From the
Executive Director Stuart Zanville
Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
Becoming a better legal writer Advice from a journalist, an English author and the U.S. Supreme Court
From the Executive Director The first column that I wrote for the
Advocate appeared in 2004. The topic was writing. In the years since, I have returned to
Stuart Zanville CAALA
that topic in numerous columns. You might think it’s because my professional and educational background is Communication, a topic that I care a lot about. But that’s not the real reason. The real reason is that as Executive
From the Executive Director
Director of Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles I read a lot of material written by our members, i.e. letters, articles, memos,
Stuart Zanville CAALA
briefs, motions, and lots and lots of e- mails. The more I read, the more I realize that for trial lawyers, writing and commu- nication is their greatest strength and also their greatest weakness. For the past seven years I have
attempted to offer advice to trial lawyers about how to write better. The column you are now reading is also about writing, but the advice is not from me, it’s from a famed English author, a Portland legal journalist and the United States Supreme Court.
Stuart Zanville Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
LEGAL MALPRACTICE Any underlying case/transaction, fee disputes, ethics, 43 years
EXPERT WITNESS From the
Executive Director By Stuart Zanville
Phillip Feldman, BS, MBA, JD, AV (PEER Rated) Bd. Cert. Legal Malpractice ABPLA & ABA Also State Bar Defense (818) 986-9890
Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
www.LegalMalpracticeExperts.com E-mails:
legmalpexpert@aol.com StateBarDefense@aol.com
Legal Nurse
& Certified Medicare Set-Aside Consultant
Decipher, summarize & organize medical records Prepare medical chronologies Medical bill review and audit
Kathy Cross, R.N., B.S., MSCC (805) 577-7851
www.deciphermed.com 94— The Advocate Magazine JULY 2011
Good advice for lawyers Nearly 65 years ago, English author
and journalist George Orwell wrote a remarkable and still relevant essay about the sad state of the English language (“Politics and the English Language,” 1946). In it he urged his readers to “Cut out all stale or mixed images, all prefabricated phrases, needless repetitions, and hum- bug and vagueness generally.” Steven T. Taylor is an award-winning
journalist from Portland who has written about the legal profession for more than 15 years. Six months ago Taylor wrote an article for the Attorney at Work Web site’s Daily Dispatch. In it he wrote “Let’s face it: The legal profession is fraught with stilted language, circular constructions, pomp and its detestable buddy circum- stance. Read nearly any statute, court decision or brief and you might feel you’ve fallen into that ‘Twilight Zone’ episode where every sentence that the central character hears or reads is a non sequitur.” In 2008, legal author and editor
Bryan Garner interviewed all but one of the justices of the United States Supreme Court about how they write their opinions, what they look for in briefs and the art of legal writing generally. The interviews have been published in The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing. Scribes – the American Society of Legal Writers – is an organiza- tion that teaches lawyers how to write. The 192-page publication finds common themes that run through the interviews with the justices – themes about clarity and simplicity, overlong briefs, attending to grammar and the professional need to cultivate strong writing skills. Orwell, Taylor and the Supreme
Court Justices each offered simple rules and advice that readers of this column should pay attention to if they want to become better writers and communica- tors. The similarities among them are remarkable.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104