“As” is a Risky Way to Start a Sentence
Dear Legal Writer, Lindsey Lawton and I partner today to bring you this tip on a…
GET THE FIX FOR PASSIVE VOICE
Dear Legal Writer, If you supervise a lot of junior legal writers, you likely…
How to Tackle the Write-on Competition to Make Law Review
Dear 1L (Rising 2L?), It seems cruel. Your “reward” for finishing the hardest year…
Dear Legal Writer: Today’s letter is about “is comprised by.”
“Is comprised by” is always wrong. Here’s why. ⤵️ “To comprise” = “to contain,”…
Learn When & How to Use “i.e.” and “e.g.” [carousel]
Dear Legal Writer: My friend, Min Cho, suggested that I write about “i.e.” and “e.g.” To…
It’s Time to Blacklist “Prior to.”
Dear Legal Writer: “Prior to” is NOT a good synonym for “before” in legal…
How to Use an Em-Dash & Why You Should [carousel]
Dear Legal Writer: Before you use your next em-dash, make sure you know what…
Dear Legal Writer: “Since” is a bad word in legal writing. Don’t use it to mean “because.”
Dear Legal Writer: “Since” is a bad word in legal writing. Don’t use it…
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…
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…