the (new) legal writer

Sometimes we don’t notice transposed letters.

Daily Writing Tips has an interesting post titled “Cna Yuo Raed Tihs?” The idea is that, if the first and last letter of the word are in the right place (or just the first letter of a three-letter word), then you can probably read the word even if all the letters between the first and last are jumbled.

This phenomenon illustrates the importance of careful proofreading—one word at a time. If you accidentally transpose two letters in the middle of a word, then the faster you read the writing, the smaller the chance that you’ll notice the error.

This phenomenon also illustrates why running a spell check is a good idea. Although you shouldn’t rely exclusively on spell check, using it in conjunction with careful human proofreading can’t hurt; more likely it will catch some mistakes that a human proofreader is prone to miss.

A reminder about the 5th Circuit’s “Practitioner’s Guide”

Like other circuit courts’ web sites, the U.S. Fifth Circuit’s web site has an on-line copy of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Fifth Circuit’s local rules, and its internal operating procedures. Another valuable document on the Fifth Circuit’s web site is the Practitioner’s Guide to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. If you practice before the Fifth Circuit, then be aware of these on-line resources, bookmark them, and refer to them often.

If you practice before one of the other federal circuit courts, then visit the court’s web site; you should find at least a copy of the F.R.A.P. and the most up-to-date version available of the court’s local rules. You may even find a practitioner’s guide. If these resources are available on the court’s web site, then you’re doing your clients and yourself a disservice if you don’t consult them every time you communicate with the court.

Scalia and Garner together on stage

If you’re going to be near D.C. on July 25, and you have $600 to spend on CLE, then you may want to register for Making Your Case, a five-hour seminar to be presented at the Kennedy Center by Bryan A. Garner and Justice Antonin Scalia. The seminar will be based on their book by the same name, which by now must be a best seller.

Euphemisms and other sources of amusement

God bless Word Sell for posting George Carlin’s take on airline euphemisms. Enjoy.

Grammar: Something white people like

If you read this blog, then you may be more Caucasian than you care to admit. It seems that number 99 on the list of stuff white people like is grammar. Why?

White people love rules. It explains why so they get upset when people cut in line, why they tip so religiously and why they become lawyers. But without a doubt, the rule system that white people love the most is grammar. It is in their blood not only to use perfect grammar but also to spend significant portions of time pointing out the errors of others.

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If you wish to gain the respect of a white person, it’s probably a good idea that you find an obscure and debated grammar rule such as the “Oxford Comma” and take a firm stance on what you believe is correct. This is seen as more productive and forward thinking that simply stating your anger at the improper use of “it’s.”

Trying out a new design

Presentation matters. With that thought in mind, I’ve redesigned The (New) Legal Writer. Or more accurately, I’ve installed one of TypePad’s prefabricated designs, one called “Minimalist Red.” If you don’t see the new design, you may need to hit the “refresh” or “reload” button on your browser.

Distractions

Here’s an interesting article by Leigh Jones in the National Law Journal about the current state of legal writing (not good) and one possible contributing cause (electronic distraction).¹ I can relate. This past week I was working on a reply brief: reviewing the record (again), researching the law, outlining, and writing. All the while, the e-mails kept pouring in, and every now and then the phone would ring.

In the old days, e-mail was not a normal, universal means of communication. And research was done in the library, not at your desk next to your phone. So there were far fewer distractions to interrupt the work. Today, I do most of my legal research by computer in my office, where the phone is nearby and where the computer screen notifies me each time a new e-mail arrives.

What to do? For myself, I’ve found that one way to keep my head in the brief is to ignore the e-mail, at least until a break in the action. E-mails that arrive in the morning are read and responded to either just before or just after lunch. E-mails that arrive in the afternoon are read and responded to during a mid-afternoon break or at the end of the working day. This custom does not stop the phone from ringing, but it does reduce the number of distractions to a tolerable level.

When I really need to shut out all distractions, including the phone, I bring my work home. I make technology my friend instead of my enemy, using voice-mail or the Web to periodically check my phone messages, and using the Web or my Blackberry to periodically check my e-mail.

There is a trade-off here. It’s important to be accessible to clients and colleagues who call or e-mail. But sometimes you’ve just got to do what is necessary to get the brief written. And sometimes immersion in the project is the only way to get it done.

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¹ Hat tip to What About Clients?

Q&A with Justice Scalia

C-Span Q&A has posted the transcript of an interview with Justice Antonin Scalia by Brian Lamb. It includes some of Justice Scalia’s thoughts about legal writing and oral argument. (Hat tip to Legal Writing Prof Blog.)

Two propositions

Here are two propositions to ponder. One day I will write an essay on one or the other or both. But “one day” has been a long time coming, and may yet be a long time coming. So I’ve decided to go ahead and air them now, without supporting reasons, to see what you think. Here goes:

1. Every lawyer is presumed to be full of bullshit until he or she proves otherwise.


2. Argument is not the same as persuasion. Argument, properly done, is necessary to persuasion. But argument alone does not persuade. Improper or inappropriate argument impedes persuasion.

Comments, anyone?

The glamour of grammar

Roy Peter Clark, author of Writing Tools, is beginning The Glamour of Grammar, a twice-weekly series of blog posts to eventually be transformed into a book. Writing Tools started out the same way, so TGOG has the burden of living up to high expectations. To monitor Roy’s work in progress and to contribute constructive criticism along the way, check Roy’s blog every Tuesday and Thursday until further notice.