Legal Writing Prof Blog

errors in English

Want an amazing list of common usage errors in English?  Look no further (or is it farther?) than this website, a companion to Paul Brians's book covering that topic.

(njs)

word count

The following observation is currently circulating in cyberspace:

Pythagorean theorem: .... 24 words
Lord's prayer: ............... 66 words
Archimedes' principle: ..... 67 words
10 Commandments: .......179 words
Gettysburg address: .......286 words

Declaration of Independence: ... 1,300 words
US Government regulations on the sale of cabbage: ... 26,911 words

hat tip:  Prof. Scott Fruehwald, Hofstra University School of Law

(spl)

Lawyers and poetry

Lawyers and poetry--an unusual combination?  Not at all!!  The Legal Studies Forum, edited by James R. Elkins, occasionally publishes the poetry of contemporary lawyers.  The website includes an index of lawyer poets.  I note with some relief that my random sampling of poems uncovered none with law as its topic.

Hmm.  Wonder if haiku submissions are encouraged?

(njs)

literature for law students

For an interesting article explaining how law students and their writing may benefit by studying literature, see:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,4003-2189090,00.html.

This article reports the experience of a professor in the U.K.  Legal writing professors in the U.S. will see many familiar concerns.  I'm not sure if that's more comforting or more disconcerting.

(spl)

 

beach law?

In the spirit of the unofficial start to summer today, check out a website dedicated to beach law.  In what jurisdiction, you ask?  Well, of course, in California.  But I came here to read about legal writing, what's beach law got to do with legal writing, you say?  Scroll down just a tad at that site, and you'll see an amusing sign that cries out for better legal writing -- and more user friendly municipal legislation.

(spl)   

antique show in Atlanta June 9-11

Scott Antique Markets will hold one of its Atlanta shows from June 9-11.  Go to the Scott website for details.

(njs)

what to do in Atlanta--celebrate Coke!!

It may be hokey and commercial, but it's also fun and a celebration of American business savvy.  The Coke museum in downtown Atlanta also offers you the opportunity to ingest endless sugary tastes of Coke products from around the world, including flavors that defy description.

(njs)

Chicago Manual of Style

The Chicago Manual of Style not only has a website, but a forum where one can submit questions and get answers!!  Yow!!  What could be more fun than that? 

(njs)

General Order No. 11

Several U.S. towns claim to have held the first Memorial Day ceremony or to have been the crucible for the idea of the national Memorial Day.  Perhaps the most legit claim for the origins of Memorial Day in the U.S., because it is written authority, is General Order No. 11, issued by General John A. Logan after the Civil War.  General Logan hailed from Southern Illinois, and his Order is read every year at the Memorial Day ceremony at Woodlawn Cemetary in Carbdonale, Illinois, one of the claimants to the first such ceremony.

(spl)    

quotable

A brief should not consist of "an indiscriminate hotchpot discussion and dissertation upon law, mythology, Shakespeare, and the Bible."  Duncan v. Times-Mirror Co., 52 P. 651 (Cal. 1898).

(spl)

more to do in Atlanta

Staying right downtown?  Here are some things to do!!

(njs)

call for papers

If you are working on an article this summer and have been teaching no more than 5 years, consider submitting your work to the AALS Call for Scholarly Papers.  Your article has to be unpublished, and manuscripts are due by August 18th.  AALS assembles a group of experienced professors to read each entry and awards a first place and a few honorable mentions.  The first place winner will be invited to speak at the AALS annual meeting in Washington, D.C., the first week of January 2007.  It would be nice to have a legal writing professor receive that honor.

(spl)      

what to do in Atlanta

You may have heard about the controversial museum exhibit called "Bodies:  The Exhibit."  Well, it's in Atlanta at The Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center from March 4 to September 4.  For more information and tickets, go to http://www.clicknprinttickets.com/atlantabodies.htm. 

If you'd like to learn more about the exhibit, you can visit the official website.

(njs)

empirical legal studies

An announcement and call for papers has gone out for the First Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies.  Cornell Law School and the University of Texas School of Law are jointly organizing this conference, to be held October 27-28 in Austin, TX.  The deadline for submitting papers is June 30th, out-of-town paper presenters will receive $800 for travel expenses, and there is no charge for attending the conference.  Sounds like a good deal for anyone with a relevant article in the works. 

(spl)

serial commas

This nice little article explains the serial comma.  Click on "The Case of the Serial Comma" under the Articles listing on the right-hand side.

(njs)

diagnostics

Many legal writing professors are familiar with the excellent diagnostic tests (to gauge weaknesses in new law students' writing skills) in the comprehensive textbook by Oats & Enquist, The Legal Writing Handbook:  Analysis, Research, and Writing (4th ed., Aspen 2006).  Other sources for basic writing diagnostic tests and training include:

Diana Hacker's exercises, under "Additional Resources," at http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/bedhandbook/default.asp

Marc Grinker's exercises at http://www.kentlaw.edu/academics/lrw/grinker/LWTA.htm

hat tip:  Prof. Tracy McGaugh, South Texas College of Law

(spl)

recommended reading

Ever wonder how to capture that idealism that most new students start law school with?  Well, two legal writing professors suggest a way.  Michael Milleman and Steve Schwinn, both at the University of Maryland School of Law (pictured here left to right), argue that giving 1L's real legal work, for a real client, is a great way to teach the basics of legal research and writing, retain student idealism about being lawyers, and provide legal services for those who might not otherwise have representation.  You can access the article, Teaching Legal Research and Writing with Actual Legal Work:  Extending Clinical Education into the First Year, on SSRN.  (Scroll down there past the abstract for the links to the full text.)  (spl)

quotable

"Metaphors have a way of holding the most truth in the least space. "

- Orson Scott Card

(spl)

cartoon about typos

A nationally syndicated cartoon with humor about usage and grammar!!  See today's Luann comic strip.

(njs)

lovable deadlines?

"I love deadlines.  I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

--Douglas Adams (1952-2001), English humorist and science fiction novelist

(njs)