—Chris Schandevel

(describing a brief in which “MOO” was used to define an agreement (“Memorandum of ?”))

Dear Legal Writer:

📌 CUT “the weird acronyms and initialisms.” (Make sure to read the comments below the post, too!)

That is both good and bad.

Good is that:
—No one criticizes me.
—No one dictates my schedule.
—No one tells me what work to do.

Bad is that:
—I criticize myself more than any boss would.
—I do better when I have a schedule.
—What work should I do???

“Evergreen” is a term you might recognize from the plant world:
—it refers to trees that remain green through winter.

But “evergreen” writing means writing that surpasses its immediate purpose and audience, keeping its usefulness over time.

Lesson for you in your law-firm interviews: Beware of the associate lunch.

Growing up, I had learned to downplay my accomplishments.
To be humble.
To be liked.

The lesson was “taught” to me the hard way
— by those kids in the “cool” cliques.

Here are 5 key shifts to make:

1️⃣ I am writing to impress —> I am writing to communicate

2️⃣ I need to be trained —> I will train myself

3️⃣ I aim to write acceptably —> I aim to write exceptionally

Subject + Verb

🔹 1: Identify the subject in your sentence.

The SUBJECT tells who or what the sentence is about (e.g., “The boy” in “The boy kicked the ball.”).

🔹 2: Now, find your verb.

I am thinking of hosting a small “legal writing lab” in February.

The idea is to get 4-6 lawyers together once a week.

—I will teach content from my new legal writing course.

the hyphen (-),
the en-dash (–),
the em-dash (—), (that’s 3!)

Check out below, and an expert you’ll be:

🔺 HYPHEN (-)

We’ll start with the hyphen,
and you can call it a “dash.”
It links multi‑word adjectives,
as in this little miss-match:

And while you’re at it, cut “regard” from your vocabulary altogether:

👎 “Regarding”
👎👎 “In regard to”
👎👎👎 “As regards”

All of these sound like nails on a chalkboard in legal writing.
They bloat your sentences and make them sound clunky and awkward

“Find” and “hold” mean very different things.

▪️ “Find” refers to determining facts—what actually happened. This is the job of a fact-finder (a jury, or sometimes a judge in a bench trial or preliminary hearing).

▪️ “Hold” refers to a legal conclusion—a court’s determination of what the law means or what the law requires, given the facts.

‍ ‍

Well, here’s why we use it and how you can do so effectively in your spring brief:

🔷 “To be sure” signals, “I will now acknowledge the point that most hurts me, in hopes of defusing it on my own terms.”

— “The date was amazing for Brad and myself.”
— “Sarah and myself have a real connection.”
— “This journey has really helped myself grow.”

❌ NO! NO! NO!
(Somewhere, a grammar teacher is sobbing into a rose.)

I hadn’t worked a “real job” in 5 years;
I’d let my lawyering skills lapse;
I’d let my people skills lapse;
I’d let my self-worth lapse;
I’d become a nobody.

But the worst part was having no community.

It’s unnecessary, and it’s considered redundant.

WRONG: The teacher said “hi” to only one student, (whose name was Charlie).

WRONG: The plaintiff, (who had a strong case), looked confident at the hearing.

In 2026, I will:

Put more verbs in the active voice (1)
& use “that,” not “which”
when given the choice (2).

I’ll use “therefore” or “thus”
(but never “as such”) (3),
and I’ll throw away my “However, . . .” crutch (4).