the Rest of Corporate America on the Web,” the article compares the sites of the Fortune 500 to those of the Am Law 200 (which is a bit like comparing bowling balls to golf balls)...
First, or Not at All
Posted on September 04, 2008The Internet Marketing Attorney surveys general counsel, and one of the results is this: GCs expressed no consistent preference for the method of receiving newsletters or client alerts through e-mail or hardcopy. Some prefer the ability to take the hard copy home with them...
We’re Only Human
Posted on September 04, 2008A CMO explains CRM to a marketing coordinator. Suppose that producing a Web site was something like going through boot camp. Think about it! There you are, standing for inspection. Some big, mean-looking guy with a weird accent isn’t far away. He can find a flaw in any candidate at any time, and when he can’t, he [...
Lawyers Gone Wild!
Posted on September 03, 2008Have you heard yet of Google Chrome? It’s a new (beta version) of a browser built by the folks at Google from open source components. “And that has what to do with law firm marketing?” you might ask. Nothing. But the story does say something about marketing efforts and how alien they are to so many lawyers...
Another No-Brainer
Posted on September 03, 2008You’ve been looking for information. You’ve not yet found exactly what you’re looking for, but things are looking up. Why? Because Google just notified you of this article that seems to be right on point. The article was written by someone at a big firm that handles employment law matters...
Law Firm Launches the World’s Worst Web Site
Posted on September 01, 2008Marque Lawyers makes two interesting claims: 1. It is Australia’s newest law firm. 2. It has the world’s worst Web site.
Should You Buy Advice from Those Who Need It?
Posted on September 01, 2008Last year, I wrote this post about a federal court decision in which the registered trademark symbol was attached to every instance of one trademark in the decision, but not others. “Why the heck would a court attach the symbol to a trademark in a decision? What an odd thing to do...
Lawyers in the News
Posted on August 29, 2008Today, two lawyers are showing up in the news because of what they wrote. First is Melissa Ruman Stewart, a partner at Winstead PC who wrote an article about lawyers, competitive intelligence, and ethics that was published in the National Law Journal...
Up? Down? Who Cares?
Posted on August 27, 2008Consider the following paragraph from this article published by Thelen LLP (the firm’s new name): The origin of U.S. copyright law is found in the United States Constitution. Article One, Section 8, clause 8, which delegates to Congress the power to ?promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors [...
Advice for Young Attorneys
Posted on August 27, 2008Steve Bennett, a partner in the New York office of Jones Day, has written an article titled “Communication Skills are Crucial to Success.” It’s geared towards young attorneys, and it starts like so: Law is a service profession. Good service depends on good communication...
Legal Writing is Not a Course
Posted on August 26, 2008Paul Horowitz, associate professor of law at The University of Alabama, offers some good advice to 1Ls: Well, OK, it is a course. But it’s not just a course. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that it is something separate and apart from your substantive courses — or worse, that it is less important than them...
To Err is Human
Posted on August 26, 2008Imagine you’re responsible for a terrific transaction — one worth billions of dollars. You’re looking for outside counsel to assist in a particular area of the transaction and (next week) you’re going to have lunch with the head of some firm’s M & A group...
copyblogger???
Posted on August 21, 2008Did I mention copyblogger? I guess not. Well . . . let me mention it now. If you’re an attorney and you write posts for your firm’s blog, then you should be hip to copyblogger, a blog about copy (you do know what copy is, right?) hosted by Brian Clark, an “Internet marketing strategist, content developer, [...
Are Law Reviews Sexist?
Posted on August 20, 2008There’s a discussion at the Volokh Conspiracy inspired by this new article posted at SSRN. The discussion (and the article) is about the reasons why so few law review articles are written by women. If you’re interested in that sort of thing, then you might also be interested in this article, which discusses the use of [...
Testing! Testing!
Posted on August 19, 2008Here’s another example why you should have proof everything you publish, and why you should have a proofing procedure in place Before You Publish. Consider this view of a recent law firm newsletter: The bulleted items aren’t set right. Does it matter? Someone at the firm might have proofed the newsletter and not noticed that things weren’t set [...
