Why do lawyers, whose profession is essentially literary, tend to write so poorly? (Don’t deny it.) It’s because even the most talented ones read only what other lawyers write. On the whole, lawyers aren’t big readers—except on the job. After a day of scrutinizing cases, briefs, demand letters, regulations, etc., the last thing most want to do is read more.
Here’s how Justice Scalia and I explained it in Making Your Case (2008): “Lawyers tend to be bad writers because their profession condemns them to a diet of bad reading material.” We added: “As you read, so will you write.”
One major way to upgrade your writing is to upgrade your reading—and to read closely.