Write Like the Best
My experience is that many attorneys are dead wrong.
They think the best writing is what most people (including other attorneys) can’t follow, so they turn out the sort of convoluted, long-winded constructions that make professional writers wince, like this nonsense:
The term of this Agreement shall commence on the date hereof as first written above and shall continue in effect through December 31, 2007; provided that commencing on January 1, 2008 and each January 1 thereafter, the term of this Agreement shall automatically be extended for one additional year unless not later than twelve months prior to such January 1, the Company shall have given notice to Employee that it does not wish to extend this Agreement (which notice may not, in any event, be given sooner than January 1, 2008 such that this Agreement may not terminate prior to December 31, 2008); and provided, further, that notwithstanding any such notice by the Company not to extend, this Agreement shall automatically continue in effect for a period of 24 months beyond the then current term if a Change in Control (as defined in Section 3(i) hereof) shall have occurred during such term.
My experience is that the clerks and judges who have to read what attorneys write don’t appreciate convoluted, long-winded constructions. They value their time, and they don’t like to waste it trying to determine if a sentence is well formed, or not.
“Why can’t everyone write a brief like this? This attorney wrote just enough, and not one bit more.”
— Anonymous, Law Clerk in San Francisco.
If you think what’s hard to read is what’s well written, then ponder this article (“Five Ways to Write Like John ”) by Ross Guberman, a legal writing pro.
You might be interested in Wayne Schiess’s Ethical Legal Writing and you just might like to visit (but never be featured in) the Legalese Hall of Shame.
“I’m convinced that the most difficult skill for any lawyer to master is the ability to write with simplicity and clarity.”
— Mike Dillon, General Counsel for Sun Microsystems.
Well . . . if you’re an attorney and you think (or you’ve been taught to believe) that bad writing (e.g., too much copy & awkwardly arranged) is good (e.g., worth hundreds of dollars per hour), then read:
