BriefCatch Blog

Looking to start a fight between two corporate attorneys? Ask whether an agreement is made between Tom, Dick, and Harry—or among Tom, Dick, and Harry. Many lawyers cling to junior-high grammar rules, which would dictate agreements between two parties and among three or more. Think metaphorically instead: Is a multi-party agreement more like “sand between the toes” or a “disagreement among friends”? It’s…

Good feedback does more than just boost morale. It can make you a magnet for better work product. To inspire change, recast your feedback as something the writer could do on the screen the next time, not something you want a draft to be. That means getting beyond squishy mantras and circular adjectives. What does…

The Wall Street Journal put adverbs on trial some time ago. Witnesses for the prosecution: Stephen King (“The adverb is not your friend,” says he), a slew of anti-adverb judges, and legions of legal writing teachers. Witnesses for the defense: famed adverb lover Justice Scalia, an academic “legal anthropologist,” and the author of the article,…

I often work with attorneys who are several years into their careers. They’ve received lots of feedback, but why hasn’t it generated the results their supervisors intended? Attorneys often resist feedback because they don’t understand what’s behind it. Explain your advice so they’ll more likely heed your suggestions. You say: “Be more concise.” They think:…

This summer, we’re going to run a nationwide contest to recognize summer associates who write the best client alerts or similar articles aimed at the public. The final round will be judged by a panel of three. Here’s how the contest will work:  The topic can be something you’re assigned during the summer or an…

Hello! We hope your summer is off to a great start. We’ve designed an assessment to help tailor your personalized e-learning later in the summer. When you have 30-45 minutes of uninterrupted time, please click here to log in using your law firm email. Once you start the assessment, you must finish it. Here are…