Attorneys like to say they “have to work on their writing.”
Translation: they’ve learn one thing they wrote, felt that little abdomen drop, and thought, This doesn’t sound like me. This doesn’t even sound clear.
Right here’s the excellent news: writing isn’t a expertise. It’s a talent. And abilities reply to the identical treatment as each different talent: reps.
Not glamorous reps. Not the type that will get applause.
The type you do in small rooms, when nobody is watching, if you’re just a little uncomfortable, if you need to give up midway by way of as a result of the sentence you simply wrote looks like moist cardboard.
That’s the work.
To develop your writing system, establish particular habits like outlining themes, drafting rapidly, and rewriting, as a result of concrete practices make enchancment tangible and achievable.
1. Cease writing to impress. Begin writing to be understood.
Most authorized writing issues aren’t “writing” issues. They’re intention issues.
When legal professionals sit down to jot down, too a lot of them try to:
- sound sensible;
- sound formal;
- sound “lawyerly”;
- keep away from being unsuitable; and
- cowl each base.
That’s how we find yourself with prose that’s technically appropriate however emotionally useless. It reads prefer it was drafted by a committee that hates the reader.
In case you take nothing else from this column, take this:
Your job is to not sound like a lawyer. Your job is to assist a reader determine.
That reader could be a decide who has 70 motions on the docket. Or an adjuster who’s scanning your demand at 11:30 p.m., or a basic counsel who’s attempting to clarify your recommendation to a CEO who doesn’t converse authorized.
Write to be understood. Every little thing else is ego.
2. Readability is kindness.
Some of the underrated types of professionalism is making it straightforward for folks to observe your considering.
Clear writing says, “I respect your time.”
The unclear writing says: “I’m going to make you’re employed for it.”
Readability isn’t dumbing issues down. It’s doing the onerous work up entrance, so the reader doesn’t must.
Need readability? Begin with construction.
Earlier than you write a single paragraph, reply:
- What’s the level?
- What does the reader have to know first?
- What do they should consider to agree with me?
Most authorized writing improves dramatically when the author outlines like a trial lawyer: theme, roadmap, proof.
In case you can’t say your level in a single sentence, you’re not prepared to jot down the temporary. You’re ready to suppose.
3. Overthinking is just not preparation.
Many legal professionals confuse rumination with readiness.
They’ll “analysis” for hours, maintain 24 instances open on their display, after which write three bloated pages that by no means land.
In some unspecified time in the future, it’s important to cease circling the runway and take off.
Allow your self to jot down an unsightly first draft, fostering confidence and decreasing worry of imperfection in your writing course of.
Not a “tough” draft. An unsightly one.
Put the purpose on paper. Get the details down. State the rule. Make the argument. Don’t polish whilst you’re drafting. Sharpening too early kills momentum.
Drafting is for getting it out. Enhancing is for making it good.
Totally different muscle groups. Totally different phases. Don’t mix them.
4. The primary draft is the place you inform your self the story. The rewrite is the place you say to the reader.
In case you’re not rewriting, you’re not writing — you’re typing.
And should you’re a younger lawyer, rewriting is the place you separate your self from the pack.
The very best writers are usually not those who “get it proper the primary time.” They’re those who’re keen to chop, tighten, and make clear with out getting emotionally hooked up to their authentic phrasing.
A mindset shift that helps: suggestions is knowledge, not a verdict.
If a accomplice marks up your draft as if it owes them cash, that’s not an indication you’re horrible. It’s an indication you’re within the enviornment, studying in public. The one individuals who don’t get edited are those who don’t write.
So don’t sulk. Examine the edits. Search for patterns. Are you:
- burying the lead?
- hedging?
- over-qualifying?
- explaining what’s apparent?
- Avoiding the important thing sentence as a result of it feels too direct?
That’s the true lesson.
5. Earn the reader’s consideration early by beginning with a transparent level or hook that makes them really feel acknowledged and revered for his or her time.
Authorized writing has a nasty behavior: it begins sluggish.
“COMES NOW the Defendant…”
No. Cease. Your reader is just not warmed up. They aren’t impressed. They aren’t settling in with a cup of tea, delighted to listen to your ideas.
They’re busy.
Begin with the hook. The purpose. The why-now.
Strive openers like:
- “This movement is about one concern: __.”
- “The query is easy: __.”
- “Plaintiff’s concept fails for a primary cause: __.”