The Law Firm as Publisher
Posted on August 18, 2008Robert Ambrogli — attorney, writer, and media consultant — discusses law firms as publishers in this new video produced by Legal Channels.
According to Kozinksi
Posted on August 17, 2008Advice to young lawyers from Alex Kozinski: “It is difficult to overstate the importance of a written paper for a young lawyer’s career, especially if the piece is published.“
RE: The Blog @ Legalwriting.net
Posted on August 17, 2008Check out The Blog @ Legalwriting.net, owned and operated by Wayne Schiess, Director of Legal Writing at The University of Texas School of Law. The lead post is an article about changes in legal writing that appeared in Austin Lawyer. Here’s a snippet: More and more lawyers accept that legal text need not be much different from other professional writing...
Latin Logic
Posted on August 16, 2008Most people who use Latin day-in, day-out know of syllogisms; they’ve studied logic, and they know of fallacies. They were taught that “begging the question” is a sort of fallacy. It’s a fallacy because it sounds good, but an argument that assumes its conclusion proves nothing, so it’s a fallacy...
Once Again — Why Do Attorneys Need Editors?
Posted on August 13, 2008Our perpetual question yet again, and another instance of its answer. Consider the petitioners’s opening brief in the case of Fairbanks v. Superior Court (Farmers New World Life Ins. Co.), in which the California Supreme Court is asked whether the state’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act — an act intended to “protect consumers against unfair and [...
Looking for a Contract Lawyer/Editor?
Posted on August 12, 2008Then you’ll want to know about AndreaRW, a SF-Bay area contract attorney who hosts a new blog titled “Contract Lawyering Made Easy.” Her blog covers such things as case citations and footnotes, grammar, the behavior of judges, and the joys of working at home...
New Book on Legal Writing a Must-Have for Many
Posted on August 11, 2008Wayne Schiess, Director of Legal Writing at the University of Texas, and host of a blog on legal writing has a new book. The book is Preparing Legal Documents Nonlawyers Can Read and Understand, and it covers just what you’d expect — how to prepare documents (from wills to homeowner’s association bylaws to employment contracts) [...
This Blog, Including this Post
Posted on August 11, 2008A friendly reader asks about two expressions: including and including, but not limited to. She asks, “Aren’t they equivalent?” That’s right; if what follows either expression is a non-exhaustive list of what’s included, the expressions are equivalent...
No News is Good News
Posted on August 07, 2008. . . except when you publish news. Then no news is bad news. This happens so often — a law firm decides to publish press releases (or blog entries or client alerts, or whatever) on a regular basis. After a while, the effort is abandoned. People are just too busy with more pressing matters ...
Classic Quotes
Posted on August 07, 2008From earlier today: Judge Ronald Giles, on sending the Mayor of Detroit to jail for violating his bond (by taking an unapproved trip to Canada): ?. . . if it was not Kwame Kilpatrick sitting in that seat, if it was John Six-Pack sitting in that seat, what would I do? And that answer is [...
A Potentially-Disastrous Disclaimer
Posted on August 06, 2008Take a look at this disclaimer posted at a law firm Web site: Something tells me the author didn’t realize that may not implies a prohibition. Something else tells me the firm doesn’t police its Web site. And something else tells me it should.
Aspiring Associates Wanted — Writing Skills Optional
Posted on August 06, 2008The largest, most prestigious law firms typically demand the very best. When they look for talent, they make it clear — “Strong academic credentials and excellent writing skills are required.” Now, consider this quote from an associate at Thelen Reid: That quote has been posted at the career section of the firm’s Web site for the [...
Attracting Readers
Posted on August 06, 2008Consider the opening line to the lead article in a firm’s newsletter: Effective July 1, 2007 a new law was implemented in Florida which requires that employers offer leave to employees who are the victims of domestic violence. Here’s how that should read: Effective July 1, 2007, a new law requires employers in Florida to offer leave to [...
