Legal Writing

Pitt Law grad credits creative writing class for her winning story in ABA Journal’s 2025 Ross Writing Contest

A creative writing class at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law awakened a love for writing and led to a $5,000 prize for the winner of the 2025 ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction.

Jul 10, 2025 12:13 PM CDT

Lawyers for MyPillow CEO sanctioned for fake case citations; judge questions their explanation

Updated: A federal judge has imposed a sanction of $3,000 each on two lawyers representing MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell for submitting a brief citing cases that didn’t exist.

Jul 10, 2025 9:01 AM CDT

Judge tells court callers their concerns can be addressed by ‘cracking open Moore’s Federal Practice’

Lawyers who are contacting court staff because of concerns about disclosure of their nonparty clients’ sensitive documents have a better option: “cracking open Moore’s Federal Practice” and filing a motion to intervene, according to an order by a federal judge overseeing an antitrust case against Deere & Co., a farm machinery manufacturer.

Jul 7, 2025 2:24 PM CDT

Socratic Litigation: Imagining the curious case of the hamstrung hemlock

Did Socrates really die after ingesting that hemlock? Check out Socrates v. the Republic of Greece and Olympus Bigpharm Ltd., decision of the Ancient High Court of Southern Athens, no doubt recently discovered by anthropologist lawyers.

Jun 25, 2025 11:01 AM CDT

Lawyers copied parts of brief, decided to ‘double down on imprudence’ by repeating losing arguments, judge alleges

Lawyers representing a food company are facing possible sanctions for filing a motion to dismiss said to largely copy whole sections of a brief filed by another law firm with arguments that did not succeed.

Jun 24, 2025 12:31 PM CDT

Barrister’s new mystery novel offers glimpse inside the Inner Temple

Since it was seized from the Knights Templar in the 14th century, the Inner Temple in London has housed acolytes of a different sort: men (and eventually women) who serve as advocates of the law. It’s also the setting of “A Case of Mice and Murder.”

Jun 18, 2025 11:00 AM CDT

AI takes on starring role in 4 articles published by law journal

The Texas A&M Journal of Property Law has published a collection of four articles on the loss of biodiversity that were drafted with the help of artificial intelligence.

Jun 10, 2025 3:21 PM CDT

Horse of a Different Color: In the age of AI, lawyers must set aside resistance to change

“It’s time to stop standing on the sidewalk throwing rocks at whatever new AI capabilities are now available to the public. Sabotaging the roads will not slow the pace of change. … More regulations will likely do little to shape the emerging AI era.”

Jun 2, 2025 2:07 PM CDT

In legal writing, consistency matters

You want your readers focusing on the content of what you say, not on curiosities of spelling or inconsistencies in your own style.

Jun 1, 2025 2:00 AM CDT

This New York lawyer gets laughs in 17 syllables via her poetry

Updated: Poetry is a great way to infuse a little humor in what can be a “tedious” lifestyle, says New York attorney Stevi Siber-Sanderowitz. She is fascinated by the haiku, a streamlined poem that originated in Japan.

May 28, 2025 3:07 PM CDT

New book examines how messaging targeting middle class shifted politics

In Outclassed: How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to Win Them Back, Joan C. Williams, a professor emeritus at the University of California College of the Law in San Francisco, offers insight on the wedge between college and noncollege graduates and how those differences have shifted politics to the right.

May 20, 2025 8:47 AM CDT

Does artificial intelligence have a role in legal scholarship?

Now that artificial intelligence is actively used by many in academia—in the classroom, for syllabus development and in research—what is its proper role in legal scholarship while maintaining academic integrity?

May 2, 2025 1:35 PM CDT

Navigating the AI Revolution in Law School: Lessons from the front lines

As a third-year law student, I’ve had a front-row seat to the artificial intelligence revolution in the legal field. This experience has helped me integrate AI into my research, writing and studying.

Apr 30, 2025 10:23 AM CDT

Vacation, mistaken filing led to order to show cause, lawyers for MyPillow CEO say

Human error led lawyers representing MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to file a draft document with incorrect case citations instead of the final version, according to a response to a federal judge’s order to show cause.

Apr 29, 2025 2:29 PM CDT

Harvard Law Review investigated for alleged ‘spoils system’ that uses race in article selection

The federal government has opened an investigation into the Harvard Law Review “based on reports of race-based discrimination permeating the operations of the journal,” according to an April 28 press release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Apr 29, 2025 12:13 PM CDT