We’ve noticed a trend. Some junior lawyers get frustrated by having a boss rework everything they write. Instead of analyzing and learning from the changes and then redoubling their efforts with each new writing project, they detach themselves and begin turning in half-baked work. If asked why, they say something like this: “Harold’s just going to change it, anyway! Why should I bust myself when I know he’s not going to use it?”
It’s a defeatist attitude that leads to failure—if not an early departure from the current job.
Successful junior lawyers, by contrast, learn to rewrite their own work in the manner of their bosses. They rewrite it once or twice—and plan every writing project to allow time for this need. They don’t suffer from the supreme naiveté or unbridled arrogance of assuming that they needn’t rewrite their work before sharing it with others.
“But when I rework my drafts, they only get worse!” We’ve heard this a thousand times. It’s simply an abject admission that you don’t know how to edit your own or anyone else’s work. It’s suggesting that you don’t belong in a literary profession such as law.
Improving your drafts is no mysterious skill. It’s one thing we teach. There’s much truth in what Justice Louis D. Brandeis once said: “There’s no such thing as good writing. There’s only good rewriting.” It’s a skill anyone can learn.
First, though, you must understand the importance of ensuring that everything you submit represents your absolute best effort at the time. Second, you must be ready for further improvements.