Contest — Identify Two Errors
Posted on August 06, 2008Consider the disclaimer at the bottom of this publication: These materials have been prepared by Winston & Strawn LLP for information purposes only, and these materials do not constitute legal advice and cannot be relied upon by any taxpayer for the purposes of avoiding penalties imposed under the Internal Revenue Code...
Contest — Identify Two Errors
Posted on August 01, 2008Consider the disclaimer at the bottom of this publication from Winston & Strawn: These materials have been prepared by Winston & Strawn LLP for information purposes only, and these materials do not constitute legal advice and cannot be relied upon by any taxpayer for the purposes of avoiding penalties imposed under the Internal Revenue Code...
What Can an Editor Do for an Attorney?
Posted on July 25, 2008That’s our perpetual question. And here’s a variation on our perpetual answer — an editor can do for your copy what a stylist can do for your hair and what a tailor can do for your clothes: make you look your best. Here’s a fine example...
He She & We
Posted on July 24, 2008Cory Atkins, a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, has her own Web site. Here’s the first line of the site’s home page: I have one of the most independent records in the House. We know what she means, but . . . we’re taken by the second paragraph: And I use the internet...
A Cautionary Tale
Posted on July 21, 2008Here’s an interesting story of what can happen when attorneys fail to follow a time-honored principle of publishing.
Are Leaders Born or Formed?
Posted on July 21, 2008The good folks behind Mission Critical Litigation® claim that their leaders were formed — and they were formed in just one day. Here’s the claim: Formed on March 1, 1980, our leaders built a firm with ambitious and smart lawyers who demonstrate passion and zeal in their representation of the firm?s clients...
The Supreme Court Needs an Editor?
Posted on July 09, 2008Ross Guberman has this interesting post about the grammatical errors he found in the opinion and dissents in District of Columbia vs. Heller.
Contest — The Parts Comprise the Whole?
Posted on July 03, 2008Each of the following contains some grammatical error(s). Can you identify the error(s)? McKee Nelson has one of the most prominent teams of tax attorneys in the country, comprised of accomplished business lawyers with tax expertise who represent a diverse range of clients...
Law Ferms and Daredevils
Posted on July 01, 2008Professional publishers do this: before they publish copy, they prove proof it. This is a pretty straightforward task. It’s the sort of thing most concientious conscientious sots sorts learned in middle school (i.e., before you submit a paper, review it)...
Relying On Precedent
Posted on June 28, 2008From “DEFYING PRECEDENT: THE ARMY WRITING STYLE” authored by Major Thomas Keith Emswiler: Why can?t lawyers, who are among the best educated in any community, write well? Why can?t law professors, who are among the best educated in the legal community, write well? The answer is reliance on precedent — the lawyer?s bread and butter...
The Myth of the Split Verb
Posted on June 25, 2008In our last post, we considered the order of verbs and the adverbs used to modify them. And we considered an easy and reliable way of calculating the colloquial quotient of the order of verbs and adverbs. Here, we consider something closely related — the myth of the split verb...
The Present Need Not Be Perfect
Posted on June 18, 2008A common error many attorneys make when writing client alerts is this: they use exactly the same style of writing that they use in their daily work. But that doesn’t work very well. When you write a brief, someone else has to read it. But when you write a client alert, no one has to read [...
Get a Second Opinion First
Posted on June 11, 2008You’ve got a deadline. You’re reviewing your work, and then you realize an important section begins with this*: A California Court of Appeal recently interpreted the state’s Song-Beverly Credit Act to allow merchants to require extra personal identifying information from customers to be recorded on credit card slips when giving a customer credit for returned merchandise...
Lawyers as Managing Editors
Posted on June 05, 2008In the past few years, a number of large law firms have named a few partners as editors of practice-area newsletters (as well as other pubs, like practice-area blogs). And that makes perfect sense because the authors of those newsletters need what all authors need — editors to review their work...
Scrunched!
Posted on May 30, 2008The following description of a firm’s practice appears on the inside front cover of this brochure. That’s the actual size of the printed copy. Can you read it (without a magnifying glass)? OK. Suppose you use a magnifying glass so the copy appears like so: The copy’s much easier to read, but no matter how much you magnify [...