You will be skilled with out being ceremonial.
If you wish to write persuasively, it’s important to take duty for the reader’s consideration span. Please don’t make them hunt for the purpose, as if it had been hidden in a scavenger hunt.
6. Shorter is more durable. Do the more durable factor.
Most legal professionals over-write as a result of it’s safer.
Extra phrases really feel like extra safety. Extra caveats really feel like fewer dangers.
However in persuasion, additional phrases are normally additional exits for the reader.
Right here’s an train that can change your writing quick: After you end a draft, attempt to minimize 15% with out dropping which means.
Then minimize one other 10%.
You’ll be shocked at how a lot it improves if you get rid of:
- throat-clearing
- redundant phrases
- pointless adverbs
- passive voice
- “It’s properly established that…”
Don’t simply “edit.” Lower with goal.
Write like each sentence prices cash.
7. Study to like plain phrases.
“Make the most of” is just not higher than “use.”
“If” is just not higher than “if.”
“Earlier than” is just not higher than “earlier than.”
Fancy phrases don’t elevate authorized writing. They weaken it. Fancy language creates distance. Plain language creates belief.
And if you’re writing for a consumer — particularly a scared, burdened, non-lawyer consumer — plain language is empathy in motion.
Your reader shouldn’t want a decoder ring to know what you’re saying.
8. Learn it out loud. Sure, actually.
That is essentially the most simple hack I do know, and it’s the one most legal professionals refuse to do as a result of it feels bizarre.
Learn the draft out loud.
In case you stumble over a sentence, your reader will stumble too.
In case you run out of breath, the sentence is simply too lengthy.
If it seems like one thing no human would ever say, you’ve drifted into Legalese Land.
Writing is spoken language cleaned up. If it doesn’t sound like an individual, it gained’t learn like an individual.
9. Enhance your writing the best way you enhance the rest: reps + evaluate.
If you wish to turn out to be a greater author, don’t make it mystical. Make it mechanical.
Right here’s a easy system you may run with out altering your life:
Three reps per week:
- Rewrite one thing you already wrote (an e mail, a case notice, a brief movement part). Tighten it. Make clear it. Shorten it.
- Write 200–300 phrases on one thought you perceive properly. No citations. Simply an evidence. Faux you’re instructing a sensible pal.
- Copyedit one nice web page of writing you admire. To not plagiarize — to review rhythm and construction. Ask: How does the author transfer the reader?
And right here’s the half most individuals skip:
Overview.
Have a look at what you probably did. What labored? What didn’t? What would you modify subsequent time?
That’s the way you get higher. Not by hoping. By monitoring.
Vital enchancment comes from boring every day math.
10. Develop a voice by telling the reality — professionally.
Plenty of legal professionals need “voice,” however they’re afraid of being human on the web page.
Voice doesn’t imply being dramatic. It means being actual.
It means writing with:
- candor;
- specificity;
- conviction;
- and just a little little bit of you.
In case you’re writing an e mail to opposing counsel, your “voice” could be calm, direct, and agency. In case you’re writing to a consumer, it could be clear, regular, and reassuring. In case you’re writing a quick, it could be assured, organized, and restrained.
Voice is just not persona for its personal sake. It’s the tone that earns belief within the context you’re in.
And if you wish to construct that voice sooner, write publicly typically. A brief LinkedIn put up. A bar publication. A practice-group notice. To not “construct a model,” however to get reps at explaining concepts clearly.
You don’t get higher by ready for confidence. You get higher by writing anyway.
A closing thought
In case you’re a younger lawyer and you’re feeling behind, you’re not.
Most legal professionals by no means deliberately enhance their writing. They maintain producing pages and hoping the pages get higher by osmosis.
They don’t.
However should you determine — at this time — that you simply’ll do reps and rewrites, you’ll separate your self rapidly. Inside a yr, folks will begin saying, “Have them draft it.” And that’s when doorways open.
Writing is leverage on this career.
It’s the way you persuade. It’s the way you lead. It’s the way you earn belief if you’re not within the room.
So don’t look forward to an ideal schedule or excellent inspiration.
Write. Rewrite. Lower. Make clear.
And maintain going — particularly when it’s ugly.
That’s the half that counts.
Frank Ramos is a accomplice at Goldberg Segalla in Miami, the place he practices business litigation, merchandise, and catastrophic private harm. You’ll be able to observe him on LinkedIn, the place he has about 80,000 followers.
