en, are a few tips gleaned from a few years attempting to do just that:

• Know your audience. For lawyers this means really thinking about who is going to be reading your writing. If you’re making or opposing a motion in a bus

Last week I received an email from an associate with an attachment – a one page letter to adverse counsel. The email was one sentence: “Is this okay to send?” Here are the first two lines of the attached letter, word for word, the punctuation as it was in the letter:

This letter hereby rejects your notice of EBT dated March 23, 2007 of the father of my client scheduled for August 23, 2007. I admit I had a good laugh when I opened it considering we spoke just last week and you told me you were looking to get me a date for your clients deposition that you had previously requested to be adjourned.

Yes, that was actually written by a lawyer. I still can’t read it without cringing. Unfortunately, the same can be said about much of what we write. It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, as lawyers, language is perhaps our most important tool. The clearer, more concisely we write the better off we’ll be. Here then, are a few tips gleaned from a few years attempting to do just that:

• Know your audience. For lawyers this means really thinking about who is going to be reading your writing. If you’re making or opposing a motion in a busy

unctuation as it was in the letter:

This letter hereby rejects your notice of EBT dated March 23, 2007 of the father of my client scheduled for August 23, 2007. I admit I had a good laugh when I opened it considering we spoke just last week and you told me you were looking to get me a date for your clients deposition that you had previously requested to be adjourned.

Yes, that was actually written by a lawyer. I still can’t read it without cringing. Unfortunately, the same can be said about much of what we write. It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, as lawyers, language is perhaps our most important tool. The clearer, more concisely we write the better off we’ll be. Here then, are a few tips gleaned from a few years attempting to do just that:

• Know your audience. For lawyers this means really thinking about who is going to be reading your writing. If you’re making or opposing a motion in a bus

st last week and you told me you were looking to get me a date for your clients deposition that you had previously requested to be adjourned.

Yes, that was actually written by a lawyer. I still can’t read it without cringing. Unfortunately, the same can be said about much of what we write. It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, as lawyers, language is perhaps our most important tool. The clearer, more concisely we write the better off we’ll be. Here then, are a few tips gleaned from a few years attempting to do just that:

• Know your audience. For lawyers this means really thinking about who is going to be reading your writing. If you’re making or opposing a motion in a bus

nfortunately, the same can be said about much of what we write. It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, as lawyers, language is perhaps our most important tool. The clearer, more concisely we write the better off we’ll be. Here then, are a few tips gleaned from a few years attempting to do just that:

• Know your audience. For lawyers this means really thinking about who is going to be reading your writing. If you’re making or opposing a motion in a bus

en, are a few tips gleaned from a few years attempting to do just that:

• Know your audience. For lawyers this means really thinking about who is going to be reading your writing. If you’re making or opposing a motion in a busy New York City trial court and draft a 30-page brief, don’t expect it will be read. Conversely, if you’re submitting papers to a Federal District Court it ought to be perfect because the Judge – and her law assistant – will read every word.

• As Thomas Jefferson said, “[t]he most valuable of talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” In other words, cut the fat.

• Don’t use “then” when you mean “than.” This is one of the most common – and awful – mistakes I’ve seen over the years. “Then” refers to a point in time. “Than” refers to a choice, or “as opposed to.” Thus, “I’d rather watch TV than do chores,” or “I then decided I’d better get to work.” The two words cannot be used interchangeably.

• Use apostrophes appropriately. Just because a word ends in “s” doesn’t mean an apostrophe precedes the “s.” Thus, serving more than one subpoena does not make the word “subpoena’s.”

• A