Time pressure in legal writing--advice sought
What advice can you give for producing good legal writing under time pressure?
Other factors contribute to mediocre legal writing, but time limits are huge. All lawyers know this. Even a law professor, like me, who sits in an office and thinks deep thoughts about legal writing, with rarely a client or a deadline in sight, knows this. I've been behind on a book manuscript, with a deadline looming. I've raced through commenting on a stack of memos or briefs and wished for more time to do a better job.
But time pressure is a constant. Lawyers at my seminars say it and then ask me for advice on writing better faster. I bumped into a former student recently, and when I asked him for ideas for my column on legal writing in Austin Lawyer magazine, he suggested "how to produce quality work in a hurry."
I do have some advice, but before I post it (re-post it, technically), I'd like to hear from you.
What advice can you give for producing good legal writing under time pressure?
Other factors contribute to mediocre legal writing, but time limits are huge. All lawyers know this. Even a law professor, like me, who sits in an office and thinks deep thoughts about legal writing, with rarely a client or a deadline in sight, knows this. I've been behind on a book manuscript, with a deadline looming. I've raced through commenting on a stack of memos or briefs and wished for more time to do a better job.
But time pressure is a constant. Lawyers at my seminars say it and then ask me for advice on writing better faster. I bumped into a former student recently, and when I asked him for ideas for my column on legal writing in Austin Lawyer magazine, he suggested "how to produce quality work in a hurry."
I do have some advice, but before I post it (re-post it, technically), I'd like to hear from you.
What advice can you give for producing good legal writing under time pressure?
Two things I've found that would help (if I actually followed my own advice):
Get organized from the get-go--get the legal issues out in the forefront and do some preliminary research so you have a broad perspective on your topic.
Next--and I think this was mentioned in a previous post--throw stuff on paper as quickly as possible. One problem I have is thinking too much instead of writing and then revising. If I wrote out a piece and then filled in gaps with supplemental research and careful editing, I'd save a lot of time.
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1. Understand your point thoroughly before beginning to write. [I don't know, however, that this suggestion will shorten total preparation time.]
2. Learn to type fast (at least 75 wpm). I don't think dictation is as fast as a fast, accurate typist.
3. Most importantly, work from an outline that evolves with the project. Use different kinds of outlines at different stages; I recommend dumping ideas into a computer-based "mindmap."
4. Work top down in the writing phase. Start by stating the issues. Outline in sentences, so the topics become candidates for headings.
5. Write the first draft in one day.
6. Write a lot. Practice makes faster. Don't aim for perfection but when you write, practice good writing, even if it means eating non-billable hours.
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I think the problem is unavoidable, at least to some degree.
What I do to combat it is put much more effort into forms than I do into specific matters. (I'm in-house, so I really mean form agreements and specific agreements.) I go over those regularly with an eye to improving them.
I then use them in two contexts:
1. When we get to use our form, I'm starting from something I like.
2. When I need a better clause for someone else's agreement, I cut it out of my form, paste it into the other side's agreement, and confirm defined terms.
Chris Lemens
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Here's my thoughts.
1. Don't freak out.
2. Say what you have to say, then move on. Use strait forward phrasing like: _______ should be ______'ed because _______.
3. Concentrate on structure. You should be able to read your topic sentences and grasp the full argument. Often, my topic sentences start out as outline bullet points.
4. Establish deadlines (i.e., I'll research until noon, outline until 1, eat lunch, write until 4, then take a break and re-assess).
5. Research thoroughly, but avoid over-researching. If you're researching authority in courts other than the one you're in and those directly above you, then you are probably wasting time. Also, borrow freely from on-point decisions and your own previous work; there's no reason to re-invent the wheel.
6. If you're concerned about time, the worst thing you can do is leave things for later. Leaving blanks for the letter assignments of your exhibits is acceptable because the order might change, but your citations should be written out properly in the first place.
7. Be organized. The only thing on your desk -- other than your computer, a picture of your wife or significant other, and a cup of coffee -- should be the project you're working on. If you're submitting to a trial court, get your exhibits together first. If you're submitting to an appellate court, you should have notes on the record well in advance of when you start writing.
8. Don't let a garbage paragraph stink up the rest of your writing. Sometimes, large swaths of a first draft need to be cut; the whole thing may have to be restructured. The fact that you have time pressure doesn't change this. If you have doubts, you can cut and paste your troublesome paragraphs somewhere out of the way in case you want to salvage them later.
9. Never submit something without first printing it and reading a hard copy (preferably out loud). If you wrote it in a rush, proofreading only becomes more important.
10. Don't be a hero. If you don't have time, or you think you might not have time, ask for an adjournment.
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Write less. If you're got a limit of 30 pages, don't write a brief that's 30 pages long.
If you're in a rush, don't proof the final yourself. If you do, you might find yourself blushing.
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