| Month/Year |
Author and Title (Note: all columns are PDF files.) |
| May '13 |
Kimble—How to Dominate Your Reader—and Make Stewie Griffin Proud
|
| March '13 |
Salzwedel—Face It—Bad Legal Writing Wastes Money |
| February '13 |
Strylowski—Using Tables to Present Complex Ideas |
| January '13 |
Merryday—A Federal Judge Takes On Legalese |
| December '12 |
Cooney—A Legal-Writing Carol |
| November '12 |
Cooney—Emergency! |
| October '12 |
Kimble—Tips for Better Writing in Law Reviews (and Other Journals) |
| September '12 |
Trudeau—Achieving Clarity: Eight Data-Driven Tips for Legal Communication |
| August '12 |
Kimble—An Excerpt from Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please |
| July '12 |
Cooney—Acronymonious |
| June '12 |
Cooney—Plain Isn't Plain |
| May '12 |
Cheek—The Plain Regulations Act, HR 3786 |
| March '12 |
Garner—Finding Good Writing Mentors |
| February '12 |
Garner—The 20 Most Common Sentence-Level Faults Among Legal Writers |
| January '12 |
Garner—Start a Drive to Boost Your Vocabulary |
| December '11 |
Cooney—A Legal-Writing Carol |
| November '11 |
Myers—Clearing Up Ambiguity from a Series Modifier |
| October '11 |
Cheek—The Plain Writing Act of 2010: Getting Democracy to Work for You |
| September '11 |
Flammer—Writing to Persuade Judges |
| August '11 |
Balmford—Lawyers, about-face: as plain as you like |
| July '11 |
Ammon—Ambiguous Drafting and the 12-Pound Cat |
| June '11 |
Cooney—The Mismatch |
| May '11 |
Cooney—Are You a Hyphen-Happy Lawyer?
|
| March '11 |
Stockmeyer—Meet Scribes—A Society That Promotes Legal-Writing Excellence |
| February '11 |
Siegel—The Politics and Power of Plain Language |
| January '11 |
Kimble—Please Vote on Two Versions of Our Lawyer's Oath |
| December '10 |
Kimble—The Best Test of a New Lawyer's Writing |
| November '10 |
Schiess—The Texas Pattern Jury Charges—A Plain-Language Project: The Writing Consultant's View |
| October '10 |
Painter—Writing Smaller |
| September '10 |
Schiess—E-Mail Like a Lawyer |
| August '10 |
Cooney—To Mrs. Finklebean: The Truth About Conjunctions as Sentence-Starters |
| July '10 |
Kimble—Where Should the Citations Go? |
| June '10 |
Eagleson—Ensnaring Perceptions on Communication—Underlying Obstacles to Lawyers' Writing Plainly |
| May '10 |
Kimble—Please Vote on Two Citation Formats |
| March '10 |
Garner—Pay Attention to the Aesthetics of Your Pages |
| February '10 |
Garner—Cultivate the Right Demeanor for Effective Legal Writing |
| January '10 |
Garner—Set the Right Hedonic Tone to Keep Readers' Interest |
| December '09 |
Garner—Telling the Good from the Bad |
| November '09 |
Kimble—One Last Example from the Proposed New Federal Rules of Evidence |
| October '09 |
Kimble—Still Another Example from the Proposed New Federal Rules of Evidence |
| September '09 |
Kimble—Another Example from the Proposed New Federal Rules of Evidence |
| August '09 |
Kimble—A Drafting Example from the Proposed New Federal Rules of Evidence |
| June '09 |
Abrams—Plain-English Drafting for the Age of Statutes |
| May '09 |
Cooney—The Extra-Stuff Rule |
| March '09 |
Pratt—Questioning Questions Presented |
| February '09 |
Cooney—The Runaway Verdict |
| January '09 |
Stockmeyer—Using Microsoft Word's Readability Program |
| November '08 |
Oettle—Give a Quotation a Good Introduction |
| October '08 |
Oettle—Carefully Craft Your Sets and Subsets |
| September '08 |
Oettle—Transition by Repetition: Take One Step Back to Go Two Steps Forward |
| August '08 |
Oettle—Eschew Exaggerations, Disparagements, and Other Intensifiers |
| June '08 |
Oettle—Don't Give Your Adversaries Free Airtime |
| May '08 |
Oettle—Choose an Approach That Will Appeal to the Court's Conscience |
| March '08 |
Kimble—Cleaning Up a Release |
| February '08 |
Kimble—Littering with Legalese, or Get a Load of This Release |
| January '08 |
Cooney—Conversation with a Brief |
| December '07 |
