On The Art of Writing
Bryan Garner routinely interviews judges and others on the art of writing. LawProse maintains a one-of-a-kind video archive of these educational interviews. These are excerpts from some interviews.
* Click on a name to play video.
Features of the Month:
- Hon. John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States (Washington, D.C.): On Balancing Quality and Cost
- Justice Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court of the United States (Washington, D.C.): Judges are Impatient
- Rt. Hon. Lord Hoffmann, LawLord, House of Lords (London): On Lord Denning
- Rt. Hon. Lord Hoffmann: On Appearing Before Lord Denning
- Hon. Boyce F. Martin Jr., U.S. Circuit Judge (Louisville): On Hiring to Your Weaknesses
- Hon. James M. Rosenbaum, Chief Judge, District of Minnesota (Minneapolis): On Well-written Briefs
Archive Videos
- Hon. Paul H. Anderson, Minnesota Supreme Court (St. Paul): On the Writing Process
- Hon. Morris S. Arnold, U.S. Circuit Judge (Little Rock): On Legalese
- David A. Battaglia, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (Los Angeles): On Bad Briefs
- Hon. William J. Bauer, Senior U.S. Circuit Judge (Chicago): On Writing for All Judges
- Hon. Rebecca W. Berch, Vice Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Arizona (Phoenix): On Legal Writing
- Hon. Danny Boggs, Chief U.S. Circuit Judge (Louisville): Recommended Reading
- Hon. Pasco M. Bowman II, Senior U.S. Circuit Judge (Kansas City, Missouri): On the Statement of Facts
- Justice Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court of the United States (Washington, D.C.): On Writing
- Hon. James G. Carr, U.S. District Judge (Toledo): On Reputation
- James P. Clark, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (Los Angeles): On Clerking for Judge Wisdom
- Hon. John Cornyn, U.S. Senator (Washington, D.C.): On Plain Language in the Government
- Hon. Kathianne Crane, Missouri Court of Appeals (St. Louis): The 90-Second Test
- Lord Denning (late), Master of the Rolls (London, England): On Grasping the Nettle
- Hon. Frank H. Easterbrook, U.S. Circuit Judge (Chicago): On Reading Journalism
- Hon. Martin L.C. Feldman, U.S. District Judge (New Orleans): Briefs vs. Oral Argument
- Hon. Martin L.C. Feldman: The Language of the Law
- Hon. Thomas R. Fitzgerald, Supreme Court of Illinois (Chicago): Good Issues Beget Good Answers
- Dr. Betty Sue Flowers, Director, Johnson Presidential Library, Professor, The University of Texas at Austin: Weaknesses
- Prof. Charles Fried, Former Justice, Supreme Judicial Court of Mass.; Former Solicitor General of the U.S.; Harvard Law School: Academic Writing
- Hon. Arthur Gilbert, California Court of Appeal (Ventura): On Lawyers Stretching Precedents
- Professor Stephen Gillers, New York University School of Law: On Footnotes
- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court of the United States (Washington, D.C.): Plain English
- Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr., Director Emeritus, American Law Institute, Professor of Law, U.C. Hastings (San Francisco): On Syllogistic Reasoning
- Hon. Mary K. Hoff, Missouri Court of Appeals (St. Louis): On Repetition
- Hon. Thomas E. Hoffman, Illinois Appellate Court (Chicago): On Structure
- Hon. Lynn N. Hughes, U.S. District Judge (Houston): On Legal Theories in Briefs
- Hon. Edith Hollan Jones, Chief U.S. Circuit Judge (Houston): On the Declining Standards of Usage
- Mary Kay Kane, Dean, U.C. Hastings College of Law (San Francisco): On Legalese
- Hon. Robert E. Keeton, U.S. District Judge; Professor Emeritus, Harvard Law School (Boston): On Self-editing
- James J. Kilpatrick, Author & Columnist (Washington, D.C.): On an Apprenticeship in Writing
- Hon. Carolyn Dineen King, U.S. Circuit Judge (Houston): On the First 10 Pages
- Hon. Alex Kozinski, U.S. Circuit Judge (Pasadena, CA): On Overquoting
- Hon. Phyllis A. Kravitch, Senior U.S. Circuit Judge (Atlanta): On Judges' Reading
- Hon. Harriet Lansing, Minnesota Court of Appeals (St. Paul): On Legalese
- Hon. Steve Leben, State District Judge; Editor, Court Review (Olathe, Kan.): Advice to Associates
- Hon. James K. Logan, U.S. Circuit Judge (retired, Overland Park, KS): On Cutting Weak Arguments
- Hon. Barbara M.G. Lynn, U.S. District Judge (Dallas): On Proofreading
- Hon. Paul R. Michel, Chief U.S. Circuit Judge, Federal Circuit (Washington, D.C.): On IP Cases Explainable to High School Students
- Hon. Glenn A. Norton, Chief Judge, Missouri Court of Appeals (St. Louis): On Getting Noticed
- Hon. David S. Perelman, U.S. Magistrate Judge (Cleveland): On Halving Page Limits
- Hon. Dan Aaron Polster, U.S. District Judge (Cleveland): On Unintelligible Briefs
- Hon. Richard A. Posner, U.S. Circuit Judge (Chicago): Judges Are Impatient
- Hon. Thomas M. Reavley, U.S. Circuit Judge (Houston): On Legalese
- Hon. Stephen Reinhardt, U.S. Circuit Judge (Los Angeles): On Issues
- Hon. John H. Ruffin, Chief Judge, Georgia Court of Appeals (Atlanta): On Style
- Justice Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court of the United States (Washington, D.C.): The Writing Process
- John Simon, Author & Critic (New York): On Legal Writing
- Hon. William J. Skow, Ohio Court of Appeals (Toledo): On Plain Language
- Hon. Dolores K. Sloviter, U.S. Circuit Judge (Philadelphia): A Good Brief Draws You In
- William Snipes, Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell (New York): On Becoming a Good Writer
- Hon. Deanell R. Tacha, U.S. Circuit Judge (Lawrence, KS): On Legalese
- Professor John R. Trimble, The University of Texas at Austin, Author of Writing with Style (2d ed. 2000): Three Problems
- Hon. Miriam A. Vogel, California Court of Appeal (Los Angeles): On Reading
- David Foster Wallace, Author & Essayist (Claremont, CA): On Using Prior To
- Hon. William C. Whitbeck, Chief Judge, Mich. Ct. of Appeals (Lansing): On Ad Hominem Attacks
- Hon. Bruce D. Willis, Minnesota Court of Appeals (St. Paul): On Page Limits
- Hon. William R. Wilson Jr., U.S. District Judge (Little Rock): On Law Reviewese
- Hon. Wilhelmina Wright, Minnesota Court of Appeals (St. Paul): On Appellee's Organization
- Hon. James B. Zagel, U.S. District Judge (Chicago): On Conceding What You Must