Here’s a classic example:

👿 “She was not promoted because she is female.”

Hmm. Was she promoted?
That’s not clear.

Old law-school deans apparently used to say this to 1Ls on the first day of law school.)

Here’s what I want you to think about today instead:

—That’s one of Bryan Garner’s famous quotes, and I want you to think about what it means.

I also want you to go back to the pre-iPhone and pre-Mapquest days when Garner said it:

Nothing requires it.
Your signature block covers it.
Your hackneyed legalese adds nothing.

STOP!

In fact, it’s my No. 1 tool.

(And it’s not some fancy, new AI program; I’ve been using this same tool for decades.)

It’s hard to know a law firm’s true culture before you actually start working there.

But no law student wants to start working somewhere only to find out it’s a mismatch.

You really need to do some detective work first.

A big part of my inspiration all along has been Justin Welsh.

He was the first person whose posts I looked forward to every morning on LinkedIn back in 2021.

Try these 6.

Let’s strip some weight from everyone’s load today—

🥵 HEAVY ———> LIGHT 🎈

Even worse, people think they 𝙙𝙤 know how to use it, so they use it too much, like a crutch. —Let’s learn to tell wrong from right, today, OK?

🔷 THE WRONG WAY

It also has nothing to do with English:

-grammar
-punctuation
-usage
-syntax

(Although many associates get those wrong, too.)

I owe ALL of my happy news to YOUR consistent support, and I am so, so grateful. 🙏🏻

My dream is to make Dear 1L the book that EVERY law student reads:

True, “I think you should go” = “I think 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 you should go,” and each version is correct.

So there, you can cut the “that” to save space—no problem.

🔷 DEFINITION:

The word “myriad” means “a countless number of specified things,” (Oxford English Dictionary), or “an uncountable number.”

▪️ I reached 1,450 books for the year—a HUGE jump of 47 copies since 6 days ago, when I posted an offer to send a free book to 3 incoming 1Ls.

At first, I was embarrassed when only two incoming 1Ls took me up on my free book offer.

—> “Regard” creates clauses that are long, clunky, and awkward.

Instead, try using “On” or “As to.”

❌ “Regarding the first claim, plaintiff cites no support.”