Justia Connect Webinars What Stays, What Goes: Crisper, Clearer, Tighter Legal Writing

What Stays, What Goes: Crisper, Clearer, Tighter Legal Writing

Lawyers tend to write too much. They include more information than they need to include — and they use too many words to say what they want to say.

We'll re-examine some of the assumptions that lead lawyers down unproductive writing paths, identify key stumbling blocks, and suggest ways to avoid them. The result? More concise, more informative, more persuasive, more effective writing.

Topics covered include:

Legal Writing Law Practice

Agenda:

Introduction and Overview

Brief introduction of the presenter
Description of topics to be covered and anticipated takeaways

When Lawyers Write: What Can Go Wrong?

Distinction between “Big-Picture Concise” and “Detail Concise”
Overly lengthy documents
Overly wordy documents (incl. jargony writing)
Mismatch for your audience
Mismatch for your situation

Being Concise: The Big Picture — Including Too Much

The urge to over-include — why?
The risks of over-including: less focused, less confident, less effective
Reconsidering your approach

Ways To Avoid/Address Over-Including

Situational awareness: goal and audience
Situational sifting
Easing your mind about cutting things
Asking for guidance

Being Concise: The Details — Using Too Many Words to Say It

Lawyers tend to be wordy: not just in over-including information, but in the wording/phrasing
Shorter isn’t always better, but …
“Shorter” is more than simply word counts

Ways To Avoid/Address Wordiness
- Common pitfalls & helpful workarounds
- Tools & resources
- AI as another useful writing tool* (*but be careful)
Wrap-Up
- Do you need it?
- Less can be more
Questions & Answers (as time permits)

Duration of this webinar: 90 minutes

Originally broadcast: May 21, 2025 10:00 AM PT

Webinar Highlights

This webinar is divided into section summaries, which you can scan for key points and then dive into the sections that interest you the most.

00:00 Introduction and Speaker Background

Rick Horowitz, the speaker, is introduced with a detailed background in legal writing and communications. Rick expresses his excitement to share insights on improving legal writing, aiming to reduce stress and enhance clarity.

05:21 Challenges in Legal Writing

Rick discusses the common reputation of lawyers for including excessive details and using too many words in their writing. He identifies these traits as obstacles to effective legal writing and proposes strategies to address them. Rick aims to raise awareness of these issues and suggests ways to think differently about the writing process. He hopes participants will gain confidence in their writing and editing choices, and tools to help others achieve clearer writing. Rick emphasizes the importance of concise writing and the impact of reducing stress in the legal writing process, providing examples of how lawyers can easily stray into convoluted writing.

16:02 Concise Writing Techniques

Rick highlights the challenge of concise writing, emphasizing the importance of selecting what to include and what to omit. He discusses the tendency to over-include information due to various pressures and suggests situational writing as a solution. Rick introduces 'Rick's Rules of the Road,' focusing on the struggle to be complete yet concise. He encourages participants to consider the circumstances and audience when deciding what information to include.

20:55 Situational Writing and Audience Considerations

Rick discusses situational writing, emphasizing the importance of understanding the audience and document goals. He explores reasons for over-inclusion, such as justifying research efforts and the desire to spot every issue. Rick encourages adjusting default settings and mindset to avoid over-inclusion and improve writing effectiveness. He highlights the importance of considering the audience's needs and expertise when deciding what to include. Rick suggests using different sifters for different situations to make better in-out decisions in writing.

40:07 Effective Collaboration and Stress Reduction

Rick emphasizes the importance of effective collaboration between supervisors and assignees in the writing process. He suggests clear communication of expectations and encourages asking clarifying questions to avoid misunderstandings. Rick shares a strategy for supervisors to tailor expectations based on the experience level of associates. He highlights the role of stress in writing decisions and offers strategies to manage it, such as sequential drafts and "parking lots." Rick encourages participants to make informed decisions about what to include and exclude, reducing stress and improving clarity.

54:14 Wordiness and Clarity

Rick discusses techniques for concise writing, focusing on reducing wordiness and improving clarity. He suggests using active verbs instead of nouns and eliminating unnecessary words to tighten writing. Rick encourages reading aloud to identify cumbersome sentences and improve the flow of writing. He highlights the cumulative effect of small changes in writing, emphasizing the importance of being alert to wordiness. Rick provides examples of how to rewrite sentences for conciseness and clarity, encouraging participants to apply these techniques.

01:16:25 Jargon and Tone in Legal Writing

Rick discusses the impact of jargon and tone in legal writing, advocating for plain language to improve communication. He shares a poem highlighting the pitfalls of legal jargon and encourages using simpler language. Rick emphasizes the importance of connecting with the audience and adjusting tone based on the document's purpose. He provides examples of simplifying legal phrases and encourages participants to consider their use of jargon. Rick suggests using AI tools like ChatGPT to identify and reduce jargon, while being mindful of potential issues.

Please note this AI-generated summary provides a general overview of the webinar but may not capture all details, nuances, or the exact words of the speaker. For complete accuracy, please refer to the original webinar recording.

Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Credits

*CLE credit is only available to Justia Connect Pros. Not a Pro? Upgrade today>>

California CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.50 General

Earn Credit Until: June 30, 2026

South Carolina CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.50 General

Difficulty: All Levels

Earn Credit Until: December 31, 2025

North Carolina CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.50 General

Earn Credit Until: February 28, 2026

Texas CLE

Status: Pending

Credits: TBD

Earn Credit Until: TBD

This presentation is approved for one and a half hours of General CLE credit in California, one and a half hours of General CLE credit in South Carolina (all levels), and one and a half hours of General CLE credit in North Carolina. An application for accreditation of this activity has been submitted to the MCLE Committee of the State Bar of Texas and is pending.

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Speaker

Rick Horowitz Wordsmith in Chief
Prime Prose, LLC

Rick Horowitz is the founder and Wordsmith in Chief of Prime Prose, LLC, offering legal-writing workshops to institutions and organizations across the country. A graduate of Brandeis University and NYU School of Law, Horowitz worked for a Washington law firm, specializing in communications law, and as a legislative assistant to a member of the congressional leadership.

He went on to become a nationally syndicated columnist, winning two National Headliner Awards; and a commentator for Milwaukee Public Television, where he received eight Regional Emmy Award nominations and two actual statuettes.