Legal Writing

Does Congress Need to Be Held Back a Grade?

There are various software tools available that will let you determine the "grade level" and/or complexity of a particular piece of text. The Sunlight Foundation ran a couple of decades' worth of the Congressional Record through one of them, and the…


Buddy Trahan Needs a Ride

The beginning of a motion filed in Louisiana on February 21, 2012: IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTFOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA  IN RE: OIL SPILL by the OIL RIG "DEEPWATER HORIZON"                 …


Warranty Coverage for Space-Invasion Damage Now Unclear

As several sources reported last week, the ASUS computer company had been offering a special extended warranty program that looked pretty good except for the express exclusion of coverage for "damage caused by natural disaster, intentional or unintentional misuse, acts…



Blog Voted “Most Fun,” Claims Lawyer

 — PRESS RELEASE —  Lowering the Bar Again Selected by ABA Journal as a Top 100 Blawg The editors of the ABA Journal have again chosen Lowering the Bar, written by Kevin Underhill of Shook, Hardy & Bacon, as one…


Happy Legal Holidays

Here’s a holiday email that a reader received from another lawyer:  Wishing you all the best for the Holidays and a wonderful New Year!This e-mail may contain confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify…


NOTE: “Catholic Beast” Is Not a Legal Term of Art

Further, using this term in a brief to refer to a judge in your case is not recommended. In fact it is super-highly unrecommended. The Wall Street Journal reports today that a civil-rights group has filed a bar complaint concerning…


TIP: Courts Frown on Lawyer “Gibberish”

As we have seen, one of the more important legal skills is the ability to get other people to understand what the hell you are talking about. See Order Denying Motion for Incomprehensibility, In re King (Bankr. W.D. Tex. Feb. 21, 2006)…


Bad Law Book Titles #1

Quit kidding around, whoever hasn't been taking this seriously. It's not me — I just checked, and I've used that phrase exactly once, back when Robert Blake was in jail on suspicion of killing his wife, and he was recorded…


Plaintiff Compares Former Boss to Sauron, Self to Baggins

Analogies are tricky in legal writing, mainly because of the risk you may stretch one too far and lose credibility. This one might have been a bit overstretched. According to the Telegraph, which reported the story in November 2010 and…