If you must use a form file

A couple of years ago, I wrote a post on my other blog titled Burn your form file. Judging from the comments, it seems this suggestion — an exercise in hyperbole — was controversial. Today I would add that my original advice was meant for litigators only, and particularly for writing that is (or should be) persuasive; I don’t know enough about non-litigation practices to know whether forms are beneficial in those practices.

I bring all this up because a few days ago, Roy Jacobsen posted an excellent bit of advice for writers who find forms useful: Put an expiration date on them. “When it reaches that date,” Roy advises, “stop using it. Take a long hard look at it and ask yourself if it needs cleaning up or revising. And maybe; you’ll decide that you should toss it in the dustbin and start fresh.”

Comments

[H Devaraja Rao, Bangalore, India]

Desist the habit: “Take one from ‘freezer’ and ‘defrost’ it for the occasion”. It only shows one’s lethargy. If allowed to gain ground, this practice would mean the end of ‘legal drafting’--an art already on deathbed.Again, too much of ‘cut-and-paste’ blunts your brain. Keep your brain sharp. A sharp brain is a supreme tool no lawyer can be without

Never copy forms or others’ drafts without question. Copied drafts, like borrowed garments, will never fit well. Tailored to client’s ‘legal measurements’, a document should be trim like a business suit--in cut, fit and finish.