In Legal Writing, Passive Voice is not Your Friend…
by Andrew P. Connors on October 5, 2011
…although you should have an acquaintance with it. As a professor at the Legal Skills Prof Blog notes:
The rule I teach my students is that a writer should always use the active voice unless the writer has a specific reason to use passive. For example, the passive is useful for hiding the actor, which is often useful in persuasive writing.
The more basic point is that writers should never just blindly apply the rules, but they should always consider how that rule works in context. For example, I tell my students that they should always think about every word they write to make sure that every word has the meaning and emotion intended.
I agree. As I’ve stressed before (here, here, and here), good writing is key to success in law school and in the practice of law. Purposefully avoiding passive voice will generally make your writing better. However, there are times when passive voice is not only acceptable in legal writing, but is preferable to the active voice form of the sentence. So, you shouldn’t see passive voice with such frequency in your writing that you consider it your “friend,” but a casual acquaintance with these kinds of sentences is a good idea.
Getting Back to Posting
by Andrew P. Connors on October 5, 2011
I know its been a while since I’ve posted here. Suffice it to say, a lot of other things have been going on in my life recently that have left me distracted. Be that as it may, I’m going to try a little harder to put up some meaningful content here. I always seem to have a lot to say in my own internal soliloquy or to have a lot of time to bore some innocent bystanders. Going forward, I want to make sure some of these thoughts make it down on paper (or, at least, virtual paper.)
In the meantime, here are some oldies but goodies to read:
Does Law School Produce Lawyers?
by Andrew P. Connors on August 23, 2011
I previously wrote about the difficult decision to attend law school and the problem of unsatisfactory legal writing in law school. In the first article, I concluded that a prospective law student should consider–above all-else–whether he will enjoy reading, writing, and arguing and whether he has a reasonable aptitude for those things. Once at law school, the student should persevere unless substantially low grades or other concerns suggest that the love and aptitude the student once thought he had has vanished. In the second article, I commented on the intractable problem of the significant number of law students that seem unable to adequately write about a legal problem. There, I concluded that practice is the most essential thing required to improving legal writing. It seems to me that these two issues are interrelated, and an examination of them reveals much about whether law schools are actually producing “lawyers,” that is, professionals of reasonable competency.
The answer: “It depends.” As with any form of education, the institution can only go so far. I mentioned this in Notes to a Prospective Law Student. A law student must really practice if he wishes to build the foundation for success as a licensed professional. The practice of law must always include a significant amount of writing. How could it not? Yet, in legal academia, it is possible to avoid stringent writing to a significant degree. Exams do not necessarily require good writing; with the limited time and closed universe presented by an exam, professors are to some degree lenient on student writing on an exam. Some classes may require written assignments, but those assignments are not very rigorous and often lack depth. If a student avoids moot court, mock trial, or law review, he can probably mostly avoid tackling new and interesting legal problems, and avoid the nasty process of researching, writing, and thinking. To the extent the student may have some practice with these skills in an introductory research and writing course, expectations at that point are still low, and grading might again be relatively lenient. In any event, the best 1L researcher, writer, and analyst may not fare so well by his 3L year if he has managed to avoid practicing those skills. The same is true for attorneys in practice. That’s why they call it practice, right?
So what does this all mean? If you want to be a good lawyer, go out and be one. Having a “J.D.” or even an “Esq.” after your name won’t make you one. Work hard. Research and write often. Continually improve. Perhaps law schools should require more stringent writing of all students, but this can only go so far. You must make the difference in yourself through hard work and sacrifice. It is then when you will truly see the best shine through.
Walter Russell Mead Agrees
by Andrew P. Connors on August 18, 2011
I’ve previously mentioned some of the problems with the American education system, particularly the legal education system, here, here, and here. Walter Russell Mead shares some related thoughts over at his Via Meadia blog:
The truth is that if American high schools (and middle and elementary schools) were doing their jobs, many students could get all the formal education they need in 12 years.
In any case, we need to move from a ‘time based’ to a competency based educational system. You don’t get a high school diploma because you have spent 12 years in classrooms; you get a high school diploma because you have demonstrated a certain level of core competence.
A fortiori for BA, MA and JD and PhD degrees. American students could learn much more in much less time — and at much less cost — than they now do. Making this move quickly and effectively is one of the keys to American success in the new century.
IPad for Lawyers?
by Andrew P. Connors on August 17, 2011
I’ve had a few fellow lawyers suggest to me that the iPad is a wonderful tool for on-the-go lawyers (for a good site on the subject, check out the aptly named iPad for Lawyers.) I welcome readers thoughts on the subject. A few further questions come to mind. Is the iPad as practical for attorneys that don’t have a significant trial practice? What about the competing Samsung Galaxy Tab and HP Touch? What about a traditional laptop?
Comments are open.
