the (new) legal writer

Great content, beautiful presentation

Roy Jacobsen, author of Writing, Clear and Simple, has converted two of his articles to PDF and made them available for free download. Usually PDF is good for reading on paper but not so good for on-screen reading. Roy’s PDF articles are different: their layout is designed for on-screen reading, and the result is a beautiful presentation. To see for yourself, download Bah Humbug! Business Jargon Needn’t Be a Done Deal and Plain Language in the Federal Government. For the full effect, allow your PDF reader to display in full-screen format. (For Adobe Reader v.8, click on “View,” then select “Full Screen Mode,” or hit control-L.)

As you look at these articles, make some mental notes. Observe the simple things that Roy does to makes these articles not only readable, but visually beautiful.

Furniture fit for a writer

In most areas, I’m a thrifty guy. For example, I drive a Saturn rather than, say, a BMW, and I like to keep a car for 10 years before trading it in. My house is almost paid for, and I have no plans to buy a bigger or better one.

But there’s one area where I unapologetically splurge: office furniture, which might also be called “writing furniture.” I figure that if I spend 8+ hours a day sitting in my office but only 40 minutes a day sitting in my car, it makes more sense to splurge on my office furniture than it does to splurge on a car. If that idea makes sense to you, and if you haven’t spent enough care and dollars on your office furniture, then I have a couple of recommendations.

For your chair, it’s hard to go wrong with this classic: the Aeron by Herman Miller. I bought mine several years ago, and have never regretted the purchase. This chair adjusts more ways than any other chair I’ve ever seen. The mesh seat and back keep you cool and comfortable year-round. If you buy one, I recommend that you spring for the optional PostureFit lumbar support. And because you’re sitting in this chair 8 hours a day, treat yourself to the leather armrests.  They’re a bit pricey, but considering the amount of time your elbows will rest on these things, you’ll get your money’s worth. (If you already own an Aeron, think about retro-fitting it with the PostureFit and the leather armrests.)

For your computer, I recommend a Biomorph desk. These things are to computer desks what the Aeron is to office chairs: they adjust more ways than any other furniture I’ve ever seen. I have the Biomorph Personal desk. Years ago I saw one in Playboy magazine, and knew I had to have it. As you can see in the picture, it’s a split level desk: one level for your keyboard, the other for your monitor. Both levels are height-adjustable. The keyboard level is big enough for my phone, my coffee cup, and any book, paper, or transcript I may be working from. The monitor level is big enough for my CPU, a little CD rack, a little stereo, a plant, a few books that I like to keep within arm’s reach, and a Dictaphone (rarely used).

Years ago, when I worked with cheap furniture, I often got severe neck aches. Since I got this stuff, my work posture is greatly improved, because instead of me adjusting to the furniture, the furniture adjusts to me. Result: no more neck aches — another thing that makes this expensive furniture worth the money.

Shorter is better

Prof. Ross Buckley has an interesting paper on SSRN calling for U.S. law reviews to become peer reviewed. In reading his article, I was struck by his observation that the higher-quality, more substantive published articles tend to be shorter:

A move to peer review would ... tend to counter the love of length these journals exhibit. Size is all well and good, in its place, but clear communication is rarely promoted by it. An expert is qualified to assess the worth of an argument, and not substitute length and number of footnotes as measures of quality. An expert would also typically object to having to read a 25,000 word piece.
...

If these cutting-edge journals were to go a step further and announce that the preferred length of manuscripts was between 6,000 and 10,000 words, this would provide even further impetus to their ascension. Does anyone really want to write 30,000 words on an incredibly narrow topic ...?  .... Certainly the evidence is that as scholars become more senior their articles become shorter and their footnotes fewer.

Experimenting with a new layout

I’m experimenting with a new layout for this blog: posts on the left, two-column sidebar on the right. I remember reading somewhere that when people read on screen, the first place they look is in the upper left corner of the window. So I decided to re-arrange the blog to move the posts closer to the upper left corner. Compare this layout to the posts-in-the-middle layout on Minor Wisdom, and let me know which you prefer. (If the layout here looks the same as before, hit the refresh/reload button on your browser.)

I’ve also added a recent-comments list to the sidebar. I hope that encourages more of you to leave comments.

Fewer words mean greater confidence

“Have you ever noticed that the more certain you are of something, the fewer words it takes to say it? And conversely, the more you have to insist on your confidence of something, or in someone, the more you call that confidence into question?” So observes Ruth Walker in a blog post titled The paradox of confidence. The lesson: If you want to signal confidence in the truth of your own statement, keep it short.

A euphemism I’m getting tired of

“Improvised explosive device.” Why can’t we call it a homemade bomb?