Vary your sentence length
Dear Legal Writer, Some experts advise, “Keep most sentences short.” Others say, “Aim for…
Sample Sentences for Summary Judgment Briefs — PLUS: a rare video appearance
Dear 1L, I’m not too good at this making-movies-of-myself thing, but I got up…
Transition Phrases
Dear 1L, These are some words and phrases I used to use as transitions…
Be careful how you define a term in a brief—a joint post with Lindsey Lawton.
Dear Legal Writer, I was reviewing a few 1L fall memos this week, and…
Self-doubt and self-sabotage/book
Self-doubt and self-sabotage. Why I’ve been scared to talk about my book on LinkedIn:…
The legal profession needs teachers
Dear Legal Writer, No one enjoys receiving negative feedback, but no one enjoys giving it,…
Try my editing P-E-N
Dear Legal Writer, We’ve all been there: The brief is done, but it’s several pages…
Never end a sentence with a preposition.
—Did YOUR middle-school teacher try to sell you that “rule,” too? And did she…
10 Ways to Become a Better Legal Writer
Dear Legal Writer, A recent remark by a BigLaw partner stopped me dead in…
Dear Legal Writer:
Dear Legal Writer: If you write “is comprised of” or “is comprised by,” you…
Dear Legal Writer,
Want to get faster at legal writing? Try the Flowers Paradigm.* Here’s the “how-to”:…
Be careful with the word “draft.”
Dear Legal Writer, I got 2 kinds of contradictory, negative feedback when I was…