Law Practice
Jan. 10, 2002
Pompous Words Don't Belong in Legal Writing
Dicta Column - By Robert M. Unterberger, Were you ever admonished to stop using unnecessarily large or pretentious words in your legal writing, such as writing "motor vehicle" when "car" sufficed? One associate told me that his supervising partner edited his work by putting price tags on his words. For example, "imbibe" was worth $10, while "drink" was just a buck. "Employ" earned $8, while "use" cost 50 cents. The lower the price tag, the better the brief.
Dicta Column
By Robert M. Unterberger
Were you ever admonished to stop using unnecessarily large or pretentious words in your legal writing, such as writing "motor vehicle" when "car" sufficed? One asso...
By Robert M. Unterberger
Were you ever admonished to stop using unnecessarily large or pretentious words in your legal writing, such as writing "motor vehicle" when "car" sufficed? One asso...
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