Dear Legal Writer, Don’t be like Demi Moore.

🔷 Remember the court scene in “A Few Good Men”?

Tom Cruise says, “I object,” and the court overrules.

But Demi isn’t satisfied.
She just has to get up & say: “I strenuously object.”

“Strenuously” didn’t make the objection any more convincing there, did it?

Instead, Demi looked desperate. Ok, she looked like a fool.

Let’s avoid that in your legal writing, shall we?

👉 AXE THE ADVERBS—

Examples

1️⃣ Instead of saying, “The price went up quickly,” or “The price fell rapidly,”

Try:
“The price jumped.”
“The price surged.”
“The price skyrocketed.”
“The price plunged.”
“The price nosedived.”
“The price plummeted.”

2️⃣ Instead of saying the defendant was “very hungry,”

Try:
“The defendant was famished.”
“The defendant was ravenous.”

👉 BONUS: Oomphy words liven your prose, and they take up less space than weak words propped up by modifiers.

Livening prose and saving space in legal writing are always good.

Fondly,
💌 Amanda

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