Your reader did not clear the afternoon for your brief. The judge has other motions. Your client has a business to run. Every unnecessary sentence gives that reader another reason to skim.
We understand this when we read someone else’s work. We complain about the wandering introduction, the sentence that takes three tries, the email that never gets to the point. Then we open our own drafts and do the same things.
Better writing starts with noticing those habits. You can improve the next email you send and the next motion you file. These 50 suggestions give you places to start. Pick a few, use them, and keep going.
1. Know what you want. Before drafting, finish this sentence: “After reading this, I want the reader to ___.” Decide before you begin.
2. Picture your reader. A client deciding whether to settle needs different information from a judge deciding a motion. Write for the person who must use what you provide.
3. Answer early if your client asks whether you recommend an appeal; answer before describing the procedural history. The explanation makes more sense once the reader knows your position.
4. Outline before drafting. List and arrange the points you need to establish. Discovering the structure now saves you from rearranging ten pages later.
5. Explain it out loud first. Tell a colleague what you are trying to say. Notice the ordinary words you use. Those words probably belong in the draft you have been struggling with.
6. Choose familiar words. Use “use” instead of “utilize” and “before” instead of “before.” Keep technical terms when they carry meaning that an ordinary substitute would lose.
7. Name the person acting. “The manager deleted the email” tells us more than “The email was deleted.” Use the active voice when the actor is known and matters.
8. Trade abstractions for specifics. “Communication deficiencies occurred” makes the reader decode your meaning. “No one told the driver the gate was locked” explains the problem.
9. Let verbs do their work. Change “decided” to “determined.” Change “conducted an examination of” to “examined.” Watch how often a weak verb drags an unnecessary noun behind it.
10. Keep subjects near verbs. A reader should not cross three parenthetical explanations to learn what the defendant did. Move the interruptions into separate sentences.
11. Give each sentence a manageable job. When a sentence explains the rule, summarizes two cases, and applies both, split it. Let the reader absorb each step before you ask for the next.
12. Vary sentence length. Short sentences emphasize. Longer ones explain relationships and carry the reader through an idea. A page of abrupt sentences can become exhausting.
13. Delete the announcement. “It is important to note that” usually adds nothing. Say what matters. The reader can decide whether it is important after you explain why.
14. Shorten the connecting phrases. Replace “because” with “because.” Look for phrases that occupy half a line while doing the work of one word.
15. Untangle negative statements. Instead of “did not fail to respond,” write “responded.” When a sentence contains several negatives, rewrite it so the reader can understand what actually happened.
16. Question your intensifiers. “Very,” “clearly,” and “obviously” often announce confidence without earning it. Delete them and see whether the facts still support the sentence. If they do not, fix the argument.
17. Replace accusations with facts. “Counsel ignored three emails requesting dates” gives the reader something to assess. “Counsel acted outrageously” mainly tells the reader how you feel about opposing counsel.
18. Remove needless pairs. “Every” usually means “each.” Examine doubled words instead of importing them from older forms. Keep meaningful distinctions.
19. Use consistent names. Calling someone “the purchaser,” “the claimant,” and “Ms. Lee” may suggest three people. Choose a clear label and stick with it.
20. Check your pronouns. When two men appear in a sentence, “he” can create a factual dispute you never intended. Repeat a name when the reader might otherwise guess.
21. Build paragraphs around one point. Start with the point, support it, and move on. If a paragraph changes direction halfway through, the second idea probably deserves its own paragraph.
22. Make headings useful. “The witness never inspected the stairs” tells the reader where an argument is going. “Additional considerations” makes the reader work to discover what the section covers.
23. Choose a sensible order. Chronology often helps explain events. An argument may work better organized by issue. Choose the order that helps this reader understand this problem.
24. Make dates earn their place. Include dates when timing matters. Otherwise, consider whether “three days later” explains the sequence more clearly than another month, day, and year the reader must calculate.
25. Explain what numbers mean. A change from $20,000 to $60,000 is a tripling. Give the underlying figures and the comparison when both help the reader appreciate the size of the change.
