Lawyering Skills
We have suggestions regarding legal writing, client communication, continuing legal education, and more. You will also want to review our posts on legal ethics, practice management, and legal marketing.
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Use 5-Cent Words for 10-Dollar Ideas
To convey big ideas in your legal writing, use short, familiar Anglo–Saxon words.
Undertaking a Task for the First Time
There are lots of opportunities for a junior attorney to undertake a task for the first time. How to make it look like you know what you're doing?
Three Grammar Rules to Forget (Because They’re Wrong)
Remember those grammar rules you learned back in grade school? It's time to forget them.
Storytime: How Lawyers Can Use Narrative Techniques in Brief Writing
There has been a growing movement toward the use of the narrative style in legal writing. Here's how to do it.
Don’t Suck at Networking Lunches
Creating professional relationships means being yourself, respecting the other person's time, and following up.
How to Defend a Deposition: Just Show Up
Protecting your client in a deposition is a matter of showing up. Plain and simple.
Let’s Consider “Deem” Dead
"Deem" has multiple meanings, and lawyers love to use all of them. The result, as with so much legalese, is confusion. Don't use "deem."
Book Review: Thrive (a New Lawyer’s Guide to Law Firm Practice)
Thrive (a New Lawyer's Guide to Law Firm Practice) is the perfect graduation gift for new lawyers starting big firm practice.
The Real Cost of a Problem Client
The hidden costs of a problem client can easily outweigh the fee they paid.
Do It Like Hugh: 3 Lessons for Lawyers from Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner
Playboy founder Hugh Hefner appeals to logic - not emotion - in his business. Surprised? 3 take-aways for lawyers.
Andy and Matt Presenting “Effective Legal Writing — Getting Back to Basics” Webinar on April 12th
Our legal-writing mavens, Andy Mergendahl and Matt Salzwedel, will be presenting a 2-hour webinar on legal writing at 9:30 a.m. (Central) on April 12th. They will cover the basics of brief writing and contract drafting, and give tips on appellate and district court practice. You can watch online, although you won’t get to see their [...]
Effective Writing is Efficient Writing
To write efficiently, uncover buried verbs and cut useless prepositions. Clients appreciate efficiency and the courtesy that comes with it.
Visiting a Client in Jail
Some things to think about when planning a visit with an incarcerated client. What can you bring to a jail? How can you make sure there are no issues?
Treating the Senior Partner Like a Client
Treat the partner like the client. The approach means that I am producing top-quality work, offering solutions, and thinking about next steps.
3 Judicial Opinions that Rhyme
Judges spend all day reading dry, often badly-written prose, and writing even drier prose. It is no wonder that they will jump at an excuse to exercise their creativity. One of the ways that typically manifests is, for some reason, in poetry. Here are three opinions in verse to start out your Friday.
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