Legal Writing
-
English Grammar and Usage, Federal Judges, Law Reviews, Legal Research, Richard Posner
Grammer Pole of the Weak: Backburner for the Bluebook?
Welcome to the latest edition of Above the Law’s Grammer Pole of the Weak, a column where we turn questions of legal writing and English grammar and usage over to our readers for discussion and debate. Last week, we found out that only 29% of our readers lie back and think of England when dealing […] -
English Grammar and Usage, Eugene Volokh, Reader Polls
Grammer Pole of the Weak: Punctuation and Quotation Marks
In last week's Grammer Pole, we called upon you to choose between nationalities instead of Supreme Court justices. When it comes to the placement of punctuation marks in relation to quotation marks, do you favor the British approach or the American approach? Let's review the differences.... - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Clarence Thomas, David Souter, English Grammar and Usage, John Paul Stevens, John Roberts, Reader Polls, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Grammer Pole of the Weak: Getting Possessive with SCOTUS
Welcome to the latest edition of Above the Law’s Grammer Pole of the Weak, a column where we turn questions of English grammar and usage over to our readers for discussion and debate. Last week, we found out that 52% of our readers thought it was acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition, but […]
-
English Grammar and Usage, Reader Polls
Grammer Pole of the Weak: Ending Sentences With Prepositions
In last week’s Grammer Pole, you voted to overwhelmingly approve the use of split infinitives. Fifty-three percent of Above the Law readers said that splitting infinitives is acceptable, even if it should be done sparingly. An additional forty percent said, “Yes. It’s great to liberally split infinitives!” This suggests to me that ATL readers are […] -
Blind Item, English Grammar and Usage, Federal Judges, Harvard Law Review, Reader Polls, Richard Posner
Grammer Pole of the Weak: Split Infinitives
In an event Lat did a few years ago at the University of Chicago with Judge Richard Posner, Judge Posner tossed out a delicious little blind item. He mentioned a federal judge in Chicago who would fire law clerks for what she viewed as a very grave offense: splitting infinitives in written work product. But is splitting infinitives really such a crime? -
Contracts, In-House Counsel, Practice Pointers
Moonlighting: Feeling the Kumbaya (Part II)
In Feeling the Kumbaya (Part I), we looked at how different the perspectives of business clients and in-house lawyers can be. Below are a few techniques that have helped me and my clients to feel the Kumbaya for each other (or at least have helped them to not think I’m only a total loser who […] -
In-House Counsel, Litigators
Inside Straight: Lost In Translation
In-house counsel columnist Mark Herrmann is begging for help here: If you have global responsibilities and are routinely dealing with documents created in languages that you don't speak, how do you assess outside counsel's skill at communicating? -
English Grammar and Usage, Reader Polls
Grammer Pole of the Weak: Post-Colon Capitalization
The most recent installment of Grammer Pole of the Weak showcased the sophistication of Above the Law readers. The poll results show that most ATL readers appreciate the distinction between “that” and “which” (which they like to show off in their legal writing). Today we tackle an issue that is less clear-cut, which will probably […] - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
English Grammar and Usage, John Roberts, Reader Polls, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Grammer Pole of the Weak: The Case of That v. Which
In last week's edition of Grammer Pole of the Weak, we turned to an issue of grammar with some stylistic flair that was brought to our attention by another member of SCOTUS, Chief Justice John Roberts. Roberts isn't a fan of the word "which" when used in legal writing. He much prefers use of the word "that".... -
Antonin Scalia, English Grammar and Usage, Reader Polls
Grammer Pole of the Weak: Substantive Footnotes
In Grammer Pole of the Weak — yes, “Grammer” is intentionally misspelled, as are “Pole” and “Weak” — we consider questions of English grammar and usage. Last week, for example, we looked at a fun an interesting topic: the adjectival use of “fun” (which over 85 percent of you support, even if traditionalists frown upon […] -
English Grammar and Usage, Reader Polls
Grammer Pole of the Weak: Got Any Fun Weekend Plans?
Everybody’s working for the weekend. But for now, while you’re still stuck at work, you should take a look at our latest Grammer Pole of the Weak, a column where we turn questions of English grammar and usage over to our readers for discussion and debate. Last week, we found out that even federal judges […] -
9th Circuit, Alex Kozinski, Benchslaps, Diarmuid O'Scannlain, Federal Judges, Reader Polls
Grammer Pole of the Weak: 'I Respectfully Dissental'
Above the Law readers are traditionalists in matters of grammar, usage, and writing style. How do y'all feel about neologisms? Let's look at two new words, coined by none other than the newly svelte Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.... -
Associate Advice, Litigators, Partner Issues, Small Law Firms
Small Firms, Big Lawyers: Supervising Partners and Teaching Partners
Recently, small firm columnist Jay Shepherd talked to a fourth-year-associate friend who'd been working at a new small firm for several months. When Shepherd asked him how it was going, his friend said "great" in a way that suggested anything but. A partner was making his friend's life a living hell. What made this partner so horrible? It wasn't so much that the partner was horrible. It was that he was merely a "supervising partner"....
Sponsored
Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so…
Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm.
Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get…
Sponsored
Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms.
Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use.
-
Antonin Scalia, English Grammar and Usage, Gender, Reader Polls
Grammer Pole of the Weak: Gender-Neutral Language and You
Happy Friday, and welcome to the latest edition of Above the Law’s Grammer Pole of the Weak, a column where we turn questions of English grammar and usage over to our readers for discussion and debate. Last week, we discovered that 82% of our readers are willing to strangle, maim, and kill over the use […] -
English Grammar and Usage, Reader Polls
Grammer Pole of the Weak: Are You Serial with That Comma?
Welcome to Above the Law's latest Friday series: Grammer Pole of the Weak. Readers, the title of this weekly poll is supposed to be ironic. Are you serial with all of these emails correcting our spelling? Speaking of being serial, let's turn to the topic of this week's discussion: the serial comma.... -
English Grammar and Usage, Reader Polls
Grammer Pole of the Weak: It's All Right?
Here at Above the Law, we've been discussing English grammar and usage forever -- well, at least since 2006. We've now decided to formalize the discussion. Every Friday we will raise an issue of grammar, spelling, or style, in our newest ATL feature: Grammer Pole of the Weak. Today's topic: "all right" versus "alright." Let's discuss.... -
English Grammar and Usage, Reader Polls, Small Law Firms
Small Firms, Big Lawyers: A Period Piece
My overlords here at ATL thought it would be fun to run a poll about whether there should be one space or two after a period. As if these things are decided by popularity, rather than by rules. This is strange, really, because just about all of you reading this are lawyers or studying to […] -
Basketball, Breasts, Non-Sequiturs, Sentencing Law, Sports, Wall Street
Non-Sequiturs: 08.02.11
* The NBA is suing its players for failing to negotiate in good faith. Funny, I think the players are acting with the same “good faith” NBA owners do when they steal teams from loving fan bases or hold cities hostage until they build new arenas. [WSJ Law Blog] * Having a drunk woman angrily […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Litigators
Inside Straight: If I've Got It, Then By God I'm Gonna Inflict It On You
A few months ago, I attended a hearing on a motion for a temporary restraining order. The judge came out on the bench and berated one side’s lawyers: “You filed these papers at midnight last night. Your brief is more than 70 pages long and has a foot of exhibits attached to it. I arrived […] -
In-House Counsel
Inside Straight: On Intelligent Delegation
Some tasks are meant to be delegated; others are not. Sometimes, whether the task is meant to be delegated depends on what the supervisor has in mind. Let’s think about three examples…