Not this:
To the Honorable Judge of said Court:
Comes now Guy Walt Williams, Plaintiff in the above styled and numbered cause, and files this his response to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment and would respectfully show unto the court as follows:
Th
Relax the Tone: eliminate the jargon known as legalese
Not this: Prior to October 2012, Plaintiff became addicted to narcotics and had purchased cocaine on Company premises for a number of uears.
This: Sometime before October 2012, Kent Smith became addicted to narcotics and had started buying cocaine while a
Populate your sentences. Use real names (not procedural labels), settle on name per party, and dispense with courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., Ms.)
Not this: This theory is a drastic departure from the put forth by plaintiff at the time when his experts were deposed by defendants.
This: This theory differs radically from Mile's earlier one
Slash unnecessary words
Not this: Russell and Livington is presently representing five-creditors in the Chapter 11 case.
This: Russel and Livingston now represents five creditors in the Chapter 11 case.
Supplant be-verbs with action verbs.
Not this: Defendant is contending that delays on the part of Penney have resulted in delays by Defendant.
This: Kosko claims the Penney's delays have caused its own.
Eliminate unnecessary prepositional phrases�especially those beginning with of.
Judicial estoppel prevents parties from assuming "inconsistent or mutually contradictory posoitions with respect to the same matter in the same or a successive series of suits".
The central purpose of judicial estoppel is to preserve the integrit of the j
Bridge from one paragraph to another
Not this: There are three reasons why the Court should overrule that case.
This: The Court should overrule that case for three reasons.
Cut filler phrases such as there is and there are.
Not this: It is respectfully submitted that genuine issues of material fact remain such that defendant's motion for summary judgement must be denied.
This: Because genuine issues of material fact remain, this Court should deny Taylor's motion for summary
Eliminate throat-clearing phrases.
Not this: The judge was not only young but also was inexperienced.
But this:The judge was not only young but also inexperienced.
Use grammatically parallel constructions whenever you can--making sure the ideas themselves are also parallel.
Not this: A similar conclusion was reached by the court in Holland v. Nelson.
This: A similar conclusion sprang from Holland v. Nelson.
Replace humdrum phrases with snappy ones that spark interest.
Not this: Despite plaintiffs' supporting caselaw, Jackson now vehemently states that the plaintiff's theory is incorrect in its application
But this: Disregarding the caselaw, Jackson now proclaims that the Findlays' theory is flawed.
Strive for distinctive nouns and verbs. Minimize adjectives and adverbs.
Not this: Under California law, an employee must exhaust his administrative remedies under the Fair Employment Housing Act before he sues his employer under the Act.
This: Under California law, an employee must exhaust any adminsitrative remedies under th
Shun sexist language but do so invisibily
Not this:
To the Honorable Judge of said Court:
Comes now Guy Walt Williams, Plaintiff in the above styled and numbered cause, and files this his response to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment and would respectfully show unto the court as follows:
Th
Relax the Tone: eliminate the jargon known as legalese
Not this: Prior to October 2012, Plaintiff became addicted to narcotics and had purchased cocaine on Company premises for a number of uears.
This: Sometime before October 2012, Kent Smith became addicted to narcotics and had started buying cocaine while a
Populate your sentences. Use real names (not procedural labels), settle on name per party, and dispense with courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., Ms.)
Not this: This theory is a drastic departure from the put forth by plaintiff at the time when his experts were deposed by defendants.
This: This theory differs radically from Mile's earlier one
Slash unnecessary words
Not this: Russell and Livington is presently representing five-creditors in the Chapter 11 case.
This: Russel and Livingston now represents five creditors in the Chapter 11 case.
Supplant be-verbs with action verbs.
Not this: Defendant is contending that delays on the part of Penney have resulted in delays by Defendant.
This: Kosko claims the Penney's delays have caused its own.
Eliminate unnecessary prepositional phrases�especially those beginning with of.
Judicial estoppel prevents parties from assuming "inconsistent or mutually contradictory posoitions with respect to the same matter in the same or a successive series of suits".
The central purpose of judicial estoppel is to preserve the integrit of the j
Bridge from one paragraph to another
Not this: There are three reasons why the Court should overrule that case.
This: The Court should overrule that case for three reasons.
Cut filler phrases such as there is and there are.
Not this: It is respectfully submitted that genuine issues of material fact remain such that defendant's motion for summary judgement must be denied.
This: Because genuine issues of material fact remain, this Court should deny Taylor's motion for summary
Eliminate throat-clearing phrases.
Not this: The judge was not only young but also was inexperienced.
But this:The judge was not only young but also inexperienced.
Use grammatically parallel constructions whenever you can--making sure the ideas themselves are also parallel.
Not this: A similar conclusion was reached by the court in Holland v. Nelson.
This: A similar conclusion sprang from Holland v. Nelson.
Replace humdrum phrases with snappy ones that spark interest.
Not this: Despite plaintiffs' supporting caselaw, Jackson now vehemently states that the plaintiff's theory is incorrect in its application
But this: Disregarding the caselaw, Jackson now proclaims that the Findlays' theory is flawed.
Strive for distinctive nouns and verbs. Minimize adjectives and adverbs.
Not this: Under California law, an employee must exhaust his administrative remedies under the Fair Employment Housing Act before he sues his employer under the Act.
This: Under California law, an employee must exhaust any adminsitrative remedies under th
Shun sexist language but do so invisibily