Kimble—Lessons in Drafting from the New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Part 5) |
| November '07 |
Kimble—Lessons in Drafting from the New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Part 4) |
| October '07 |
Kimble—Lessons in Drafting from the New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Part 3) |
| September '07 |
Kimble—Lessons in Drafting from the New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Part 2) |
| August '07 |
Kimble—Lessons in Drafting from the New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Part 1) |
| July '07 |
Wren—E-Prime, Briefly: A Lawyer Writes in E-Prime |
| June '07 |
Cooney and Clement—Do You Know Your Reader? |
| May '07 |
Strylowski—Rewriting a Short Rule: Step by Step |
| March '07 |
Kimble—To the Trashcan with And/Or |
| February '07 |
Kimble—Hunting Down Nouners |
| January '07 |
Bales—Cultured Writing |
| December '06 |
Cooney—Stringing Readers Along |
| November '06 |
Garner—Learning to Loathe Legalese |
| October '06 |
Garner—Writers Can Learn to Relax by Not Worrying About Some Supposed "Rules" |
| September '06 |
Garner—A Message to Law Students: Effective Writing Takes a Lifelong Commitment |
| August '06 |
Garner—Ten Tips for Writing at Your Law Firm |
| July '06 |
Garner—Seeking the Highest Level of Writing Competence |
| June '06 |
Kimble—Testifying to Plain Language |
| May '06 |
Cooney—Just Sue 'Em |
| March '06 |
Kimble—The Straight Skinny on Better Judicial Opinions |
| February '06 |
Cooney—A Verb's Lament |
| December '05 |
Cooney—The Dating Game |
| November '05 |
Dembart—Style Guidelines for a Set of Local Rules |
| October '05 |
Kimble—Guiding Principles for Restyling the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Part 2) |
| September '05 |
Kimble—Guiding Principles for Restyling the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Part 1) |
| August '05 |
Frost—Plain Language in Transition |
| July '05 |
Larsen—In-House Editor |
| June '05 |
Cooney—Stay Active! (Part 2) |
| May '05 |
Cooney—Stay Active! (Part 1) |
| February '05 |
Garner—Judges on Effective Writing: The Importance of Plain Language |
| January '05 |
Kimble—You Be the Judge (Again) |
| December '04 |
Kimble—You Be the Judge |
| November '04 |
Goldman and Kimble—Point-Counterpoint |
| October '04 |
Kimble—Never Mind In Witness Whereof |
| September '04 |
Kimble—Nuts to Further Affiant Sayeth Naught |
| July '04 |
Kimble—Down with Provided That |
| June '04 |
Kimble—A Pox on Prior To |
| May '04 |
Beery—It Is What It Is |
| March '04 |
Wilkins—The ALWD Citation Manual Grows Up: A Guide to the Second Edition |
| February '04 |
Schiess—Writing to the Trial Judge: Part Two—For affidavits |
| January '04 |
Schiess—Writing to the Trial Judge: Part One—For Motions |
| November '03 |
Burlingame—On Beginning a Court Paper |
| October '03 |
Garner—On Beginning Sentences with But |
| August '03 |
Stolley—Pesky Words |
| July '03 |
Beery—Some Particularly Useless Words |
| June '03 |
Younger—A Good Example and a Bad |
| May '03 |
Younger—Skimming the Fat Off Your Writing |
| March '03 |
Younger—Symptoms of Bad Writing |
| January '03 |
Mathewson—Law Students, Beware |
| December '02 |
LeClercq—Examining Other Professional Prose |
| November '02 |
Kimble—In Terms of in terms of |
| October '02 |
Kimble—The Elements of Plain Language |
| August '02 |
Adams—The New New Rules of Drafting (Part Two) |
| July '02 |
Adams—The New New Rules of Drafting (Part One) |
| June '02 |
Schiess—Writing for Your Audience: The Client |
| February '02 |
Israel—Looking at the Numbers |
| January '02 |
Stockmeyer—Beloved Are the Storytellers |
| December '01 |
Haggard—Plain Language—Definitions |
| November '01 |
Haggard—The Ambiguous And and Or |
| October '01 |
Haggard—Good Writing as a Professional Responsibility |
| September '01 |
Kimble—Plain Language—Plain Words (Part 2) |
| August '01 |
Kimble—Plain Language—Plain Words (Part 1) |
| July '01 |
