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Articles 331 - 360 of 426
Full-Text Articles in Legal Writing and Research
The Art Of The Fact: An Afternoon Colloquy In A Tentative Key, Jethro K. Lieberman
The Art Of The Fact: An Afternoon Colloquy In A Tentative Key, Jethro K. Lieberman
Books
No abstract provided.
Right Writing Or Rite Riting?, K.K. Duvivier
Right Writing Or Rite Riting?, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
After more than two decades of deliberation, a government-sponsored commission, composed of linguists from the major German-speaking countries, recently issued a new standard German grammar called Die neue deutsche Rechtschreibung.
The Volley Of Canons, K.K. Duvivier
The Volley Of Canons, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
The "canons of construction" are a set of formalized rules or maxims for interpreting words. These canons are especially relevant for two categories of legal writers. First, brief writers can use the canons to argue a particular interpretation of the words of a statute. The statute's words provide the best evidence of statutory intent, both under the "plain-meaning" rule and when legislative history is sparse. Second, attorneys who draft instruments should consider the impact of the canons when choosing specific language to insert in a contract,' lease, or other instrument.
Not Selected For Official Publication, K.K. Duvivier
Not Selected For Official Publication, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Hundreds of thousands of "unpublished opinions" are now available on electronic databases. Although these opinions have not been designated as officially published precedent, they still may have a significant impact on the outcome of your client's case. The dilemma is whether you can or should cite these unpublished cases in your brief.
The Footnote=An Interruption, K.K. Duvivier
The Footnote=An Interruption, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
The footnote is a familiar tool in legal scholarship. Some of the best law review articles, legal encyclopedias, and legal treatises devote half of each page to detailed, supporting footnotes. Footnotes make sense in this context. Readers of these sources have a dual objective: to glean a general framework for an argument and to find specific authorities to support each point. The Colorado Lawyer is such a research source. It lists authorities in endnotes so its readers may complete an article uninterrupted, but they also may find the more specific sources if they should need them.
Readers Speak Out, K.K. Duvivier
Readers Speak Out, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
This month, I am turning the column over to letters from readers. If you have a question or comment to share, please feel free to write or e-mail me at the addresses in the box below. Don't worry I will ask your permission before using your name.
Selecting And Designing Effective Legal Writing Problems, Grace C. Tonner, Diana Pratt
Selecting And Designing Effective Legal Writing Problems, Grace C. Tonner, Diana Pratt
Articles
Legal research and writing courses are unlike most substantive first year law school classes in that they teach using the problem method. The success of a legal writing course depends on the quality of the problems. The purpose of this article is to provide some guidance for legal writing professors in designing legal writing problems. The article addresses (1) general considerations in problem design, (2) designing expository problems, (3) designing persuasive problems, and (4) sources of problems. In the first section, we discuss problem design as it relates to the overall goals for teaching the basic forms of legal analysis, …
Pronoun References: Part Ii-A Case For Pronouns, K.K. Duvivier
Pronoun References: Part Ii-A Case For Pronouns, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Pronouns can be efficient writing tools: they save space and provide variation. Without them, we would repeat the original noun continually each time we referenced it.
Pronoun References: Part I-When No Substitute Will Do, K.K. Duvivier
Pronoun References: Part I-When No Substitute Will Do, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
In our writing we know who is who and what is what, but we often fail to let our readers know. Readers follow easily if we give them specific information. A pronoun can be a good substitute for specific information, but to avoid confusion, a pronoun must clearly refer back to its antecedent-the word or words for which it substitutes.
Grammar And Style Check Programs: Machine V. Man, K.K. Duvivier
Grammar And Style Check Programs: Machine V. Man, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Garry Kasparov fought for all of us. A human being against Deep Blue, a computer that has thirty-two processors acting as thirty-two brains simultaneously to consider future chess moves. When the computer won the first game, it was an apocalypse for chess enthusiasts. Was an artificial brain actually superior? A similar question arises in writing: do computerized grammar and style checkers create superior writing?
The Dash-“A Hasty Stroke Of The Pen”, K.K. Duvivier
The Dash-“A Hasty Stroke Of The Pen”, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
The dash is one of the most versatile punctuation marks. However, its very versatility makes it a mark to use with care. First, the dash should be distinguished from the hyphen. Al- though these two punctuation marks look similar, they differ both in form and function. In form, the dash is more elongated and does not appear as a separate symbol on most keyboards.
The Apostrophe: Reports Of Its Death Are Greatly Exaggerated, K.K. Duvivier
The Apostrophe: Reports Of Its Death Are Greatly Exaggerated, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
The apostrophe is on its deathbed, if you believe Charles Larson, a professor of literature at American University. Larson argues that the apostrophe's murderers are those younger than thirty-five who persist in abusing this punctuation mark I agree with Larson that the apostrophe, as we now know it, seems endangered. However, I disagree with Larson's diagnosis of the cause.
The Common Comma: Part Ii, K.K. Duvivier
The Common Comma: Part Ii, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
This column shows how a comma, or the lack of one, can significantly change your meaning. It also addresses several comma issues raised by readers, but not fully resolved by my previous column on commas.
The Common Comma: Part I, K.K. Duvivier
The Common Comma: Part I, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
The comma is the most frequently used punctuation mark. Unfortunately, the comma is also the most frequently misused mark.
The Period And Its Pals, K.K. Duvivier
The Period And Its Pals, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Judges are more likely to rule against you if they cannot understand your points and if your arguments do not seem well-reasoned. In contrast, punctuation errors may be irritating, but they will rarely, if ever, cause you to lose the case.