Cutting Your Own Hair
Posted on May 29, 2008This anonymously authored Note in the Harvard Law Review has gotten lots of attention recently. Here’s a bit of it: Now, suppose Ms. Anonymous engaged Mr. Wordsmith to edit that article? Then it might have turned out like so: Less wordy; less convoluted; more pleasing to readers, and the author seems like a fairly good writer (as opposed to [...
Some Great Advice for Legal Writers
Posted on May 27, 2008Thinking of submitting something to a law review? Then check this out. Better yet, take a look at this. And rely on those resources (Out of the Jungle, by Betsy McKenzie, et al. and Academic Legal Writing by Eugene Volokh) if you plan to write a magazine article...
Once Again — Why Do Lawyers Need Editors?
Posted on May 27, 2008So they don’t write stuff as awkward as this: “The inclusion of a party’s trademark in website metatags does not give rise to initial interest confusion that would support a finding of likelihood of confusion that consumers would perceive the defendant as an authorized retailer of the plaintiff’s products...
Discovering Valiulis
Posted on May 22, 2008If you’re an attorney at some great big law firm, and you’ve just been asked to write a client alert, and it has to be done in two days (after all, it’s called an alert), and you’ve never written such a thing before, and you’re wondering where to begin, here’s where — read what others [...
Adapting to Change (or Being Forgotten)
Posted on May 22, 2008If you’re an attorney, if you’re no longer as young as you used to be, and you write stuff beyond legal matter (e.g., you write law review articles, or client alerts, or magazine articles), then you might want to read this article in the Wisconsin Law Journal...
Let’s See — Why Do Lawyers Need Editors?
Posted on May 20, 2008Well . . . to tell you the truth, not all lawyers need editors. The ones who don’t are the ones who aren’t read, except by those (law clerks, judges, opposing counsel) who really have no choice (because they’re involved in a certain matter)...
A Great Tip (for Legal Writers)
Posted on May 20, 2008I highly recommend this advice by Wayne Schiess (director of legal writing at the University of Texas law school). It’s a great tip on how lawyers can improve their writing. It recommend it, especially, for those lawyers who feel as if they need no help at all with their writing (while others can see they certainly do)...
Making Some Good First Impressions — Lots of Them
Posted on May 18, 2008You’re an associate at a big law firm. You’ve been asked to help a partner write a client alert. When the alert is published, your name will be on it, right next to the partner’s. That client alert could become a great calling card for you...
An Interesting Quote
Posted on May 13, 2008From this article (titled “Lawyers’ writing skills still bad”) in the National Law Journal: “Most of us would be far better writers if we’d never gone to law school.” That’s the word from Douglas Winter, writing instructor at Bryan Cave.
Shifting Gears (from Briefs to Alerts)
Posted on May 11, 2008It's one thing to write a brief that MUST be read by a few others. It's quite another to write a client alert that no one has to read.
Not Your Average, Run-of-the-Mill Law Firm
Posted on May 04, 2008The Valorem Law Group knows a thing or two about marketing legal services. It knows that standing out from competitors is a key goal of marketing the firm. And it’s Web site demonstrates that very well. Take a look at the site’s disclaimer...
Touched by an Editor
Posted on May 04, 2008Yet another answer to our perpetual question: what can an editor do for you? Consider the following copy, the first line in a client alert: The Ninth Circuit ruled earlier this month in Fair Housing Council v. Roommates.com that a website that specializes in matching renters with those with rooms to rent violated the Fair Housing Act [...
Garner and Scalia Interviewed
Posted on April 27, 2008The May 2008 edition of the ABA Journal has this interview with Bryan Garner and Antonin Scalia discussing topics from Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges.
This and That Is Measured at Thelen Reid
Posted on April 26, 2008I don’t know about you, but I find it a mite odd when a law firm — especially a great big one — bothers to list each and every time someone at the firm was quoted in a newspaper or magazine. I find it especially odd when the list includes a quote that appeared in [...
