the (new) legal writer

IM briefing

What will we see when the instant-messaging generation starts writing briefs? Roger Hughes has a few ideas. (Hat tip to Law Dawg Blawg.)

Street legal

Which lyricist is most often cited in law-review articles and judicial opinions? No surprise: it's Bob Dylan. That's just one of the observations made by Alex B. Long in his article, [Insert Song Lyrics Here]: The Uses and Misuses of Popular Music Lyrics in Legal Writing. To see his Top 10 list, click here.

His article is about more than just who's the most cited lyricist. Here's the abstract:

Legal writers frequently utilize the lyrics of popular music artists to help advance a particular theme or argument in legal writing. And if the music we listen to says something about us as individuals, then the music we, the legal profession as a whole, write about may something about who we are as a profession. A study of citations to popular artists in law journals reveals that, not surprisingly, Bob Dylan is the most popular artist in legal scholarship. The list of names of the other artists rounding out the Top Ten essentially reads like a Who’s Who of baby boomer favorites. Often, attorneys use the lyrics of popular music in fairly predictable ways in their writing, sometimes with adverse impact on the persuasiveness of the argument they are advancing. However, if one digs deeper, one can find numerous instances in which legal writers incorporate the lyrics of popular music into their writing in more creative ways.

(Hat tips to TaxProf Blog and A List of Things Thrown 5 Minutes Ago.)

__________

p.s. (9/21/06): If you'd like to spice up your own legal writing with Bob Dylan lyrics, then bookmark the lyrics search page on BobDylan.com.

Bad writing

The faculties of the Due Process Clause may be indefinite and vague, but the mode of their ascertainment is not self-willed. In each case "due process of law" requires an evaluation based on a disinterested inquiry pursued in the spirit of science, on a balanced order of facts exactly and fairly stated, on the detached consideration of conflicting claims, on a judgment not ad hoc and episodic but duly mindful of reconciling the needs both of continuity and of change in a progressive society.

Rochin v. California, 342 U.S. 165, 172 (1952) (Frankfurter, J.). If your reaction to this passage is, "Huh?", then you'll enjoy Bad Writing: Some Thoughts on the Abuse of Scholarly Rhetoric, by Jethro K. Lieberman. Don't get discouraged by the density of the first page; stay with it into Part II.

For more fun with postmodern gibberish, check out the Postmodernism Generator.

Now that's a notice of appeal

Many's the time I would have liked to file a notice of appeal like this one. (Hat tip to Dan Rauh.)

Etymologic

If you think you know etymology, then here's a challenge for you: Etymologic, which bills itself as "the toughest word game on the Web." Warning: it's not kind.

For the B.A. legal writer who has everything

Need to buy a gift for that special legal writer¹ in your life? If so, browse around the Bad Ass Legal Writing Store.
__________
¹ No, "special legal writer" is not a contradiction in terms.