Kimble—The Best Test of a New Lawyer's Writing |
| June '01 |
Schiess—When Your Boss Wants It the Old Way |
| May '01 |
Doherty—The Headless Snake of Law-Firm Editing |
| March '01 |
Benjamin—Attorneys: Cause or Cure? |
| February '01 |
Miller—Welcome to the Real World -- From Law School to Bureaucracy |
| January '01 |
Bingler—Now Comes the Unbending Boss |
| December '00 |
Bresler—Pursuant to Partners' Directive, I Learned to Obfuscate |
| November '00 |
Kimble—A Modest Wish List for Legal Writing |
| October '00 |
Knowlton & Hammond—Book Promotes Use of Plain Language in Insurance Contracts |
| September '00 |
Odorizzi—Incentives and Recent Developments in the Federal Government |
| August '00 |
Lysaght & Tonner—Bye Bye Bluebook |
| July '00 |
Rohe—The Arrows in Our Quiver |
| May '00 |
Hathaway—Clarity Awards for Spring 2000 |
| February '00 |
Daly—The Return of the "Contract Clause From Hell" |
| January '00 |
Plain Language Columns in Michigan Bar Journal |
December '99 |
Kimble—The Route to Clear Jury Instructions |
| November '99 |
Kimble—How to Write an Impeachment Order |
| October '99 |
Daly—Taming the Contract Clause from Hell: A Case Study |
| September '99 |
Hathaway—Clarity Awards for Fall 1999 |
| August '99 |
Daly—Why Bother to Write Contracts in Plain English? |
| July '99 |
Hathaway—Plain Language in Lawsuit Papers |
| June '99 |
Hathaway—Plain Language in Laws |
| May '99 |
Daly—Five Easy Ways to Make a Contract More Understandable |
| March '99 |
Hathaway—The Eighth Annual (1999) Clarity Awards |
| February '99 |
Daly—Top 10 Phrases Not to Use in a Contract |
| January '99 |
Hathaway—A Plain English Lawyer's Oath (Part 2) |
| December '98 |
Schmucker—John W. Davis-An Early Advocate of Plain English |
| November '98 |
Hathaway—Plain English in Contract Recitals and Boilerplate |
| October '98 |
Hathaway—Plain English in Home Equity Agreements |
| September '98 |
Hathaway—Plain English in Car Loans |
| July '98 |
Hathaway—Plain Language in Lawsuit Papers in 1998 |
| June '98 |
Hathaway—Plain English in Resolutions |
| May '98 |
Hathaway—A Plain English Lawyer's Oath |
| March '98 |
Hathaway—The Seventh Annual (1998) Clarity Awards |
| February '98 |
Hathaway—Examples of Clarity v Legalese in Laws |
| January '98 |
Hathaway—Legal Documents and Clarity Awards |
| December '97 |
Hathaway—Plain English SubCommittee on Estate Planning |
| November '97 |
Hathaway—Plain English SubCommittee on Real Estate |
| October '97 |
Hathaway—Plain English SubCommittee on Contracts |
| September '97 |
Hathaway—Plain English SubCommittee on Lawsuits |
| August '97 |
Kimble—Don't Stop Now: An Open Letter to the SEC |
| July '97 |
Hathaway—Plain English SubCommittee on Laws |
| May '97 |
Hathaway—The Sixth Annual (1997) Clarity Awards |
| March '97 |
Hathaway—Michigan Judges Practice Plain English |
| February '97 |
Hathaway—Plain English in Department of Interior Rules |
| January '97 |
Hathaway—Review of Michigan Causes of Action Formbook |
| December '96 |
Hathaway & Gibson—The Word from the Securities and Exchange Commission: Put It in Plain English |
| November '96 |
Hathaway—The Clarity Awards (After Five Years) |
| October '96 |
Kimble—Notes Toward Better Legal Writing |
| September '96 |
Hathaway—Promoting Plain English in Laws, Lawsuits, and Contracts |
| August '96 |
Hughes—A Standard Motion Revised |
| July '96 |
Hathaway—Plain English in the Twenty Types of Legal Documents |
| June '96 |
Watkinson—Canadian Bank Takes Plain-Language Approach with VISA Cards |
| May '96 |
The Fifth Annual (1996) Clarity Awards |
| March '96 |
Hathaway—Jury Instructions |
| February '96 |
Hathaway, Beasley, & Elden—Request for Hearing on a Motion |
| January '96 |
McIntyre—Plain Language for the Legal Assistant – Enclosure Letters |
| December '95 |
Hathaway—Motor Vehicle Leases |
| November '95 |
Hathaway, Ciaramitaro, Bullard, & Willard—Affidavits |
| October '95 |