Standards of the Standards of Review at the Ninth
Posted on April 24, 2008Review the Standards of Review published by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. From a production standpoint, this is pretty scary stuff. And if you wonder why, just compare them (those published standards) to these published standards.
Wizardry at Winstead
Posted on April 21, 2008Winstead PC — one of the largest law firms in Texas — does what so many other large law firms do. It advertises that it uses technology — including its “unique data and software applications” — to increase efficiency and to provide “[u]nsurpassed access to critical business and legal information...
Law Firm Claims Wood is a Fossil Fuel!
Posted on April 21, 2008Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck — a firm that claims “you can rest assured that you’re being represented by a team of seasoned attorneys with the knowledge, relationships and legal skills to help you mitigate even the most complex environmental risk” — says wood is a fossil fuel...
Monster v. Blue Jeans, Esq.
Posted on April 17, 2008It’s like David v. Goliath. There’s a big manufacturer. It likes to throw its weight around. It sends a cease-and-desist letter to some Mom-and-Pop shop. It turns out that Pop is a lawyer, and he’s got a formidable sense of humor...
Gobbledygook Has Gotta Go
Posted on April 16, 2008Yesterday, the House passed the Plain Language in Government Communications Act of 2008 by a vote of 376 to 1. The act requires government agencies to use plain language in commonly-used forms (like those issued by the IRS and the SSA). This article (published today) describes the massive effort underway at the Veterans Affairs Department to [...
Writing Consultants for Law Firms
Posted on April 14, 2008Thanks to the Legal Writing Prof Blog for mentioning this article about how law firms are using legal writing instructors to support and train their lawyers. Let’s see, if lawyers need help with the sort of writing they studied in law school, then they certainly need help with the sort of writing they never studied, and [...
Publishing Fuzzy Reprints
Posted on April 09, 2008The GC for a high tech firm is looking for counsel familiar with this or that. He asks around and he hears about you. Before he takes the time to call you, he asks an associate to do some research. What does the associate do? The first thing she does is review your firm’s Web site...
Legal Writing Teacher Wins Pulitzer
Posted on April 08, 2008Just in from the AP (announcing the 2008 Pulitzer Prize winners): BIOGRAPHY: “Eden’s Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father,” by John Matteson Matteson said his 14-year-old daughter was an inspiration for his book, which is about a girl’s relationship with her father...
Scalia Sits Still for Stahl
Posted on April 08, 2008The Blog of Legal Times informs us that Antonin Scalia is going to be interviewed by Leslie Stahl on the 27 April episode of 60 Minutes. Seems as if the camera-shy justice is making an appearance to promote his upcoming book (co-authored by Bryan Garner) Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges.
Undoing the Not Knot
Posted on April 05, 2008There was some noise this week about a revision to an Arkansas law (Acts 2007, No. 441, § 1), passed last March, that — on its face — allowed children of any age to get a marriage license, just so long as they had their parents’ permission...
Legal Writing and Poetry
Posted on April 03, 2008Kudos to Greg May (host of The California Blog of Appeal) for informing us of this award given to Justice Arthur Gilbert, ?The California Court of Appeal?s poet laureate.”
What Can an Editor Do for a Law Firm?
Posted on March 31, 2008In addition to making sure that the articles a firm publishes are free from spelling and grammatical errors, an editor can help make sure those articles are free from factual errors. Let’s look at a few real-world examples: several articles describing the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in LaRue v...
Legal Writing Garb
Posted on March 29, 2008If legal writing is your passion, then you need treatment. Just kidding. Seriously, if it’s your passion, then you can wear it on your sleeve, or on your head or your back or your butt, or you can stick it on your refrigerator or your window, or you can sip from it or cook with [...
Forgetting Guff
Posted on March 25, 2008In this interview published by Management Consulting News, Tom Sant, author of The Language of Success, describes a writing style he calls Guff: Guff is another form of pseudo language. This is the mode people use when they want to convince us that they are more intelligent [...
