Don’t Sweat It; Edit

Bard of the Bar

Jul 16

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

“Suit the action to the word, the word to the action.”

- Hamlet III,2; Hamlet to the Players

You have allowed your brief to take shape through energetic rewriting. Now it is time to mow down any thorns in there that would annoy the court. Don’t sweat it; edit.

Proofread

Start the editing process by proofreading your brief. This is not the same as editing; you are looking for small errors. Spell check and search for common errors that spell check will not catch (e.g., “trail” court). If possible, find someone who knows nothing about the case to read your brief and make comments. Note other problems you personally have that often escape the editor’s eyes, such as changing tenses or misspelling “judgement” (sic).

Edit

Keep a list of transitional phrases and words that you do or do not want to use. I like the list on page 68 of Bryan A. Garner’s Legal Writing In Plain English: A Text With Exercises (2001 or a later edition). It may provide inspiration for your own list.

Use active voice to bring your writing alive and keep your reader interested. Watch for “be” verbs followed by a past participle (usually words ending in -ed). Arrange your sentences with the actor first, followed by the action, then the recipient of the action. Instead of writing “The Defendant’s automobile was wrapped around a telephone pole,” try, “the Defendant wrapped his automobile around a telephone pole.” Active language does things; passive language gets things done to it.

Consider your audience. If you know the judge or court you’re appealing to, keep past experience in mind. If not, consult with someone you trust who does know the judge or court and use their experience to your advantage.

Consider separate editing passes for specific characteristics. Do one pass focusing solely on transitions, another on topic sentences, another on headings and subheadings. Finally, do an editing pass to shorten sentences and cull unnecessary words. You can miss a lot trying to edit for more than one or two characteristics at a time, so break up the process to ensure a thoroughly honed final product.

Meticulous editing yields powerful results.

In my next post, I will discuss the checklist we have developed to finalize the well-edited brief in preparation for filing.