Dear 1L,

When I was editor for law firm blogs and client alerts, I reviewed many dozens of associate lawyers’ drafts. The most pervasive problem? Passive voice.

It pervades law students’ writing, too. Here is how to fix it and why you should.

A. THE FIX - Reorder Words

When self-editing, examine each sentence individually. Identify the Subject, Verb, and Object.

Dear 1L,

Here is a tip for writing advocacy briefs this semester.

✏️ Write to a 4L.

The person you ultimately need to persuade is the judge. But the judge may never read your brief. The gatekeeper is the law clerk. That clerk will make a recommendation to the judge about which side should prevail.

That law clerk just graduated from law school—likely is a 4L—not much different than you. That is your Reader.

It is a bit of an uncertain, anxious time, now. Waiting for grades.

Also, we are in limbo this week. It is still a holiday week, but Christmas is over, there is no schedule to any day, and January starts this weekend. So we are “supposed” to be relaxing, but the specter of everything that we have to do looms.

How does one self-evaluate, or know how one should be feeling at all?

1L TIP TODAY – Finals

Just the thought of finals so soon sparks panic. How can this be? 1L -literally- just started. And what is this “IRAC” thing we’re supposed to do? I mean, I know (now) what it stands for, but how do I do it?

*Maybe this story will help. (Title is, ‘I will never tell.’)

1L TIP TODAY

Three Tips for Objective Memos

It was November 1993. I learned that a doctor had autopsied the wrong body. It was a nine year-old girl. The parents had given no consent. The mother was devastated.

Was there a viable claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress?

1L Tip Today

Do you ever feel like you understand an analysis in your head, but you can’t get it down in writing?

Try this:

🔹Speak the explanation aloud. Record yourself. Then transcribe it—verbatim—not making any edits. Don’t let yourself think, just transcribe.

1L TIP TODAY

I was so worried that I had missed an important case in my research. How does anyone ever even “know” when they have done “exhaustive” research on a topic?

It will take time for you to feel confident that you “know,” but if you do all of the below (warning: it takes a minute), you should feel as confident as one can be.

1L TIP TODAY: Outlining

“Outlining” just means:
(A) rewriting (or retyping) your daily class notes so you can read and understand them;
(B) writing down all your reading notes and highlights (that you took before class); and
(C) “marrying” your class and reading notes.