I’ve been reading an inspired and fascinating book by my friend and former colleague, Terri LeClercq. She’s a nationally known legal-writing expert, and she’s written a graphic novel that teaches inmates how to think through a jail or prison problem and then write a grievance about it. It’s called Prison Grievances: When to Write. How [...]
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Witnesseth, Controversial, Long-Lived Archaism The word witnesseth, a legal term used in deeds, contracts, and other formal documents, passed away Monday after a decades-long decline and what some say were well-deserved attacks. Those close to the word said it died in a legal form pulled up on a smart phone in Little Rock, Arkansas. It [...]
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I’ve just learned that the Texas Pattern Jury Charges Plain Language Project will receive a ClearMark award from the Center for Plain Language at an awards ceremony in Washington D.C. on April 28. I was the writing consultant on the project, which began in 2005 and culminated in final approval of the revised jury charges [...]
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Are there any empirical studies showing that the quality of the writing in a brief has an effect on its success? In general, the answer is no, but I’d like to highlight another important article on a related subject. The author asked judges to choose which of two versions of a legal argument they considered [...]
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“Turning out flashy, dense, complicated prose is a breeze; putting things down in simple terms that anyone can understand takes brainwork.” Patricia O’Conner, Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know about Writing (Harcourt 1999). and “Simplicity is widely praised but narrowly practiced.” Robert Gunning, The Technique of Clear Writing 68 (McGraw-Hill 1968).
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My book about writing legal documents in plain English: Preparing Legal Documents Nonlawyers Can Read and Understand Also here.
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I just read a short article by an appellate judge who said that lawyers should write their briefs in plain English. I am not trying to be smart or flippant or disrespectful—this judge means well. But appellate briefs do not need to be written in plain English and probably should not be written in plain [...]
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I had a bad experience related to legal writing once. To me, it was an awful, sickening experience. But to put it in context, I offer the following list of the worst experiences of my life: 1. Death of my father. 2. Divorce. 3. Aftermath of divorce. 4. [Undisclosed personal matter.] 5. School-related matter involving [...]
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The Texas Supreme Court has approved a set of revised admonitory jury instructions. Details here. Once upon a time, I worked on them. When I read them now, I can still hear my voice in places.
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Practical advice for legal-writing teachers In my first-year legal-writing course, I don’t tell my students to write their memos and briefs in plain English for these reasons: I don’t have time to cover the principles of plain English. (My principles are here. Another list is here.) I’m too busy teaching analysis, organization, use of authority, [...]
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