A Wise Passiveness, K.K. Duvivier
A Wise Passiveness, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
"[W]e can feed this mind of ours In a wise passiveness" "Expostulation & Reply" by William Wordsworth As a general rule, our writing can be more forceful and concise if we search for the passive voice and eliminate it. However, the avoid-the-passive rule sometimes is taken to extremes. This article addresses five ways to use the passive voice as a positive communication tool.
Problems With The Passive Voice, K.K. Duvivier
Problems With The Passive Voice, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Some of us recall when our grammar teachers admon- ished against using the passive voice. However, voice is a stylistic choice, not a rule of grammar. This column explains why the active voice generally is preferred. The next column will discuss when the passive voice may be the better choice (to be published in the May issue of The Colorado Lawyer). Once we understand the passive, we can make more informed decisions about its use.
Proper Words In Proper Places, K.K. Duvivier
Proper Words In Proper Places, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Most experts agree that written communication is achieved through a combination of word choice and word placement.' Although, word placement within a sentence has long been recognized as significant, word choice often is considered the predominant vehicle for communication. Some recent commentators, however, contend that reader expectations about word placement play a dominant role in communication. This column addresses how to enhance communication by placing words that you want to emphasize at the end of your sentences.
Gratifying Rules Of Grammar, K.K. Duvivier
Gratifying Rules Of Grammar, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
No abstract: rules of grammar in list form
A Thousand Probabilities, K.K. Duvivier
A Thousand Probabilities, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
The July Scrivener column addressed the use of intensifiers, words such as “very” and “really” that are used to amplify a concept. This month’s column addresses words at the other end of the spectrum—qualifiers, such as “probably” and “possibly,” that are used to limit a point.
The Lady Doth Protest Too Much, Methinks!, K.K. Duvivier
The Lady Doth Protest Too Much, Methinks!, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
When we speak face-to-face with someone, we communicate on several different levels. Our face and body can communicate a different message from that of our voice. Thus the body language of a tight jaw and stiffly crossed arms belies a statement that one is relaxed. Similarly, voice inflection can conflict with spoken words. The impact of such incongruity mayb e intended irony or jest, or the impact may be confusion.
A False Economy, K.K. Duvivier
A False Economy, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Pause before you next decide to save some space in your brief or contract by defining a term with an acronym. Certainly, if you use only the initial letters of words, whole phrases can be distilled into one new word. Yet acronyms should be used sparingly in legal writing because this economy of ink is rarely an economy of thought.
Cease And Desist, K.K. Duvivier
Cease And Desist, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
One characteristic of legal writing, parodied in the caricature above, is the use of multiple words when one word might suffice. This column first explores how the practice of pairing synonyms or stringing together alternatives originated. Next, it tells when to cut back on such repetition.
Are You Practicing An Uninformed System Of Citation?, K.K. Duvivier
Are You Practicing An Uninformed System Of Citation?, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
An important—but sometimes annoying—component of legal writing is citation to controlling authority. Through citation, we should provide our readers with recognizable and accurate references to the sources that form the basis of our legal analyses. The fundamental sources of controlling Colorado law are the Colorado statutes, session laws, rules of procedure, jury instructions and cases. Although The Bluebook forms for these sources are recognizable, they are rarely used in the Colorado courts.
Integrating Legal Writing Into Civil Procedure, Douglas E. Abrams
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 Like A Lawyer, John D. Feerick
Writing Like A Lawyer, John D. Feerick
Fordham Urban Law Journal
There is a problem of bad legal writing – one that is far more serious than we recognize or are willing to admit. The causes include insufficient education in good writing, carelessness, faulty thinking and reasoning, a failure to appreciate the potential and impact of legal language, an unwillingness to risk new language, and an inability or failure to make the time commitment required for good legal writing. First, at the law school level, legal writing must be given greater emphasis. If our programs are not able to deal with poor command of language, grammar, and syntax, perhaps we must …
Controlling Inadvertent Ambiguity In The Logical Structure Of Legal Drafting By Means Of The Prescribed Definitions Of The A-Hohfeld Structural Language, Layman E. Allen, Charles S. Saxon
Controlling Inadvertent Ambiguity In The Logical Structure Of Legal Drafting By Means Of The Prescribed Definitions Of The A-Hohfeld Structural Language, Layman E. Allen, Charles S. Saxon
Articles
Two principal sources of imprecision in legal drafting (vagueness and ambiguity) are identified and illustrated. Virtually all of the ambiguity imprecision encountered in legal discourse is ambiguity in the language used to express logical structure, and virtually all of· the imprecision resulting is inadvertent. On the other hand, the imprecision encountered in legal writing that results from vagueness is frequently, if not most often, included there deliberately; the drafter has considered it and decided that the vague language· best accomplishes the purpose at hand. This paper focuses on the use of some defined terminology for minimizing inadvertent ambiguity in the …
Power Verbs, K.K. Duvivier
Power Verbs, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
To make your writing more vivid and efficient, focus attention on your verbs. For those who were not taught the parts of speech in school, the “subject is that part of a sentence about which something is being said,” and the verb “says something about what the subject is [a state of being] or is doing [an action].”
Quotations Part Ii: Block Quotes, K.K. Duvivier
Quotations Part Ii: Block Quotes, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
The previous column addressed the tendency of legal readers to skip or skim long quotations. To be sure impatient readers do not miss critical points, legal writers can reduce quotations to key words and incorporate those few words into the analysis. Sometimes blocked or indented quotations are helpful.
Quotations Part I: Fundamentals, K.K. Duvivier
Quotations Part I: Fundamentals, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Legal writing relies heavily on the words of others. The impulse to repeat verbatim the words of applicable authorities is often compelling. While an authority may be integral to your discussion, quoting lengthy passages actually may interfere with your message. This column addresses quotation fundamentals—when and how much to quote.