An Excerpt from the Indispensable Book: Garner's Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage |
| September '95 |
Hathaway, Bullard, & Willard—Executive Orders |
| July '95 |
Hathaway & Willard—Resolutions |
| June '95 |
Good—The "Writer-in-Residence": A New Solution to an Old Problem |
| May '95 |
The Fourth Annual (1995) Clarity Awards |
| March '95 |
Legalese List for Lawsuits |
| February '95 |
Legalese List for Laws |
| January '95 |
Hathaway—A Summary of Our Review of Legal Writing |
| December '94 |
Duckworth and Balmford—Convincing Business That Clarity Pays |
| November '94 |
White - MacGregor Cuts a Mortgage Down To Size |
| October '94 |
Plain English in Wills and Trusts |
| September '94 |
Plain English in Consumer Finance and Other Contracts |
| August '94 |
Mowat—Buddhists, Running, and Plain Language in Calgary (Part 2) |
| July '94 |
Mowat—Buddhists, Running, and Plain Language in Calgary (Part 1) |
| June '94 |
An Open Request to State Bar Section Councils |
| May '94 |
Clarity Awards for 1994 and Summary of Real Estate and Insurance Papers |
| March '94 |
Garner—Judges on Effective Writing: Importance of Plain Language |
| February '94 |
Hathaway and Marroso—Plain English in Insurance Papers |
| January '94 |
Plain Language Columns in Michigan Bar Journal |
| December '93 |
Hathaway—Plain English in Real Estate Papers |
| November '93 |
Larsen—In-House Editor |
| October '93 |
Plain English Committee—Summary of Laws, Rules, and Lawsuit Papers (Pt2) |
| September '93 |
Plain English Committee—Summary of Laws, Rules, and Lawsuit Papers (Pt1) |
| August '93 |
Butt—Plain Language "Down Under"—Throwing Legalese on the Barbie |
| July '93 |
Plain English Committee—Clarity Awards for 1993 |
| June '93 |
Hathaway—Plain English in Laws and Rules |
| March '93 |
Hathaway—Plain English in Lawsuit Papers |
| February '93 |
Clyde—Keeping It Simple: A Law Firm Marketing Opportunity |
| January '93 |
Plain Committee—Plain English Committee Agenda for 1992-1993 |
| December '92 |
Kimble—Plain English: A Charter for Clear Writing (Part 3) |
| November '92 |
Kimble—Plain English: A Charter for Clear Writing (Part 2) |
| October '92 |
Kimble—Plain English: A Charter for Clear Writing (Part 1) |
| September '92 |
Hathaway—A Review of Mellinkoff's Dictionary of American Legal Usage |
| August '92 |
Barry—Constructing a Narrative in Courtroom Testimony |
| July '92 |
Miller—Odd Way We Instruct Jurors To Decide Civil Cases |
| June '92 |
Results of the Search for Legalese "Required by Statute," & Conclusion of 3 Searches |
| May '92 |
Plain English Committee—The "Clarity" Award |
| March '92 |
Weisberg—An Excerpt from When Lawyers Write |
| February '92 |
Williams—Excerpt from Style: Toward Clarity and Grace (Part 2) |
| January '92 |
Williams—Excerpt from Style: Toward Clarity and Grace (Part 1) |
| December '91 |
Hathaway—Plain English in Residential Real-Estate Listing Contracts |
| November '91 |
McIntyre—Plain English in Bankruptcy-Fee Orders |
| October '91 |
Elder—"Any and All": To Use Or Not To Use? |
| September '91 |
Garner—From The Elements of Legal Style: Rooting Out Sexism |
| August '91 |
Sharp—Do You Please the Court? (Part 2) |
| July '91 |
Sharp—Do You Please the Court? (Part 1) |
| June '91 |
Elliott—A Global Perspective |
| March '91 |
Hathaway—Plain English Acknowledgment Forms |
| February '91 |
Wing—Good Grief! The Court Needs a Brief (Part 2) |
| January '91 |
Wing—Good Grief! The Court Needs a Brief (And Where do I begin?) |
| December '90 |
Hathaway—The Search for Legalese "Required by Statute" |
| November '90 |
Child—The Art of Legal Drafting |
| October '90 |
Garner—Excerpts from a Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage |
| September '90 |
Mathewson—In-House Editors: Letting the Experts Do It |
| August '90 |
Stark—Power Pleading-Complain, Don't Whimper |
| July '90 |
Hathaway—A Plain English Movement in Medicine |
| June '90 |
