LawProse Lessons

The Seven Types of English Sentences. At a time when we all need distractions from the news, it seems timely to remind ourselves of something as beautiful as English syntax. In English, there are seven basic patterns that an independent clause can follow. Only seven. (Not counting that incomplete sentence, or this one.) The basic …

LawProse Lesson #329: The Seven Types of English Sentences. Read More »

Rulebooks vs. Style Guides. It has become fashionable lately in linguistic circles to say that people confuse style manuals with rulebooks (grammars). But the supposed distinction is highly questionable. Good usage guides are essentially both: they’re style manuals dealing with both grammatical issues and stylistic preferences that improve phrasing and word choice. Many questions of …

LawProse Lesson #328: Rulebooks vs. Style Guides. Read More »

Standard English and Nonconformity. Standards enforce conformity, and Standard Written English demands conformity with literary tradition. When it comes to style, even some brazen nonconformists—writers like David Foster Wallace—famously prized Standard Written English. One way of enhancing Standard English (written or spoken) has been adults’ tendency to correct children of a certain age (preferably, say, …

LawProse Lesson #327: Standard English and Nonconformity. Read More »

The Know-How of an Expert. Do you have a hobby you’re passionate about? Perhaps it’s coin-collecting, or rowing, or gardening, or sports cars, or high-school football. Whatever it may be, you’ve doubtless gained considerable expertise over the years. And it’s a joy to encounter someone else with the same passion, isn’t it? You take your …

LawProse Lesson #326: The Know-How of an Expert. Read More »

Openers To be highly accomplished at any skill, you must observe others who are accomplished. That’s just the way it is. If you’re not a serious, regular reader—and haven’t been for extended periods in your life—you can’t possibly hope to produce good writing yourself. So for at least 15 minutes a day, read attentively. The …

LawProse Lesson #325: Openers. Read More »

How to Interpret Statutes and Contracts. Are you analyzing a question of statutory construction or contractual interpretation? Your basic template is this: text, structure, purpose, and history—in that order. Each one, preferably, is supported (in a brief) by a full-sentence point heading. To see lots of first-rate examples, see The Winning Brief (3d ed.) § …

LawProse Lesson #324: How to Interpret Statutes and Contracts. Read More »

As we saw last time, there are important rules about correlative conjunctions. Neither . . . nor constructions are similar to those with either . . . or: A neither . . . nor construction takes a singular verb when the alternatives are singular or when the second alternative is singular <Neither the committee members nor …

LawProse Lesson #323: Best Practices for neither . . . nor. Read More »

Either and or are called correlative conjunctions when they appear in tandem. They present several grammatical and usage issues, and because they’re used so often, you’re well advised to commit a few rules to memory. Use them with paired items only. Once you get to three, drop either. Make sure the items they frame are …

LawProse Lesson #322: Best Practices for either . . . or. Read More »

Write an editorial in 45 minutes? Given that lawyers are professional writers, I’ve always thought that any good lawyer ought to be able to block out a period of 45 minutes, sit down, and write a publishable newspaper editorial during that time. Many can. But most can’t. It’s challenging to define a problem of current concern, …

LawProse Lesson #321: Write an editorial in 45 minutes? Read More »

Stopping and starting. Flow. Fluency. Continuity. These are some of the most challenging things to achieve in the process of writing. Here’s a tip: When you’re composing, and you need a little breather, never stop at the end of a section or paragraph. Instead, begin the following sentence and then take your break. You’ll naturally …

LawProse Lesson #320: Stopping and starting. Read More »

Opinion letters. The phrase opinion letter denotes a broad category encompassing many types of lawyers’ letters with various purposes and formats. Examples abound: usury opinions in loan transactions, title opinions in real-estate transactions, closing opinions in securities offerings, coverage opinions in insurance matters. Such a letter is almost always a written opinion of law regarding …

LawProse Lesson #319: Opinion letters Read More »

Powerful pleadings. Some people—mostly journalists, but even some lawyers—refer to all court papers as “pleadings.” In precise usage, however, pleadings are the documents containing the written allegations that each party must communicate to the opponent before trial so that each will know what contentions must be supported (or rebutted) by the evidence. Examples are complaints, …

LawProse Lesson #318: Powerful pleadings. Read More »

Writing in solitude—with concentration. There’s a crisis of inattention in the modern world. We’re all surrounded by electronic devices that sound off continually, requiring—or seeming to require—our immediate attention. We end up concentrating for five or ten seconds before mentally resting a bit until the next surge of attention is required (or seemingly required). Scientists …

LawProse Lesson #317: Writing in solitude. Read More »

Try this when revising: Mark your changes on a hard copy—in ink. Then enter your changes yourself. You’ll find that merely touching the keys sharpens your thoughts. You’ll be making more revisions as you go, especially toward an appropriate copiousness of thought. You’ll cut later, to be sure, but one aspect of early revision is …

LawProse Lesson #316: A key to revising effectively. Read More »

Over the past two weeks, we’ve seen that the first two criteria in assessing the quality of motions and responses are to examine page 1 and the point headings. Now for the third. Step 3 is the fresh conclusion. It should be a short, punchy summary that doesn’t merely repeat what’s been said before. It …

LawProse Lesson #315: Judging Motions: Part 3. Read More »

Last week, we saw that the first step in assessing a motion’s quality is to examine the form and content of the first half-page of prose. Now for the second step. Step 2 is to examine the point headings. Make a list of them. Look at the headings in the order in which they occur. …

LawProse Lesson #314: Judging Motions: Part 2. Read More »

Judges often lament their inability to grade motions* (and responses to motions) in addition to declaring winners and losers. To be sure, a C or D motion sometimes wins—because it’s not uncommon to have lackluster briefing on both sides. In fact, that’s the rule, not the exception. But a well-written motion saves the court’s time …

LawProse Lesson #313: Judging Motions: Part 1. Read More »

Shortly before he died last month, Charles Krauthammer, the illustrious political commentator, gave an interview in which he discussed his writing process. Just as we do in LawProse seminars, he emphasized the architecture of writing:  “You write a column, an essay, anything: if you get the structure wrong, you’ll never get it right. You’ll spend …

LawProse Lesson #312: Krauthammer’s Writing Process. Read More »

In any good argument, it’s important to refute the obvious counterarguments that would naturally occur to an intelligent reader—even when you’re the first to argue. Why? Three reasons. First, doing so shows your readers or listeners that you’ve thought through the issue. The problem will have occurred to the judge, who may well view you …

LawProse Lesson #311: Preemptive refutation. Read More »

In this space, you’ve seen explanations of how to prepare good point headings, which are exceedingly rare. Three of the 100 tips in The Winning Brief illustrate first-rate point headings—which should be complete sentences set down-style (not in initial caps). More than 20 tables of contents from winning briefs appear as examples of how to …

LawProse Lesson #310: The Mastery of Point Headings. Read More »