Law Commons^™

Writing In Law Reviews, Bar Association Journals, And Blogs (Part I), Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

Lawyer's commonly write as the client's representative, but this article explores three opportunities for lawyers who wish also to write sometimes in non-representational roles. Part I here discusses writing or co-writing law review articles.

Incivility In Legal Writing Can Be Costly To Client And To Attorney, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

The adversary system's pressures can strain the tone and tenor of a lawyer's oral speech, but the strain on civility can be especially great when lawyers write. Words on paper arrive without the facial expression, tone of voice, body language, and contemporaneous opportunity for explanation that can soothe face-to-face communication. Writing appears cold on the page, dependent not necessarily on what the writer intends or implies, but on what readers infer.

This article is in three parts. Part I describes two manifestations of incivility, a lawyer's written derision of an opponent, and a lawyer's written disrespect of the court. Part …

Art Of Persuasion: Lessons From An Author Who Shaped Presidential Policy, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

In October of 1962, the world stood on the brink of war as the United States demanded dismantling of offensive medium-range nuclear missile sites that the Soviet Union was constructing in Cuba, potentially within striking range of American cities. From behind-the-scenes accounts, we know that a new book by historian Barbara W. Tuchman, a private citizen who held no government position, contributed directly to the negotiated outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis as the world watched and waited. After chronicling Tuchman's contribution, this article discusses her later public commentary about what she called the "art of writing,"' commentary that holds …

10 Tips For Effective Brief Writing, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

The audience is often the best critic, and rarely more so than when the writer is an attorney and the reader is a judge considering the attorney's brief in a case before the court. Here are several judges' suggestions for writing briefs that will help your case. The first tip? Leave the venom at home!

Orwell's Six Cures To Bad Writing, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

In a 1946 essay, George Orwell said among the many bad habits replete in written English are the use of dying metaphors, poor choice of appropriate verbs and nouns, pretentious dictions, and meaningless words. Sound familiar? He also offered ways to overcome these habits.

George Orwell's Classic Essay On Writing: The Best Style Handbook For Lawyers And Judges, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

As Orwell's title intimates, the essay included criticism of political writing done by government officials and private observers. The essay's staying power, however, transcends the political arena. By calling on writers of all persuasions to "simplify your English," Orwell helped trigger the plain English movement, which still influences legislators, courts, administrative agencies, and law school legal writing classes.

This article proceeds in two parts. First I describe how judges, when they challenge colleagues or advocates in particular cases, still quote from Orwell's plea for clear expression and careful reasoning. Then I present Orwell's diagnosis of maladies that plagued contemporary prose, …

What Great Writers Can Teach Lawyers And Judges: Precise, Concise, Simple And Clear, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

Despite some imperfections across disciplines, advice from well-known fiction and non-fiction writers can serve lawyers and judges well because law, in its essence, is a literary profession heavily dependent on the written word. There are only two types of writing - good writing and bad writing. As poet (and Massachusetts Bar member) Archibald MacLeish recognized, good legal writing is simply good writing about a legal subject. "Lawyers would be better off," said MacLeish, "if they stopped thinking of the language of the law as a different language and realized that the art of writing for legal purposes is in no …

Damages As Narrative, Melody Richardson Daily

Faculty Publications

The traditional approach to legal instruction in America-the casebook method-requires students to read hundreds of appellate decisions, most of which include equally terse accounts of human suffering. How might this pedagogical approach affect future lawyers? Can reading a book like Damages help law students develop the ability to empathize with their clients?

Integrating Legal Writing Into Civil Procedure, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

Law teachers increasingly recognize that practical skills training deserves a place in traditional courses throughout the curriculum.' The literature regularly reports proposals to integrate practical skills components into both first-year and upperclass courses. The array of skills includes mediation, negotiation, interviewing and counseling, writing and drafting, case management, and advocacy

Writing From A Legal Perspective By George D. Gopen, Douglas E. Abrams, Jay Wishingrad

Faculty Publications

Criticism of legal writing has come with increasing frequency and stridency in recent years from lawyers and nonlawyers alike. Judges have criticized the writing of advocates, and lawyers have complained about the writing of judges and other lawyers. Law professors have bemoaned both their students' inability to write the King's English5 *1062 and their own tendency to write ‘unintelligible gibberish.’ And all law school graduates have been pilloried by a general public that has grown increasingly resentful of the unnecessary complexity of ‘legalese.