Subject Index Legal Writing

Sexy they're not, but grammatical rules and conventions are too important to ignore.

Put your nose on a diet? Tone up your grammar skills? Here's a legal writer's list of New Year's resolutions.

Don't try to understand the often picayune rules that govern typefaces, paper color and the like; just learn and follow them.

Don't underestimate the importance of interrogatories and other forms of written discovery as a way to glean information that can strengthen your case.

Interrogatories and depositions each have their strengths and weaknesses; here are basic guidelines for deciding when to use which discovery technique.

If you can persuade the judge that ruling in your client's favor means doing good, you'll probably do well.

A new book makes legal analysis as simple as one-two-three.

Name-calling brief writers get a pass; Gramm-Leach-Bliley may require lawyers to send privacy notices; and more.

It isn't too late to learn the all-but-lost art of proper punctuation.

We asked you, Gentle Readers, to send us writing that moved you. Here are excerpts from your responses.

For some communication, e-mail is just the thing; other times, only a phone call will do. As you think about what message to send, consider how best to send it.

Learn to counter your opponent's arguments without giving them too much weight.

Some writing has special power; the power to move people. And isn't that what lawyers aspire to do?

Want to improve your writing in a hurry? Go heavy on the verbs, easy on the nouns.

The Bluebook and Supreme Court Rule 6; you can't follow both.

Somewhere between "the one hand" and "the other" may be the answer your client hired you to provide.

A gallery of horrors awaits legal writers who aren't attentive to; or who play fast and loose with; the details.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, the new edition of the Bluebook is waiting to taunt you with its incomprehensible minutiae.

It may not be in your client's best interest to approach your relationship with opposing counsel as if it were war.

Find out what the best appellate lawyers and the Great Gretzky have in common.

Learning to be your own editor is an important but challenging job. This checklist can help you revise your own work.

Been a while since you sharpened your writer's saw? These books can help.

To be truly persuasive, don't just write a brief; tell a story.

Here's how to create an electronic brief that includes exhibits, signed documents; everything you'd include in a paper version. For an example, see /ibj/apr00lj/ebrief.pdf.

Okay, you've got a real job now; how do you transfer your writing skills from the classroom to the real world of lawyering? Here are some tips.

In the last two columns we looked at the drafting process and component parts of transaction documents.

Assemble the standard provisions and create the picture of a well-done deal.

Banks and title insurance; fees for foiled FOIA requests; crafting affirmative action plans; and more.

Drafting a seaworthy document requires more than pasting form provisions into place; you have to learn the facts and the law.

Move over Bluebook; a soon-to-be-released citation manual provides much clearer answers with many fewer words.