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When criticizing, be careful
Experienced lawyers sometimes criticize the writing of younger lawyers. It’s common. Being a writing teacher, I hear it a lot. But if you criticize the writing of others, especially younger lawyers, be careful. Make sure your own writing is up to high standards.
Today I read some writing by a lawyer I know, a lawyer who has criticized the writing of younger lawyers. What I read today had 10 mistakes in it—7 if you don’t count duplicates.
So be careful. This isn’t the first time I’ve posted about this.
I teach online audio CLE courses
Common writing problems
I read a lot of legal writing, but I also read news, nonfiction books, and other professional writing. Some of the writing I read is not so great. Here are the most common writing problems I see across all forms of professional writing, not just legal writing:
- Using bigger, more abstract, and more complex vocabulary than necessary.
- Writing sentences that are too long.
- Using noun forms where verb forms would be better.
- Using passive voice unjustifiably.
- Failing to catch small writing mistakes.
- Using unwarranted variation.