Dear 1L,

I just heard this memorable motto by Motown Records founder, Berry Gordy Jr., and I want you to say it over and again when getting ready for your oral argument.

If you can say only ONE thing to the panel, what will it be?

Don’t get caught stammering.

Have ONE refrain on the tip of your tongue.

Dear Legal Writer,

Some writers spin their wheels trying to create the perfect opening for the Introduction to their brief. You know, that catchy one-liner that seemingly encapsulates the gist of the whole case at once, often using analogy, metaphor, or other literary device to drive home the writer’s point?

I used to try that too.

Many of you will stop reading my letters soon, too, because you’re swearing off social media until after exams (I predict).

But before you think of doing that, please tell me: What are you struggling with? On what topics should I write? Tell me what’s on your mind. I love hearing from you & want to be helpful.

— Wait, what’s that you say?

🔺 “Since” has been a good synonym for “because” since time immemorial?

🔺 And “since” is a full syllable shorter, it has 2 fewer letters, and it sounds so much better than “because,” so you love to use it?

For most of my life, I avoided “affect” as a verb.

I would use “impact,” or just change the sentence around to avoid the decision.

But the verb “to impact” doesn’t really mean “to affect.” (To impact” means to hit with force, or to jolt.) And sometimes my sentence-rearranging would be awkward.

Dear Legal Writer: Every year in BigLaw (except perhaps 2009), there was a fresh crop of first-year associates. You could feel the buzz of beginnings in the air on Day 1. There was nervous energy & excitement, and they brought a powerful injection of energy and enthusiasm into our department. 🛑 BUT . . .

There was one serious mistake they’d all always make.

Dear 1L,

It’s normal to be nervous for your first oral argument. It’s a big unknown b/c you’ve never done it before. But that won’t matter if you’re the most prepared person in the argument room.

Here are 10 Tips to help you prepare.

1: Know your Case Cold.

Dear 1L, The 2L summer job search is right around the corner, and is very different today than when I went through it in the mid-1990s.

🔷 1L Summer Jobs

IN THE 1990s: There was little to no stress over finding a job for the summer after 1L because it didn’t really matter what job we did.

I wanted to live at the beach that summer, not in a hot city, so I:

Dear Legal Writer: It’s a mistake to short shrift your Table of Contents (TOC).

The TOC may be the most important part of your brief.

🔶 It’s likely the very first thing a court will read, and that makes it prime real estate for starting to persuade.

✅ A, B, and C -YES

❌ A, B and C -NO

✅ A, B & C -YES

❌ A, B, & C -NO

***
RULE: DO use a comma before “and” in a list of 3 or more.

Please stop referring to the “company” as “they.”

The “company” is an “it,” not a “they.”

If you have doubts, below is a short explanation, along with a query for international peeps:

**
In U.S. English:

By the time I graduated law school, I had had enough of men.

I moved states, bought my own apartment in NYC, and set out to start my life as an independent “career woman.”

(That is what we called women who didn’t marry and just had careers back then, in 1996.)

Dear Legal Writer: If I told you to minimize “expletives” in your legal writing to help you cut words, you might retort, “I would never use expletives in legal writing.”

Alas, but you do.

Here’s what I mean:

🔹 Definition:

Dear Legal Writer: Put a period or comma INSIDE the ending quotation marks, regardless of whether the period or comma appeared in the original, quoted material.

Scope: U.S. Legal Writing*

Here are two examples.

1️⃣ NO COMMA IN ORIGINAL