26. Select telling details. A photograph showing an unobstructed aisle may explain more than a paragraph calling the store safe. Choose details that advance the point instead of cataloging everything available.
27. Separate evidence from inference. A witness who cannot remember an inspection has not necessarily established that one did not occur. Describe the testimony accurately before explaining the conclusion you draw from it.
28. Address the difficult fact. Explain the damaging email before your opponent supplies the only interpretation. Acknowledge what it says and show how it fits with the rest of the evidence.
29. Show the reasoning. Do not jump from a quotation to “therefore, we win.” Explain which fact satisfies which requirement. The connection may be obvious to you because you know the file.
30. Lead with your strongest argument. Give your best point room to develop. Adding several weak arguments can distract from the one that deserves the reader’s attention.
31. Keep your temper off the page. Draft the angry version if you need to. Then rewrite it around the conduct, its consequence, and the relief you seek. Remove the personal commentary.
32. Quote selectively. Quote language whose wording matters. Summarize the rest accurately. A page of block quotations leaves the reader to supply the explanation you should have written.
33. Check what your sources support. Read the source behind each citation. Confirm that it supports the specific proposition beside it, including the qualifications you may be tempted to leave out.
34. Explain why a case belongs. A citation is more useful when the reader knows its relevance. Identify the holding or factual similarity that advances your argument instead of adding another unexplained reference.
35. Specify the requested action. End a motion by identifying the relief requested. End a decision email by stating what approval you need. The reader should know what happens next.
36. Write useful subject lines. “Approval needed for Friday mediation” helps a client sort priorities. “Update” does little. Let the subject line identify the matter and the reason to open the email.
37. Give clients your recommendation. Listing options is only part of the job. Explain which option you recommend and why, including the uncertainty that could change your advice.
38. Make deadlines visible. Put the requested response date beside the request. Do not hide it in a paragraph about background facts and assume the client will find it.
39. Translate procedure for clients. Explain what the next step means for their case, costs, or involvement. A client should finish your update knowing why the event matters to them.
40. Distrust copied language. Search reused documents for old names, dates, and assumptions. A paragraph from another case can sound polished while quietly importing facts that do not belong.
41. Finish a rough draft. Get the argument onto the page before polishing every line. Spending an hour perfecting the introduction will not help if the analysis later requires a different opening.
42. Edit in separate passes. Review the structure first, then the reasoning, then the sentences. Fixing commas while ignoring a missing analytical step produces tidy prose with a hole in it.
43. Read the draft aloud. Listen for places where you stumble or run out of breath. Your ear will catch awkward phrasing your eyes have learned to move past.
44. Create distance before revising. Set the draft aside when time allows. Coming back after another task can make a confusing passage visible again.
45. Outline the finished draft. Write a few words describing each paragraph’s point. Look for repetition and missing connections. Compare the actual structure with the argument you meant to make.
46. Ask for specific feedback. Ask a colleague where the argument loses them or what remains unanswered. “Does this look good?” invites reassurance when you need someone to identify a problem.
47. Learn from edits. Compare the revised document with your draft. Notice what your editor consistently removes or reorganizes. Apply those lessons in the next assignment.
48. Read beyond legal writing. Read essays, reporting, and fiction. Study how writers explain difficult subjects and move between ideas. Examine a paragraph that made you keep reading.
49. Use AI with editorial judgment. Ask it to identify repetition or a confusing transition. Evaluate each suggestion. A smoother sentence can still change your meaning or erase a qualification you need.
50. Proofread the version you will send. Review the final attachment, including the title, names, numbers, and requested relief. Open it as the recipient will. Last-minute revisions can introduce errors after the careful editing ends.
Start with the next document on your desk. Move the answer up. Explain the point that requires a second read. Cut the paragraph you included only because it was in the last brief. Keep practicing on each new assignment.
Someone will make time to read what you send. Make that time worthwhile.
Frank Ramos is a partner at Goldberg Segalla in Miami, where he practices commercial litigation, products, and catastrophic personal injury. You can follow him on LinkedIn, where he has about 80,000 followers.
The post 50 Ways Lawyers Can Improve Their Writing appeared first on Above the Law.