The Risks of Sounding All-Too-Dignified
Posted on March 24, 2008Big news this morning: the JP Morgan/Bear Stearns merger agreement is being revised. The motivation? Apparently, a drafting error. This, from a story about it in today’s New York Times: One sentence was ?inadvertently included,? according to a person briefed on the talks, which requires JPMorgan to guarantee Bear?s trades even if shareholders voted down [...
Sounding Dignified
Posted on March 24, 2008We consider the doctrine that?s on everyone?s lips: uberrimae fidei. That’s the opening line of a recent opinion authored by Alex Kozinski, chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a man widely admired for his wit, humor, and (relatively) unconventional style of writing...
A Sign of the Times
Posted on March 19, 2008The legal writing region is abuzz with Bryan Garner’s interviews with the justices of the Supreme Court. He asks them about legal writing, and they say what they think. Before you listen to the interviews, listen to some news. Listen as Senator Clinton is asked about this or that...
It Is as It Was (But Why?)
Posted on March 07, 2008The Georgetown News-Graphic has this interesting piece (titled “Pleaseth updateth thy language”) about lawyers clinging to the past: using outmoded, cryptic language, going bonkers with caps, emulating Shakespeare, etc. Here’s an excerpt: In many ways, we have truly modernized...
Touched by an Editor
Posted on March 04, 2008I’m editing a client alert (about laws regarding campaign contributions) when I run across the following: This bar extends to indirect contributions, for example, reimbursing a corporate employee who makes a contribution from his or her own funds...
Excellence at Nossaman
Posted on March 03, 2008Nossaman claims “to uphold the highest standards of excellence.” Do its client alerts support that claim, or defy it? Consider the grammatical errors in one client alert published by Nossaman: Minimum Wage Increase Effective January 1, 2008, the California minimum wage increased from $7...
Famous Englician Dies
Posted on February 29, 2008The University of Chicago has announced that Joseph Williams – Professor Emeritus of English, winner of the Legal Writing Institutes’s Golden Pen Award, author of an acclaimed text on how to write with style, and the architect of U of C’s writing program — died of natural causes on 22 February.
Age Act Celebrates Anniversary Turns 40
Posted on February 08, 2008From this article recently published in New York Employment Law: “The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) recently celebrated its 40th anniversary.” ____________ ____________
This Post (the “Post”)
Posted on February 07, 2008You’re a lawyer and you want to write about the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Act”) or the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), so you define some abbreviations up front. That way, when you write, “The SEC is investigating so-and-so for some violation of the Act,” people know exactly what you mean (without [...
Style Matters
Posted on February 05, 2008So says Brian J. Paul (an appellate attorney with Ice Miller) in his article “Toward a More Impure Wrting Style: The Opinions of Judge Posner and Chief Judge Easterbrook and What the Bar Can Learn from Them.” ____________If writing is thinking (and vice versa), then Paul is brilliant...
On the Beauty of Brevity
Posted on February 05, 2008The Law Blog gives kudos to Bryan Gates, an attorney whose six-word memoir says just this: Angry guy gets law license, sues. Click HERE for details as well as responses (and the opportunity to contribute) to this: Law Blog Contest of the Day: Any readers out there care to summarize their legal careers, their law school experience or [...
Men, Women, and Others (at Wilson Sonsini)
Posted on February 04, 2008A bit over a year ago, I was reviewing this piece about diversity at Wilson Sonsini’s Web site. What struck me was the reference to women “who belong to a racial, ethnic, or gender minority group.” I wondered: “What is a gender minority group and who are women who belong to such groups? Hermaphrodites? Androgynes? Genderqueers?” I [...
On the Value of Writing Skills (to a law student)
Posted on February 03, 2008According to Candace Cook — a student at the New England School of Law, strong writing skills can open doors. She tells this story at her blog: In addition to these classes [Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Property and Legal Research & Writing], I’ve started interviewing for summer internships...
Something to Ponder
Posted on February 02, 2008I’m reading this speech (delivered at the Legal Writing Institute conference in Seattle) written by George Gopen (Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke University Law School) when I run across this: “Writing is thinking; thinking is writing. If you can get better at one, you can get better at the other...
