Legalwriting.net Blog

Legalwriting.net Blog

This blawg is dedicated to "making legal writing clear, correct and direct." Posts cover the latest court rules regarding word limits and page limits, as well as the use of cites, footnotes and dates. He even entertains debate about the serial comma.

Author: Wayne Schiess is director of legal writing at the University of Texas School of Law.

Blawg Related Categories: Law Practice Management • Law Professors • Law Students • University of Texas • Law Professor • Legal Research and Writing

Recent Posts from Legalwriting.net Blog


  • Single-sentence issue statements--comments from a real lawyer

    Ray Ward at the (new) legal writer has some good advice for brief writers:Before you write another long, convoluted, one-sentence issue statement, check the applicable procedural rules to see whether you’re required to do that.Read…

  • Beginning the statement of facts--a better approach

    Each of these is the first sentence of a statement of facts in a brief. I think they are more compelling and stage-setting than statements that begin with dates.Jack Ingram married for the first time…

  • Beginning the statement of facts

    Each one of these excerpts is the first paragraph of a statement of facts in a brief. What do they have in common?At approximately 10 p.m. on January 10, 2007, Plaintiff Jane Skinner and her…

  • Apostrophes--a practice I do not like

    Many professional writers, especially journalists, use this convention for creating possessives:If the word ends in "s" or an "s" sound, voiced or unvoiced, add an apostrophe at the end to create a possessive.This createsmy boss'…

  • An accolade for this blog

    The website paralegalschoolsonline.org is carrying a list of the top 20 sites for do-it-yourself law, and this blog made the list. The link is here.Thank you.

  • Writing is writing, not speaking, and drafting is drafting, not analysis.

    The following two things bother me, but not enough to call them pet peeves.Giving advice for persuasive writing with examples from speeches--as if spoken language is the same as written language. It's not.Giving advice for…

  • Ending sentences and clauses with prepositions

    I think it is okay to end sentences and clauses with prepositions. In my own writing, I do it whenever I think it sounds more natural--more conversational. I also sometimes take veiled, mocking shots at…

  • Write the argument, then the facts

    A lawyer attending one of my seminars offered a great suggestion that I had never thought of. (Oops! "of which I had never thought.")When writing a brief in a case with a long or complex…

  • Texas Bar Journal article on terms of art

    An interesting and informative article by Robert Fugate:Defining Terms of Art in Legal WritingWayne SchiessWebsite | Seminars | Articles | Books: Preparing Legal Documents Nonlawyers Can Read and Understand | Better Legal Writing | Writing…

  • A student's comments about legal writing in practice

    One of my students wrote this insightful essay:A Culture of Merely AdequateI realize that merely adequate legal writing is disfavored among legal writing professionals, and that I should strive throughout my career develop my legal…