Welcome to my LinkedIn archive.
Categories: Dear 1L, Dear 2L, Legal Writing
By Year: 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021
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“If you want sexy work, get good at grunt work.”
Starting in Big Law? Take note!
When I supervised associates, I could always tell when one was less than thrilled to receive a project.
I’d sense a subtle eyeroll,
an inner groan,
or even a little sigh.
Dear 1L, Big Law opens its portals Nov. 1!
(That’s for 𝟐𝐋 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 jobs; yes, it is nuts).
👉 And it means you’ve got FIVE urgent tasks.
1- Update and perfect your resume. (Yes, it really needs to be “perfect.”)
Dear 1L, I’ve seen a bunch of anonymous posts from 1Ls lately (on Reddit, FB groups, etc.) that have broken my heart.
They all say something to the effect of:
“I haven’t found a friend group.
Everyone seems to be in their established cliques already.
I feel isolated and alone.
Any tips?”
Dear Legal Writer: You can’t use “they” for “company.”
In the U.S.:
🔹 A “company” is a “collective noun” that functions like every other SINGULAR noun.
Other common, collective nouns in legal writing include:
Dear Legal Writer, The partner just finished rattling off a new writing assignment, but then something interrupts needing his attention.
So he looks up at you and asks, “Got it?”
You nod, trying to look like you’ve done this several times before.
Dear 1L, You have to write a big memo this fall. Make sure to write it in your own words.
When you’re new to legal writing, it’s natural to think:
—Courts’ words sound better than yours.
—Courts' sentences should be quoted in full.
Dear 1L, Law professors get persnickety over pronouns—and rightly so, as you will see.
—So if Dick and Dennis go play tennis, do NOT next say that “he” wins 6–3.
—If Mary and June take a walk at noon, do NOT write that “she” stops for tea.
Dear 1L, You will write the words “plaintiff” and “defendant” a TON this year. But there’s a trap: sometimes you capitalize them, and sometimes you don’t.
Here’s the convention to follow:
🔷 When to keep them lowercase—
Dear Legal Writer, I’m getting myself pumped for the LA City Attorney’s office this afternoon. I’m going to teach them not to “CUSS”!
That’s my acronym for 4 bad words in legal writing:
“comprise” — lawyers always get this wrong
I drafted 7 perfect pages (or so I thought), but all I heard back was:
“𝐍𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬?
𝐍𝐨 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒???
𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐚 7-𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐎 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬?”
The partner was incredulous, her voice rising in pitch and exasperation with each question
Dear 1L, You will find that legal writing is full of traps.
And unfortunately, you’re likely to fall into these traps.
—That’s because you haven’t focused on grammar or punctuation for ages.
—Legal writing also requires you to use new words and terms about which you know zilch.
At the start of law school, there will be braggarts.
They may say they took a comprehensive pre-law prep course and feel “ready to go!”
They may boast that they’ve already:
—read the first month’s reading,
Dear Legal Writer: The 3 most important things to recall when writing any brief:
1: Your reader is busy.
2: Your reader will NOT be reading for pleasure.
3: Your reader WILL be reading to extract information.
How to Write an IRAC Essay for law school exams—
Dear 2L, We spoke a lot about IRAC essay exams last year, but it’s been several months. I thought a refresher was due.
Key Reminder: You must do a complete IRAC analysis for every Element of every Claim and Defense or for every Factor in the court’s applicable test.
Dear 1L, Lawyers have some wacky ways of writing things.
Learn them early so you don’t lose points when it counts.
1. In the legal world, we spell the word “judgment” without an “e.”
—> Change your Word settings so they autocorrect “judgement” to “judgment” when you type.