Hathaway—The Search for Legalese "Required by Case Precedent" |
| May '90 |
Kimble—Strike Three for Legalese |
| March '90 |
Walsh—Letter-Size Paper vs. Legal-Size Paper |
| February '90 |
Hodess—Plain English in Title Insurance Policies |
| January '90 |
Kilgore—Plain Language in Apartment Leases |
| December '89 |
Hathaway—Results of the "Too Complex for Plain English" Search |
| November '89 |
Spodarek—Software Programs for Legal Writers |
| October '89 |
Good—Plain English in Consumer Credit Contracts |
| September '89 |
Martin—Plain English in Michigan Bankers Association Forms |
| July '89 |
Christie—Getting Normal: The Move to Letter-Size Paper |
| June '89 |
Hathaway—The Search for the Sentence "Too Complex for Plain English" |
| March '89 |
Benson—Plain English Comes to Court |
| February '89 |
Wing—Where's the Verb |
| January '89 |
Child—Stipulative Definitions: A Useful Drafting Tool |
| December '88 |
Kimble—Why We Need A Plain English Law |
| October '88 |
Morris—Mind Your Speech a Little... |
| September '88 |
Haggerty—Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Move To Simplify |
| August '88 |
Garner—Finding the Right Words |
| July '88 |
Bruno—Whither Whereas—The Legal Implications of Recitals |
| June '88 |
Younger—In Praise of Simplicity |
| March '88 |
Rivinus—"Esquire" Does Not Mean Lawyer |
| February '88 |
Davis—New Form for Certification of Supreme Court Orders |
| January '88 |
Cumming—Estate Planning Documents Clients Can Understand |
| November '87 |
Haggerty—Excessive, Turgid, and Redundant Tautology |
| October '87 |
Harrington—Survey: Plain English Wins Every Which Way |
| September '87 |
Kimble—Protecting Your Writing From Law Practice |
| August '87 |
Haggerty—Of Bards, Beguilers and Barristers: Mis. & Incor. Words & Phrases in Legal Writing |
| July '87 |
Edgerton—Let's Bring Legalese Lovers Out of the Closet |
| June '87 |
Conley—Michigan Court Forms: A Topical Index |
| May '87 |
Clarke—Project ELF |
| March '87 |
Edgerton—In Disgust of Legalese |
| February '87 |
Ryan—Michigan Court Forms: The Divorce Package |
| January '87 |
Righter—In Defense of Legalese |
| December '86 |
Hathaway—Michigan Court Forms for Service and Proof of Service |
| November '86 |
Edgerton—The Ten Commandments of How To Not Write in Plain English |
| October '86 |
Gluckman—Plain English in Amateur Sporting Activity "Waivers" |
| September '86 |
Edgerton—There Must Be a Pony in Here Somewhere |
| August '86 |
Plain English in Michigan Insurance Policies |
| July '86 |
Edgerton—Once Each Time Is Not Enough |
| June '86 |
Kimble—Protecting Your Writing From Law School |
| May '86 |
Edgerton—Plain English Means Never Having To Say Hereby |
| March '86 |
Edgerton—Warning--Legal Size Paper May Transmit AILS |
| February '86 |
Kasischke—Business Agreements in Letter Form |
| January '86 |
Edgerton—After Seven Centuries, the True Meaning of SS |
| December '85 |
Vlasic—Plain English in Personal Property Leasing |
| November '85 |
Hathaway—The Plain English Movement in the Law |
| October '85 |
Barr—Legalese and the Myth of Case Precedent |
| July '85 |
Dickerson—Specifications for a Plain English Statute |
| June '85 |
Dickerson—Plain English Statutes and Readability |
| May '85 |
Meitin—Simplification of Commercial Contracts in the Property/Casualty Insurance Industry |
| March '85 |
Weihofen—For Emphasis, Emphasize Verbs |
| February '85 |
Freeman—Plain English in Environmental Law |
| January '85 |
Harwood—Plain English in Real Property Law |
| November '84 |
Aslanian-Bedikian—Clear Expression in Labor Arbitration |
| October '84 |
Gale—Corporate Plain English |
| September '84 |
Bienenfeld—Plain English in Administrative Law |
| August '84 |
Harbour—Plain English in Workers' Compensation |
| July '84 |
Joslyn—Use of Plain English in Drafting Wills and Trusts |
| May '84 |
Ulrich—Plain English in Judicial Administration |
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