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Full-Text Articles in Legal Writing and Research
Gender Neutral Ii, K.K. Duvivier
Gender Neutral Ii, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Continuation of article above including discussions of personal pronouns, use of "they," and sex-neutral terms.
Gender Neutral, K.K. Duvivier
Gender Neutral, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Regardless of your preference, you should be aware that the use of "he" as a universal gender pronoun now is controversial, and your reader probably will follow only one of two very divergent ideologies. Therefore, fall back on a primary rule of persuasive writing: avoid any words or structures that alienate your rader or distract from your message.
Procrastination, K.K. Duvivier
Procrastination, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Panic has set in. The deadline for your brief or memo is now measured in hours rather than days. You think, “Maybe the adrenaline will make me more efficient, but if only I had started earlier!” If you often or occasionally find yourself in this predicament, here are three suggestions to help you avoid it in the future.
Be Plain, K.K. Duvivier
Be Plain, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
You are pondering which word to use in a brief. Which should you sue—“supra,” “aforementioned” or “above”? Be cautious of Latin and archaic English words. If you use them, your argument, as well as your reputation may be placed at risk.
White Space, K.K. Duvivier
White Space, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Assist your reader by providing white space for breaks. Consider the readers' response when confronted with a solid page of print. The same page will be less formidable when broken into three or four paragraphs. Logical break points can always be found, even if the whole page deals with just one idea or subject. Offer your readers "footholds. . .[t]o clamber over the trying cliff-face of prose." Facilitate communication by using shorter sentences and paragraphs.
Judges’ Pet Peeves Ii, K.K. Duvivier
Judges’ Pet Peeves Ii, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
The last Scrivener (November issue at page 2257) focused on a leading complaint that four Denver District Court judges identified when I polled them last summer. Recently, I have discussed legal writing problems with a few justices of the Colorado Supreme Court and judges of the Colorado Court of Appeals. This column focuses on some of the concerns voiced by these judges.