Do You “Affect” or “Effect” Something?
For most of my life, I avoided “affect” as a verb. I would use…
Dear Legal Writer: When Discussing Cases, Always Specify Procedural Posture& Outcome
Dear Legal Writer: Every year in BigLaw (except perhaps 2009), there was a fresh…
10 Ways to Slay Your Oral Argument
Dear 1L, It’s normal to be nervous for your first oral argument. It’s a…
Dear 1L: The 2L Summer Job Search Starts Soon!
Dear 1L, The 2L summer job search is right around the corner, and is…
Dear Legal Writer: Make Your Table of Contents a Priority
Dear Legal Writer: It’s a mistake to short shrift your Table of Contents (TOC)….
PERSONAL
For 20 years in BigLaw, I worked on every vacation I ever took. During…
Dear Legal Writer: Here’s a comma guide for clear, correct prose.
Dear Legal Writer, Follow this comma guide to help you write clear, correct prose:…
Dear Legal Writer: Please stop referring to the “company” as “they”
Please stop referring to the “company” as “they.” The “company” is an “it,” not…
Personal Branding
By the time I graduated law school, I had had enough of men. I…
Avoid Expletives in Legal Writing
Dear Legal Writer: If I told you to minimize “expletives” in your legal writing…
Dear Legal Writer: Punctuation with Quotations
Dear Legal Writer: Put a period or comma INSIDE the ending quotation marks, regardless…
Dear 1L: Learn When to Capitalize “Court”
Dear 1L, Too many of you are capitalizing the word “court” when you shouldn’t,…