Featured Articles

Legal Writing in Crisis?

Evan Schaeffer
January 09, 2009 13:32

At Legal Blog Watch, Carolyn Elefant blames the deterioration in legal-writing abilities on the ubiquity of low-cost legal research tools-- While I believe that both factors --the informality of e-mail and lack of quality teaching -- have contributed to the...At Legal Blog Watch, Carolyn Elefant...

Depositions: Boxing In the Witness

Evan Schaeffer
July 01, 2008 18:02

It's a simple but effective deposition tactic, one that should be used throughout a deposition. First, have the witness develop a list of all possibilities until the witness's memory is exhausted; then return to explore each possibility. Q. Tell me...It's a simple but effective deposition tactic,...

Recent Articles

Trial by Agreement

Evan Schaeffer
March 14, 2012 14:19

From Forbes: "Litigator Pushes Mutual-Disarmament Pacts To Cut Costs," which is about Houston lawyer Steve Susman-- He’s built a website, Trial by Agreement, that provides a sort of 0pen-source repository of pre-trial agreements that lawyers can use to reduce the...From Forbes: "Litigator...

Preparing for Oral Argument

Evan Schaeffer
March 06, 2012 15:05

From Lawyerist.com: "How to Prepare for Oral Argument," by Sam Glover-- Oral argument is one of the most exciting parts of litigation, and only a few lawyers are really good at it. But even if you aren’t a naturally-talented presenter,...From Lawyerist.com: "How to Prepare for Oral...

Banish These Words from Your Lexicon

Evan Schaeffer
February 23, 2012 15:09

At The Third Apple, Bill Wilson writes about "Legalese and other words to banish," including enjoin, "comes now" (a favorite target), and purported.At The Third Apple, Bill Wilson writes about "Legalese and other words to banish," including enjoin, "comes now" (a favorite...

Timeout for Tech

Evan Schaeffer
February 17, 2012 16:15

Here are two posts from other weblogs worth reading: "Review: TranscriptPad -- review and manage depositions on your iPad," by Jeff Richardson at iPhone J.D. Richardson reviews a new $50 iPad app called TranscriptPad, an app dedicated to the task...Here are two posts from other weblogs worth...

Legal Writing Tip: Remote Relative Pronouns

Evan Schaeffer
February 07, 2012 16:08

According to Bryan Garner, a remote relative pronoun is a "prime indicator of a sloppy sentence." A relative pronoun such as that or which is "remote" when it doesn't appear immediately after the noun it modifies. Garner provides these examples:...According to Bryan Garner, a remote relative...

Experts and Costs

Evan Schaeffer
February 03, 2012 17:11

A tip from Michael J. Wagner: When selecting an expert, don't automatically choose the expert with the lowest rate. It there is a substantial reason for the higher rate, then the more expensive expert may be more efficient. Many experienced...A tip from Michael J. Wagner: When selecting an expert,...

Deposition Objections: Good and Bad

Evan Schaeffer
January 17, 2012 20:08

What deposition objections are proper? Which are improper? Find out at the Lawyerist: "Proper Deposition Objections." And see this related post at Trial Practice Tips: "Objections to the Form of a Question: A Partial List."What deposition objections are proper? Which are improper? Find out at the...

The iPad and Jury Selection

Evan Schaeffer
January 13, 2012 14:49

At the Persuasive Litigator, Ken Broda-Bahm reviews two apps, iJuror and Jury Duty, "based on their functional ability to replace paper notes, or other PC-based systems." Link from iPhone J.D.At the Persuasive Litigator, Ken Broda-Bahm reviews two apps, iJuror and Jury Duty, "based on their...