Your reader did not clear the afternoon for your brief. The judge has other motions. Your client has a business to run. Every unnecessary sentence gives that reader another reason to skim.
We understand this when we read someone else’s work. We complain about the wandering introduction, the sentence that takes three tries, the email that never gets to the point. Then we open our own drafts and do the same things.
Better writing starts with noticing those habits. You can improve the next email you send and the next motion you file. These 50 suggestions give you places to start. Pick a few, use them, and keep going.
1. Know what you want. Before drafting, finish this sentence: “After reading this, I want the reader to ___.” Decide before you begin.
2. Picture your reader. A client deciding whether to settle needs different information from a judge deciding a motion. Write for the person who must use what you provide.
3. Answer early if your client asks whether you recommend an appeal; answer before describing the procedural history. The explanation makes more sense once the reader knows your position.
4. Outline before drafting. List and arrange the points you need to establish. Discovering the structure now saves you from rearranging ten pages later.
5. Explain it out loud first. Tell a colleague what you are trying to say. Notice the ordinary words you use. Those words probably belong in the draft you have been struggling with.
6. Choose familiar words. Use “use” instead of “utilize” and “before” instead of “before.” Keep technical terms when they carry meaning that an ordinary substitute would lose.
7. Name the person acting. “The manager deleted the email” tells us more than “The email was deleted.” Use the active voice when the actor is known and matters.
8. Trade abstractions for specifics. “Communication deficiencies occurred” makes the reader decode your meaning. “No one told the driver the gate was locked” explains the problem.
9. Let verbs do their work. Change “decided” to “determined.” Change “conducted an examination of” to “examined.” Watch how often a weak verb drags an unnecessary noun behind it.
10. Keep subjects near verbs. A reader should not cross three parenthetical explanations to learn what the defendant did. Move the interruptions into separate sentences.
11. Give each sentence a manageable job. When a sentence explains the rule, summarizes two cases, and applies both, split it. Let the reader absorb each step before you ask for the next.
12. Vary sentence length. Short sentences emphasize. Longer ones explain relationships and carry the reader through an idea. A page of abrupt sentences can become exhausting.
13. Delete the announcement. “It is important to note that” usually adds nothing. Say what matters. The reader can decide whether it is important after you explain why.
14. Shorten the connecting phrases. Replace “because” with “because.” Look for phrases that occupy half a line while doing the work of one word.
15. Untangle negative statements. Instead of “did not fail to respond,” write “responded.” When a sentence contains several negatives, rewrite it so the reader can understand what actually happened.
16. Question your intensifiers. “Very,” “clearly,” and “obviously” often announce confidence without earning it. Delete them and see whether the facts still support the sentence. If they do not, fix the argument.
17. Replace accusations with facts. “Counsel ignored three emails requesting dates” gives the reader something to assess. “Counsel acted outrageously” mainly tells the reader how you feel about opposing counsel.
18. Remove needless pairs. “Every” usually means “each.” Examine doubled words instead of importing them from older forms. Keep meaningful distinctions.
19. Use consistent names. Calling someone “the purchaser,” “the claimant,” and “Ms. Lee” may suggest three people. Choose a clear label and stick with it.
20. Check your pronouns. When two men appear in a sentence, “he” can create a factual dispute you never intended. Repeat a name when the reader might otherwise guess.
21. Build paragraphs around one point. Start with the point, support it, and move on. If a paragraph changes direction halfway through, the second idea probably deserves its own paragraph.
22. Make headings useful. “The witness never inspected the stairs” tells the reader where an argument is going. “Additional considerations” makes the reader work to discover what the section covers.
23. Choose a sensible order. Chronology often helps explain events. An argument may work better organized by issue. Choose the order that helps this reader understand this problem.
24. Make dates earn their place. Include dates when timing matters. Otherwise, consider whether “three days later” explains the sequence more clearly than another month, day, and year the reader must calculate.
25. Explain what numbers mean. A change from $20,000 to $60,000 is a tripling. Give the underlying figures and the comparison when both help the reader appreciate the size of the change.
