“The same” wreaks havoc.

To illustrate:

🔹 "She delivered the goods to the warehouse and then sold the same."

—Does "same" refer to the goods or the warehouse?

🔹 “The contract has a 30-day notice rule. Failure to comply with same will result in penalties."

I thought I’d pass it along.
It is good advice!

➡️ Because when you start to think about your reader as you’re writing, something really cool happens:

You realize it’s not just you sitting there alone,
banging at that keyboard.

So please listen closely.

—> Most people think that “as such” means something like “therefore,” or “accordingly,” and they use it as a catch-all to stand for what they said in the preceding sentence.

For instance, many writers would use “As such” in sentence pairs like these:

Do you question what I say?

Let’s do a little play—

1/ Recall the concept, “collective noun.”

A “company” is one.

Others are are:

I’m working on slides for my prelaw writing course, and I learned 2 new terms:

“purple prose” & “minimalist writing”

The photo is my sketch of the SWITCH from 🟣 purple to 🟡 yellow.

Students must make this switch when going from college to law school.

All I’d hear back from the partner was a “Thx.”

And today, the associates who come to me for legal writing support feel at their wits end.

So here’s my premise:

⬇️

Legal writing causes depression.

The word “since” is a bad synonym for “because.”

 True, “since”
—is a full syllable shorter;
—is two fewer letters.

It also can sound better than “because.”

But still.

but I can barely make 50K a year.

So is there cause for celebration?

As a solopreneur, I don’t know.

It is so hard, and it feels like a constant climb.

Some days you are on a really high high.
You think you are living the dream.

♥️ Put your 1st draft in a letter to a loved one.

▪️ Billionaire investor Warren Buffett authors a report to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway every year. His annual letter has become a highly anticipated event in the investment world that’s been widely celebrated for its wisdom, clarity, and insight.

“What on earth is that?” you ask.

Well, I’m going to tell you!

👉 The rule’s inspired by a famous court scene in the 1992 film, “A Few Good Men.”

Tom Cruise plays a young Navy lawyer and sits first chair at a trial, while Demi Moore plays his lieutenant commander in second chair.

So here goes. ⤵️

I’m fifty-five, female, and married to Matt for twenty-six years (he’s a lawyer, too). We live in a suburb of Philadelphia and have three daughters in their 20s, including one who is a 3L now.

I grew up in a suburb of NYC. My father was a lawyer and my mother, an English teacher. (Yes, I know; go figure.)

Perhaps you know the Vampire Weekend song?

Well, here’s why you should give a BIG f*ck:

⬇️

During my first year on LinkedIn, I posted a recommendation that you use the Oxford Comma—always—when writing in the legal context.

I am feeling a bit wistful as we approach the TWO-full-years mark since I started writing this series to you on LinkedIn.

In honor of the anniversary, I thought we’d mix things up to see how well you’ve really been paying attention. 🙂

Here’s a little quiz based on a selection of my letters from 2024.

Use fewer “to be” verbs.

Here’s what I mean:

⬇️

There are 2 kinds of verbs:

1-ACTION verbs
2-TO BE verbs (also called, “state-of-being” verbs).

It could list:

—the firm’s style preferences,
—each partners’ pet peeves, and
—common mistakes to watch for and avoid.

If I had a law firm, I would require all associates to edit their own drafts using the checklist and to fix, correct, and polish the drafts BEFORE they hand them in.