How To Use An Apostrophe – A Grammar Cartoon

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The Oatmeal - How to Use an Apostrophe

Grammar and punctuation is SOOOO much easier when the instructions are illustrated! Are you stymied when deciding whether to include the apostrophe? Do you find yourself staring at the word “its” and wondering – “wait, does it need an apostrophe between the t and s or not?”

The Oatmeal has you covered. Now, you can be entertained by The Oatmeal’s witty grammar and punctuation comics AND relearn (or just plan learn) the rules. You’re welcome. (Note the correct use of the apostrophe to form a contraction. Many thanks to The Oatmeal.)

Tips From the Bench: Better Motions to Compel

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“Even at their best, motions to compel are usually one of the least favorite parts of the job. They are tedious and very fact intensive.”

The Honorable Randy Wilson, a District Court judge in Harris County, Texas, and a seasoned trial lawyer, wrote the above sentiment in “The Motion to Compel.”  Judge Wilson describes “bad” and “good” motions to compel from the Court’s view, which comes down to overall organization, not  poor writing or derogatory language, per se.  In Judge Wilson’s opinion, the best Motions to Compel group the disputed discovery requests by issue instead of methodically listing each request and leaving the judge to sort out which legal issue applies (note: make it easy for your reader).

For example, the “bad” Motion to Compel diligently listed each disputed request, stated the relevant objection, and argued why the requested information is relevant and why it should be produced. This “bad” type of Motion to Compel could have tens or even hundreds of objections and leaves the reader (ahem, the JUDGE who you are asking for help) to sort out the requests for him or herself and find the common denominators.  In other words, the “bad” Motion to Compel focused the judge’s attention on the trees with no direction as to how the trees were relevant to the forest.

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What Lawyers and Judges Can Learn About Writing From Great Writers

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In “What Great Writers Can Teach Lawyers and Judges: Wisdom from Plato to Mark Twain to Stephen King (Part I),” Douglas E. Abrams discusses what legal writers can take away from good writers. Part I examines master non-lawyer writers on precision and conciseness. According to Abrams, unlike non-lawyer writers, legal writers face a “hostile audience,” i.e., other lawyers, judges, and clerks who read to find weakness in arguments, factual statements, etc. For this reason, precision is critical to withstand such constant critical attack from the “hostile” reader. Precision comes from choosing your words very carefully, meticulous writing, and careful editing.  As for conciseness, no one said it better than Theodore Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss):

“[T]he writer who breeds/more words than he needs/is making a chore/for the reader who reads./That’s why my belief is/the briefer the brief is,/the greater the side/of the reader’s relief is.” 

Too bad Dr. Seuss never wrote a book on Legal Writing.

Briefs & Motions + Embedded Photos = Clear, Effective, and Persuasive

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Photographs are not just for Exhibit A and Exhibit B anymore. More state and federal practitioners are now including full-color embedded photographs in their motions and briefs.  Here is an example of embedded photographs in a Motion for Default and Dismissal from the United States District Court, District of Nevada.

Why paint a picture with words when you can just, well, paint with a picture?

Writing to Persuade: Helpful tips from the “Deciders”

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Bryan Pattison’s article, Writing to Persuade, published recently in the Utah Bar Journal describes the daily life of a litigator so accurately, that I feel compelled to include it verbatim.  From Writing to Persuade:

“What kind of lawyer are you?” The answer, of course, is easy: “I’m a litigator,” you respond. As you bask in the glow of that term and envision yourself in the courtroom shredding a witness on cross, you get the follow up question: “So what do you spend most of your time doing?” You think back to the past week. Then the week before that. The picture of the cross-examination fades. Time to come clean. “Writing,” you answer.

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