26. Select telling details. A photograph showing an unobstructed aisle may explain more than a paragraph calling the store safe. Choose details that advance the point instead of cataloging everything available.
27. Separate evidence from inference. A witness who cannot remember an inspection has not necessarily established that one did not occur. Describe the testimony accurately before explaining the conclusion you draw from it.
28. Address the difficult fact. Explain the damaging email before your opponent supplies the only interpretation. Acknowledge what it says and show how it fits with the rest of the evidence.
29. Show the reasoning. Do not jump from a quotation to “therefore, we win.” Explain which fact satisfies which requirement. The connection may be obvious to you because you know the file.
30. Lead with your strongest argument. Give your best point room to develop. Adding several weak arguments can distract from the one that deserves the reader’s attention.
31. Keep your temper off the page. Draft the angry version if you need to. Then rewrite it around the conduct, its consequence, and the relief you seek. Remove the personal commentary.
32. Quote selectively. Quote language whose wording matters. Summarize the rest accurately. A page of block quotations leaves the reader to supply the explanation you should have written.
33. Check what your sources support. Read the source behind each citation. Confirm that it supports the specific proposition beside it, including the qualifications you may be tempted to leave out.
34. Explain why a case belongs. A citation is more useful when the reader knows its relevance. Identify the holding or factual similarity that advances your argument instead of adding another unexplained reference.
35. Specify the requested action. End a motion by identifying the relief requested. End a decision email by stating what approval you need. The reader should know what happens next.
36. Write useful subject lines. “Approval needed for Friday mediation” helps a client sort priorities. “Update” does little. Let the subject line identify the matter and the reason to open the email.
37. Give clients your recommendation. Listing options is only part of the job. Explain which option you recommend and why, including the uncertainty that could change your advice.
38. Make deadlines visible. Put the requested response date beside the request. Do not hide it in a paragraph about background facts and assume the client will find it.
39. Translate procedure for clients. Explain what the next step means for their case, costs, or involvement. A client should finish your update knowing why the event matters to them.
40. Distrust copied language. Search reused documents for old names, dates, and assumptions. A paragraph from another case can sound polished while quietly importing facts that do not belong.
41. Finish a rough draft. Get the argument onto the page before polishing every line. Spending an hour perfecting the introduction will not help if the analysis later requires a different opening.
42. Edit in separate passes. Review the structure first, then the reasoning, then the sentences. Fixing commas while ignoring a missing analytical step produces tidy prose with a hole in it.
43. Read the draft aloud. Listen for places where you stumble or run out of breath. Your ear will catch awkward phrasing your eyes have learned to move past.
44. Create distance before revising. Set the draft aside when time allows. Coming back after another task can make a confusing passage visible again.
45. Outline the finished draft. Write a few words describing each paragraph’s point. Look for repetition and missing connections. Compare the actual structure with the argument you meant to make.
46. Ask for specific feedback. Ask a colleague where the argument loses them or what remains unanswered. “Does this look good?” invites reassurance when you need someone to identify a problem.
47. Learn from edits. Compare the revised document with your draft. Notice what your editor consistently removes or reorganizes. Apply those lessons in the next assignment.
48. Read beyond legal writing. Read essays, reporting, and fiction. Study how writers explain difficult subjects and move between ideas. Examine a paragraph that made you keep reading.
49. Use AI with editorial judgment. Ask it to identify repetition or a confusing transition. Evaluate each suggestion. A smoother sentence can still change your meaning or erase a qualification you need.
50. Proofread the version you will send. Review the final attachment, including the title, names, numbers, and requested relief. Open it as the recipient will. Last-minute revisions can introduce errors after the careful editing ends.
Start with the next document on your desk. Move the answer up. Explain the point that requires a second read. Cut the paragraph you included only because it was in the last brief. Keep practicing on each new assignment.
Someone will make time to read what you send. Make that time worthwhile.
Frank Ramos is a partner at Goldberg Segalla in Miami, where he practices commercial litigation, products, and catastrophic personal injury. You can follow him on LinkedIn, where he has about 80,000 followers.
The post 50 Ways Lawyers Can Improve Their Writing appeared first on Above the Law.
