A Sign of the Times
The legal writing region is abuzz with Bryan Garner’s interviews with the justices of the Supreme Court. He asks them about legal writing, and they say what they think.
Before you listen to the interviews, listen to some news. Listen as Senator Clinton is asked about this or that. And listen to her response. Nine times out of ten, her response begins with some emphatic version of, “Well, ya know . . . .”
Grade her as if she was speaking at a Toastmaster’s meeting; i.e., give her a demerit each time she says, “Well, ya know . . . .” Then, listen to Garner’s interview with Ruth Bader Ginsburg and grade it the same way.
Change stations. Listen to Senator Obama say what he thinks. Grade him as if he was speaking at a Toastmaster’s meeting; i.e., give him a demerit each time he says “ah,” “eh,” or “um.” Count the demerits. Then, listen to Garner’s interview with John Roberts, and grade it the same way.
It’s interesting. Except for Roberts, the justices rarely use “ah,” “eh,” or “um.” Extremely rare is their use of sophomoric phrases like “Well, ya know.”
The significance? The public doesn’t much care whether the president of the United States can speak well (and hasn’t for many years). And the public has no idea whether the president can write well. Who cares? In the land of No Child Left Behind, such skills are not relevant.
_____________
Listen to the interviews, if you have the time. If not, just accept my summary of what the justices have to say about legal writing:
- Authors of briefs submitted to the court should quit trying to be as hifalutin as possible. Simpler is better.
- Briefs should be brief; they should be concise, and succinct. If ten paragraphs can be whittled down to two, they certainly should be whittled.
- Authors should edit their briefs, over and over again.
- Authors should write in an interesting and engaging manner. They should tell stories rather than recite facts.
That’s the essence of what they say.
Plus this: if you haven’t learned to write well before you get to law school, forget it. You probably never will.
19 March 2008 at 18:37
I disagree with your last two sentences. I have improved my writing since entering law school–mainly by reading Bryan Garner’s books, repeatedly. If you go to law school, and think you’re going to get taught how to write, or think you will learn to write from reading opinions, then, sure, you’ll never learn to write well. But if you’re proactive, and read the great literature on writing, then you will learn to write well. I recommend starting with Garner’s books. He quotes the great writing literature. So you can branch out from his works. But anyone can, and should, learn how to write well.
21 March 2008 at 14:01
Interesting. I guess determination might be a factor.
I suppose that, were I a legal writing instructor confronted with students who couldn’t write well, I’d tell them to take some writing classes. Learning to write’s a bit like learning to play the piano: you can make much better progress with a teacher, than without.