My, How Things Change
Posted on January 31, 2008This post by Jack Balkin refers to this post by Orin Kerr about the rapid increase in law review citations to blogs like the Volokh Conspiracy. From Balkin’s post: The legal academy is gradually becoming acclimated to blogs as vehicles of scholarship and scholarly quality...
Legal Writing Tips
Posted on January 30, 2008Attorney/Author Evan Schaeffer offers some legal writing tips.
Good & Bad at Winston & Strawn
Posted on January 29, 2008I just reviewed this client alert that (not which) was published by Winston & Strawn. It has some good qualities, and some not-so-good qualities. What struck me first about this alert was the typography. While most firms make the mistake of setting body copy in a sans-serif face, Winston & Strawn’s alerts have a much more [...
Once Again: Why Do Lawyers Need Editors?
Posted on January 29, 2008So they don’t write stuff like this: The government has also increased its emphasis on charging individuals with FCPA violations, including seven so far this year. or like this: The Court found that the investors had alleged reliance not on any allegedly false statements or deceptive conduct of the suppliers but on the financial statements said to have [...
White Paper Discusses Editing Legal Documents
Posted on January 27, 2008This white paper discusses a method for “editing a legal document collaboratively.”
Commitment Checks for Legal Writing
Posted on January 27, 2008Here’s an interesting idea (published by the Los Angeles Times): Rob Harrison, a lecturer in legal writing at Yale Law School, has been using commitment bonds for the last decade to help students overcome writer’s block. Students have given him checks of up to $10,000 written to charity and authorized Rob to mail the checks [...
Keeping Up on Women Attorneys of Color (and Other Topics)
Posted on January 27, 2008This post (at How the University Works) discusses “racist and sexist trends in corporate and professional fields.” The post links to a video of Michelle Masse discussing opportunities for professional women, and to this article by Marina Angel about the “devastating effect on women” from the “organizational changes in the legal profession” in the past 30 [...
Pullman & Comley’s Tradition of Excellence
Posted on January 25, 2008Pullman & Comley is just another firm that claims it’s got a long tradition of excellence: Welcome to Pullman & Comley, LLC. Our firm has played an active and distinguished role in the Connecticut and New England business community since 1919...
Regarding the Rule of Agreement
Posted on January 19, 2008Here’s a fundamental rule of grammar (the rule of agreement): every part of a sentence should agree with every other part. Now, read the following sentences. Do you see how they all violate the rule of agreement? CPDB prides itself on our strong client and community relationships and we are able to offer individuals, families and [...
Coming Soon: Attorneys Who Can Write Well
Posted on January 18, 2008Here’s an interesting story from Inside Higher Ed. It’s about this new program at Hamline University meant “to produce lawyers capable of exploring social and political issues through fiction and creative nonfiction writing.” Here’s a notable quote from the article: ?At the end of the day, lawyers are story-tellers...
Legal Writing Awards
Posted on January 17, 2008Do you know an attorney whose writing is so good that it rates an award? Do you know a law firm that publishes a newsletter that’s so good the firm deserves an award? How about a law firm that deserves an award for one of its advertisements, or for its quarterly magazine? How about a [...
The Mystery Matador
Posted on January 17, 2008Let’s suppose you’re a successful attorney, a senior partner at a great big law firm who makes $600 an hour. You surely don’t need any help with your writing, right? OK. Let’s suppose you’re a young associate. You’re in the early stages of your career...
Writing Techniques for Winning Cases
Posted on January 17, 2008Want to learn how to write so well that judges are inclined to decide in your favor? Then consider learning how from one who knows: lawyer and best-selling writer Gary Kinder. Here’s the scoop on some upcoming CLE seminars Kinder will be holding...
Posner Advises Counsel to Dispense with Jargon
Posted on January 17, 2008Here’s the last paragraph of a decision issued yesterday by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal. It was written by Judge Richard Posner, who is so well known for his way with words: A note, finally, on advocacy in this court. The lawyers? oral arguments were excellent...
