Practice Hacks Archives - The Successful Lawyer

Practice Hacks / Practice Survival Skills

Advice, Methods, and Resources for Improving Your Writing

Whether you like it or not, you’re a writer. Lawyers write emails and letters to our clients, opposing counsel, and the Court. We draft pleadings, briefs, and memoranda. We write articles for our local bar newsletter and for our website. Writing is ubiquitous in our practice. It can’t be ignored or done randomly.

How we communicate with clients and the Court reflects our professionalism and ethos. Will a Judge not give greater consideration to an argument that is clean, well laid out, and understandable? Of course, she will. How you present yourself on paper is how you are perceived by others: don’t be sloppy.

While I don't consider myself an ultimate authority on the subject (and continue to work on my skills), I’d like to share some ideas on improving your writing. These ideas are not my invention; most I’ve stumbled upon throughout my journey in law and life. But let me offer the following advice, methods, and resources for improving your writing and your communication skills more broadly:

Practice Hacks

...And Then I'll Be Happy

Lawyers suffer from this affliction, maybe more than most. We're never satisfied. For example, we either have too many clients or too few. We feel unappreciated by our clients or our families. We whine about mistreatment by our opponents and surly judges. It explains why many seek the "equanimity" of the bench: "If only I didn't have clients and pressing deadlines… then I'd be happy." It also explains why I often hear about the anticipated ecstasy of someone's upcoming retirement.

Practice Hacks

Reactivity 101

Bad things happen when you lose your cool. We can all recall times when somebody triggered us at a negotiation, turning the conference into a food fight. And the last thing a judge wants to hear is lawyers bickering at the bench. With our adrenaline addiction, ferocious egos, and competitiveness, few lawyers can control themselves when provoked. But this is precisely what we must do to be successful both as negotiators and advocates.