Legal Writing

We’re Only Human

Posted on September 04, 2008
A 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, 2008
Have 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, 2008
You’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, 2008
Marque Lawyers makes two interesting claims: 1. It is Australia’s newest law firm. 2. It has the world’s worst Web site.

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Should You Buy Advice from Those Who Need It?

Posted on September 01, 2008
Last 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, 2008
Today, 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, 2008
Consider 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, 2008
Steve 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, 2008
Paul 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, 2008
Imagine 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, 2008
Did 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, 2008
There’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, 2008
Here’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, 2008
Robert 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, 2008
Advice 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, 2008
  Check 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, 2008
Most 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, 2008
Our 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, 2008
Then 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, 2008
Wayne 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, 2008
A 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, 2008
From 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, 2008
Take 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, 2008
The 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, 2008
Consider 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, 2008
Consider 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, 2008
Consider 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, 2008
That’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, 2008
  Cory 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...

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