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Writing Elite Briefs and Motions
Slides from last week's CLE to the Texas Office of the Attorney General
Ryan McCarl
Apr 30
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Writing Elite Briefs and Motions
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Elegant Legal Writing: An Interview with Ryan McCarl
Ryan McCarl discusses legal writing on the California Appellate Law Podcast.
Ryan McCarl
Feb 19
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Elegant Legal Writing: An Interview with Ryan McCarl
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Start writing projects with a template or model
Lawyers shouldn't start new writing projects with a blank page.
Ryan McCarl
Feb 4
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Start each writing project with a template or model
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How to create a Table of Authorities in a legal brief
How lawyers can use Microsoft Word to mark citations and create a Table of Authorities in briefs and motions.
Ryan McCarl
Jan 30
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How to create a Table of Authorities in a legal brief
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Try to work in a state of flow.
Writing comes easiest when you are fully absorbed in the work.
Ryan McCarl
Nov 22, 2021
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Try to work in a state of flow.
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Learn to diagnose and improve weak legal writing.
A central goal of this newsletter is to help you diagnose problems with turgid writing. You should develop a checklist of common problems to watch for…
Ryan McCarl
Nov 10, 2021
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Learn to diagnose and improve weak legal writing.
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Remember the reader
Lawyers should write with their audience in mind.
Ryan McCarl
Nov 8, 2021
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Remember the reader
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Use footnotes effectively
Legal stylists disagree on how often lawyers should use footnotes and what they should use them for.
Ryan McCarl
Jul 28, 2021
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Use footnotes effectively
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Provide appropriate factual context for your citations.
When citing precedents, you often need to provide some factual context to assure the reader that they apply.
Ryan McCarl
Jul 26, 2021
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Provide appropriate factual context for your citations.
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Show respect for judges, even when they are wrong.
Referring to judges correctly and deferentially is a nonnegotiable requirement of strong legal writing.
Ryan McCarl
Jul 20, 2021
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Show respect for judges, even when they are wrong.
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Write with a professional tone
Your prose should be understated and focused on effective persuasion.
Ryan McCarl
Jul 19, 2021
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Write with a professional tone
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Avoid clichés
Think twice the next time you consider writing that something is "crystal clear."
Ryan McCarl
Jul 13, 2021
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Avoid clichés
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