I suggest the underlying reason is that lawyers are afraid to be stupid.<\/strong><\/p>\n Tons of articles counsel lawyers and the general public about how to overcome procrastination.<\/a>\u00a0These articles are full of good ideas. I especially like the suggestion to just commit to working on a writing project for five minutes. Voila! Those five minutes turn into a much longer session, and you\u2019ve made significant headway.<\/p>\n So what should you do when you actually start?<\/p>\n Sit at your keyboard and let it all come out. Every idea about why your opponent is an idiot.<\/a> Every nasty thought. You can even criticize prior rulings by your judge. Go ahead and vomit on the page (metaphorically).<\/p>\n Of course, the nasty thoughts wedged into the document you are creating are only a tiny percentage of the whole argument your fingers are pounding out. Presumably, you\u2019re creating good stuff that just needs calm editing. After transforming all your emotions into text, take a break before editing.<\/p>\n Huge warning here<\/strong>. If you are composing in an email or even thinking of attaching your draft nastygram to an email, do not fill in the To field. It\u2019s too easy to accidentally send your most vituperative thoughts. Doing that would indeed be stupid.<\/p>\n One way to approach this is to ask AI to put together a document based on your angry thoughts. By now, most of us have learned that good prompt engineering has to be among our skills.<\/p>\n So yes, share the full range of your thoughts with your AI engine of choice. Provide plenty of facts and relevant law. Don\u2019t input anything identifying or confidential.<\/p>\n It\u2019s OK to sound off. \u201cI\u2019ve got this case on contingency and can\u2019t waste time on b\u2014sh\u2013 motions, and the court doesn\u2019t have time for it either. Is there a better way to say this?\u201d<\/p>\n The output may be helpful or maybe not so much. Verify any references to original sources<\/a>. Assuming there is something to salvage, incorporate the good ideas into your original draft and revise to humanspeak.<\/p>\n Then go back and delete the conversation from the AI engine.<\/p>\n I recently wrote an email to protest a string of commitments that were never fulfilled. I referred to lies and hollow promises.<\/p>\n And then I revised. I took out the inflammatory language. I even used the word \u201cplease.\u201d<\/p>\n Remember that old chestnut about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar? I want positive, responsive action. I don\u2019t want to raise the opponent\u2019s ire so that they are motivated not to give me what I want.\u00a0And then there\u2019s all that stuff about civility<\/a> in the Rules of Professional Conduct.<\/p>\n Winston Churchill said, \u201cPerfection is the enemy of progress.\u201d You don\u2019t want to transmit a truly stupid response, but creating a stupid, imperfect first draft is a good way to get your creative juices flowing. Revise a couple of times. The final version can be smart even if it isn\u2019t perfect.<\/p>\n![\"why](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/why-lawyers-procrastinate-about-writing-.jpg?resize=770%2C495&ssl=1\" "\\"\\"")
Table of contents<\/h2>\n
\n
You\u2019ve Heard It Before<\/h2>\n
Be Really Stupid \u2014 But Cautious<\/h2>\n
Should You Let AI Take Over?<\/h2>\n
You Can Be Smart Later<\/h2>\n
\nGet to the Point!<\/h2>\n
![\"Order](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Get-to-the-Point-Order-of-Adjectives.jpg?resize=770%2C495&ssl=1\" "\\"\\"")
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