Dear 1L: 4 Last-minute Tips for 1L Fall Memos

✏️ Dear 1L, Many of you have your memo due this week. I know how solitary and daunting the writing process can be—I send out so much positive energy to all of you. Legal writing always takes so much longer than you think it should.

In an effort to help, I share 4 things for the memo that many 1Ls aren’t clear about.

1: Check your capitalization of “court.”

A: Always capitalize the United States Supreme Court—both the very first time you mention it by full, proper name, AND every other time.

📍 NEVER refer to the U.S. Supreme Court as “court.”

B: Capitalize the court where your case is pending, (absent contrary court or judge rule).

—For most 1L memos, no “case” is pending yet in any court, so the U.S. Supreme Court should be the only “Court” you capitalize.

C: Do not capitalize any other court (unless writing out a court’s full, proper name).

2: Make sure you’re consistent with defined terms.

Once you’ve defined a term, don’t write it out in long-form later in your Memo.

Ex. If you’ve already written, “the School’s anti-bullying policy (the “Policy”),” don’t later refer to that as “the policy against bullying” or the “School policy.” Stick with “the Policy.” That avoids potential confusion.

3: Read and follow your professor’s formatting rules.

The rules may seem arbitrary, but they are not optional. Make sure your font size, margins, spacing, page length, and other style choices ALL match those that your professor has set. Every year, so many 1Ls lose stupid formatting points.

📍 Do NOT try to get away with skirting the formatting rules, either. If your font is too small, or your margins too narrow, your professor will notice, and you will lose points.

4: Proofread multiple ways.

When you’ve been intensely working on a big writing project, you get too close to it. You can’t see little typos and other nits. You need a freshly-rested set of eyes. So try to sleep on it—before you finalize.

Here are some other methods that can help you pick up on things when you proofread:

🔸 Print out a hard copy and proofread from the bottom up.

🔸 Change the font style. Proof in the new font.

🔸 Change the font size, ink color, or line spacing. Proof it in the new format.

🔸 Read your Memo aloud.

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I’m sending you all extra energy and better eyes to help you get through. The Memo ends up being a bear for most, especially in these final days and hours.

But you WILL get through this!

Fondly,

💌 Amanda