Following Well-Established Rules
Posted on January 15, 2008In English, as in Law, there are accepted ways of doing things. If you deal in both subjects (English and Law), you should find out what those accepted ways are, and then adhere to them (unless you have one heck of a good reason for deviating from them)...
Advice From a Master
Posted on January 14, 2008Most attorneys write client alerts and such in this fashion: the first draft is the final draft. Here’s what one famous writer had to say of first drafts: “The first draft of anything is shit.? More advice from the same writer: ?I write one page of masterpiece to ninety one pages of shit...
Praise for Posner
Posted on January 10, 2008In this article, Dahlia Lithwick calls this opinion, written by Judge Richard Posner, “the most readable piece of legal writing in history.” I wonder what that’s all about.
Precision: Why Attorneys Need Editors
Posted on January 09, 2008Consider the following two sentences: “The quickest way to get there is through this door.” “The fastest way to get there is through that door.” The first regards time; the second regards speed. Suppose you’re in a rush, and you forget the big difference between quickest and fastest...
Webinar on Writing Skills for Regulatory Attorneys
Posted on January 09, 2008Robert J Michalik, Esq., founder of RegulatoryPro.com, “a consulting firm providing general and specialized services to the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries,” will be hosting a Webinar on writing skills for regulatory attorneys...
United States v. Plain English
Posted on January 08, 2008In the case of Watson v. United States, the Supreme Court opted for the “everyday meaning” of the word “use” to rule in favor of Michael Watson who, the government argued, used a gun during a drug-trafficking crime. The court figured that “receiving” a gun is not the same as “using” it...
The Most Popular Attorney-Authored Article
Posted on January 08, 2008Last November, I wrote this post about an article (titled “Plain words please courts”) that appeared in Construction Law. The article was written by Michael Mendelblat and David Nitek of Herbert Smith. Today, it’s the most popular article at Linex Legal, a clearinghouse for attorney-authored articles.
Missing an Opportunity to be Noticed
Posted on January 08, 2008Yesterday, the New York Times ran this article by Adam Liptak about United States v. Arnold. If the case was so interesting that the Times gave it space, then (I thought) Big Law attorneys who focus on privacy rights must be giving it a good deal of attention...
Trusting Word
Posted on January 07, 2008Do you trust Word (the word processing application)? Couldn’t it be wrong about the spelling of a word? Couldn’t it make a grammatical error? The following appeared while Word was checking grammar: That’s one bulleted point in a list that begins with the following: An editor can help you avoid:
Exemplary Legal Writing
Posted on January 07, 2008The Green Bag announces its choices for Exemplary Legal Writing 2007.
#1 Online Legal Resource
On 08-28 at 21:13PM
Ten months later, Fed must reveal names of emergency lending recipients #FOIA
On 08-25 at 19:02PM
Squeaky Fromme, would-be Ford assassin and Manson devotee, released from prison
On 08-14 at 15:19PM
Likely unintended consequence of cash-for-clunkers stimulus is dampening of 2010 spending
On 08-14 at 14:34PM
Palm seeks to halt Palm Pre Android theme on copyright and trademark ground
On 08-12 at 17:30PM
Congressional investigation demonstrates Karl Rove lied about his active role in US attorney's firing
On 08-12 at 16:20PM
Family of New York City swine flu victim to sue city for failure to secure school #nyc #swineflu
On 08-12 at 12:59PM
Real Network's DVD copying software deemed to break DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions
On 08-12 at 12:57PM
Prepaid funeral operators indicted for $100 Million fraud
On 08-12 at 12:53PM
NY Jets join Cincinnati, Dallas, Green Bay, Houston & Seattle #NFL teams offering branded state lottery games
On 08-12 at 12:43PM
Are you the author of this blog? Adding USLaw.com to your Blogroll increases relevance. You qualify to display a USLaw Network badge.
Suggest changes to this blog's description or nominate another for inclusion. Register for updates.
 |
|
Contact Us | About Us | Celebrity Law Blog |
Our Partners | Disclaimer
| Law Blog Directory
| Law Jobs
| Law Tweets
| GoDaddy Hosting
All original material © 1999-2009 by USLaw.com. |