Wow, see the difference it makes:

-- To err is human. However, to forgive is divine.

-- To err is human. To forgive, however, is divine. ‼

Try this edit today!

Learn them now so you don’t lose points when it counts.

1. In the legal world, we spell the word “judgment” without an “e.”

—> Change your Word settings so they autocorrect “judgement” to “judgment” when you type.

Although both spellings work in the non-legal context, now that you’re joining the legal world, you should probably just start using the “judgment” spelling in everything you write.

So I came up with this new framework: M-A-D-E

M = Master the material
A = Arrange the material
D = Draft the sections
E = Edit in stages

(This is for trial-court briefs.)

Here are the details:

📍 "based on"
📍 "as a result of"
📍 "for the reason that"
📍 "due to the fact that"
📍 "in light of the fact that"
📍 "on account of the fact that"

All these ways take a roundabout route to get to your point.

They're also clunky to read, and they add to your word count.

It lures you in with the promise of high grades, a job at a big firm that pays well, and a credential that makes your school look good.

And it is very hard to climb out of once it has you.

Before you know it, you're stuck—convinced Big Law is your only path to success, even if it was never part of your plan to begin with.

You should banish the word from your vocabulary—especially in a brief.

ORIG:        Plaintiff is clearly wrong.  👎

REV:         Plaintiff is wrong.  ✅

The second one lands harder.

It cuts out a full word and two syllables, and it sounds less stuffy and formulaic—

✏️ Change “pursuant to” to “under”:

ORIG:              Defendant brings this motion for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

For the first time, Scribes’s best legal-writing essays since 1990 can be found all in one place:

“Gems from The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing: Volumes 1–20,” an anthology edited by Joe Kimble.

🔹 A word on the editor:

I've never met Joe Kimble. But his name has long been associated in my mind with the very best legal writing advice.

It’s memorable. It’s dramatic. It’s . . . technically flawed.

👉 Grammatically, the sentence says the bar exam died three times.

Why? Because of a dangling modifier.

(It also saves space--)

ORIG:       A reasonable jury could not find negligence on this evidence.

REV:         No reasonable jury could find negligence on this evidence.  ✅

That little word “no” changes the sentence’s whole tenor and flow.

Make this one small change to your LinkedIn headline—and you will immediately stand out.

Most profiles say:
“Incoming law student.”

That tells me almost nothing.

Now compare:

“Incoming law student interested in Labor & Employment law, ABC Law School.”

Today is Day 6—and last—of my Dear 1L® 2026 summer cohort for incoming 1Ls.

It’s been amazing!!
 
I built the course to address two surprises that will otherwise blindside new students:
 
🔹 1: Recruiting is happening before you even start.

(It makes a big difference.)

TBH, for years, I felt like a fraud from Bryan Garner’s advice to “write swiftly” (until I finally understood what he meant).

At the time, nothing about my brief-writing was “swift.”

Agonizing, yes.
Painstaking, true.
Laborious, always.

Greta (my baby, but now 23) just released her first album.

The title is “Baby Fat,” and it’s fantastic.

I hope you will check it out on Spotify.

So far, my favorite songs are “We Both Know,” “Sunshine,” and “Just My Luck!”

 ✏️  Instead of “is not required to,” use “need not.”

Examples:

Ex 1:      To prevail on its motion, the defendant is not required to disprove the plaintiffs’ claims.

Rev 1:    To prevail on its motion, the defendant need not disprove the plaintiffs’ claims.