Dear 1L,

If you write “prior to” instead of “before,” I am curious.  Why?

I promise that using “prior to” does not make your writing better.

Nor does it make you sound more intelligent or well-read. In any event, sounding that way should be a given. It will not impress your reader, and it should NOT be one of your goals for persuasive legal writing.

🔹 Dear 1L - Summer Spotlight 🔹

This week, I introduce rising 2L, Ali Slader.

Ali shares that she grew up on Cherokee reservation lands, amid the most meager of means.

Hers was a violent home of unspeakable abuse, in which Ali was “sister” to six brothers and the only “daughter” of an 8th-grade-educated father.

She describes the entire civil-litigation discovery process, step-by-step. It is fantastic.

If you have any inclination toward litigation, her posts should be a great resource for you. They also are helpful for new associates.

I am forwarding the third in the series, but all are very much worth reading.

Dear 1L,

When I look at drafts of your writing, I strike almost every “since.”

I substitute “because.”  Here’s why.

🔷 “SINCE” confuses the Reader.

“Since” means many things. 

🔹 Dear 1L - Summer Spotlight: 🔹This week, I introduce rising 2L, AnnaLisa Hamann.

AnnaLisa’s 1L story started with exciting news. We all know that the 1L academic year takes roughly 9 months. Sound like a familiar length of time?

That’s right: Baby John Woods Hamann (DOB May 9, 2022) was cooking the entire, wild ride.

Dear 1L,

Just listen. Listen to lawyers’ stories. LinkedIn’s a virtual open door to legions of them. Everyone likes to talk about themselves. For you, this means:

 ⭐️ June is a month of opportunity!  ⭐️ 

July will get busy again with lawyers’ vacations and your OCI. Seize this day!

Dear 1L,

When finalizing your writing samples for this summer’s law-firm recruiting (aka, OCI, or On Campus Interviewing), please aim for as near perfect as possible.

As a still-recovering perfectionist, I am hesitant to recommend that anyone strive for perfection in anything. I know the perils of such pursuits well.

Dear 1L,

I said start with cites.

Why’d I start where I hate?

For the time it’s a ticking,

Have you looked at the date?

Move on next to writing,

Dear 1L - Summer Spotlight:

I’m starting a second series. It aims to connect law students and lawyers. But first,

🔷 PREFACE: Do you follow Alex Su? You should.

Here, on Tik Tok, he’s brilliant. He’s also a master people connector whom I admire greatly. He inspires this post.

Dear 1L,

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I feel so happy inside for all of you. 1L is a mammoth milestone in the life of every lawyer. You’ll take your 1L with you forever. We all have.

So, in a way, I say welcome to the club.

Sure, there’s graduation and the bar; those will come later.

Dear 1L,

I’m working on an end-of-exams congratulations letter,

but I know you have a big legal writing competition first.

Below are some initial thoughts for you.

🔹 First, don’t panic or get defeated. You’re going to receive a huge competition packet, and you’ll run out of printer toner making a hard copy.

Dear 1L,

I’ve never been good at promoting myself publicly.

I know it’s a shortcoming. It holds me back professionally. But there’s an internal struggle.

On one hand, I don’t feel comfortable talking about myself in big groups.

It was only four days ago that we connected, yet in 45 minutes, Barb taught me more about writing online than I could imagine gaining in any course.

🔹 She assessed some of my Writing Law Tips.

🔹 She pulled up “analytics” tools I’d never heard of.

⭐️ And she derived a half dozen or so tiny word tweaks to stop Google from blocking people from seeing my Tips.

Here are book and movie titles that lawyers and law students have recommended for the summer before law school.

⭐️ Note that “Enjoy Your Summer” and other tips rank above reading any particular book. (See original post with top 7 pre-law summer recommendations, linked in a comment below).

Reading is recommended, but you may prefer to read other fiction books, newspapers or magazines.

If you are starting law school this fall, here are seven tips for summer.

Source: hundreds of lawyers and law students

who offered a comment to my advice seeking-post (Thank You!!!).

*    *    *

🔹 1:  Enjoy Your Summer.