– Lessons from a Writing Audit

an in-house editing office.

Law firms are publishers, and they should provide their writers (partners and associates) with the editorial services (copy editing and proofreading) that traditional publishers offer.

Lawyers are divided on the usefulness of proofreaders—those who object do so in part because they are confused about what proofreaders do. Every lawyer can benefit from having a fresh pair of trained eyes look at his or her drafts. Senior partners should discuss the proofreaders’ function with all incoming lawyers and, to the extent possible, standardize the proofreaders’ tasks.

In addition, law firms should consider routinely sending more drafts to copy editors, who would provide a more substantive check on written work. Some lawyers ask their office proofreaders to take on these extra responsibilities, but not all proofreaders are deft editors. In addition to identifying typographical and formatting mistakes, copy editors check for a host of writing difficulties: syntax, grammar, organization, word usage, and fact checking. (We return to the theme of the law firm as publisher in chapter 7.)

Prepare an editorial style guide and use it.

It is wasteful for highly paid lawyers to worry about the simplest considerations of editorial style: Should the c in “court” be capitalized? Should the number “10” be written out? How should various documents be formatted? It is also wasteful—though less expensive—to have secretaries, word processors, and proofreaders each impose a different editorial style on successive drafts of the same document.

The remedy is to prepare an editorial style guide that answers all the niggling questions peculiar to the firm’s practice and sense of style. This slender guide would not duplicate the material in The Blue Book or the ALWD Citation Manual.¹ It could consist of a few pages on mechanics (punctuation, capitalization, abbreviations, treatment of numbers), a few pages on formatting (with samples), and an alphabetical list of troublesome terms (unusual proper names, Latin phrases, hyphenated compounds).

This kind of reference guide is best prepared by an editor or proofreader, after consultation with a small committee of partners who would set the firm’s style policy, just as other policies at the firm are established. This group need not start from scratch; a hour or two with one of the stylebooks used by publishers (The Chicago Manual of Style, The Associated Press Style Book, or Words into Type) or businesses (The Gregg Reference Manual or any of several manuals published by Merriam-Webster) will suggest the general topics that should be addressed.

The firm should post its style guide on the office intranet and distribute copies to everyone who works on documents. The authors of the guide may find it necessary to reassure the attorneys that the manual is a reference tool, not a list of rules to memorize.

Start a writing newsletter.

Considering the number of memoranda that float through even the smallest law offices, most large firms could easily produce a newsletter dedicated to writing. It would include samples of fine writing within the office and cite or reprint examples of persuasive or otherwise well-crafted briefs and documents written elsewhere. It would identify by name those whose writing is worthy of praise. It would also quote examples of bad writing (though names would not be attached) and explain the error and show how to avoid it. The newsletter could be edited and produced by an in-house editor or by a partner with an interest in writing. The time that partner spends in producing the newsletter would be billed just as the managing partner’s time is billed for administrative work.

Orient incoming lawyers.

Some firms take a sink-or-swim approach to newly hired lawyers, especially to their “lateral hires.” These firms assume that a lawyer who has been practicing knows how to write. That assumption is faulty. Even a day spent discussing the importance of writing—the firm’s expectations, how drafts are edited, what style to use, how to use proofreaders—will pay off later.

Launch a brown-bag lunch series.

Law firms can invite outsiders, such as writing specialists and judges, as well as partners or senior associates, to talk over an informal lunch about writing. Topics might include what a judge looks for in a brief, how judges read briefs, how to focus on the important topic in the fact statement, or how to avoid writer’s block.

Offer regular writing workshops.

Law firms should schedule writing workshops designed primarily for newer lawyers, though everyone would benefit. Running the workshops could be entrusted to an in-house editor, a partner, or a senior associate.

A writing workshop ought not be a grammar tutorial or instruction in basic office style rules. Rather, the newer employees need to learn what the firm expects of its lawyers: to write concisely, to present an organized argument, and to answer the client’s questions or solve the client’s problems. Workshops should call on participants to review documents produced by other lawyers in the office, to assess writing strengths, and to employ strategies for overcoming weaknesses.

Create a quiet room for composing.

Lawyers need a quiet refuge where they can work on larger writing projects without being distracted. A composing room gives them an alternative to working at home, where they may be inaccessible during emergencies.

Reallocate the division of labor.

Efficiency and profitability require law firms to delegate work to those who cost the firm less. In many firms, however, work moves in the opposite direction: lower-paid junior associates write long-winded documents that higher-paid senior lawyers then edit and prune line by line. Some lawyers do their own proofreading, rather than leave that job to the lower-paid staff.

Law firms should require their associates to exercise good judgment: Associates should spend more of their own time composing and editing their drafts, rather than wasting the partners’ expensive time on editorial chores. The partners may want to polish an associate’s final draft, but they should not be reviewing drafts that are chaotic, wordy, or ungrammatical.

Review writing samples from applicants.

If associates are to be hired on paper credentials, the screening process ought to include the paper that counts: writing samples. The recruiting partner should request and review (or ask an in-house editor to review) writing samples before inviting an applicant for an interview.

Conduct a writing audit.

We encourage law offices to ask all their lawyers (or representative samples of associates and partners) to comment on the firm’s writing practices. Rather than conduct interviews, as we did, the firm could distribute a questionnaire and ask for unsigned responses. The form should include the following kinds of questions:

1. How do you compose your first draft: in longhand, at a keyboard, or by dictation? How do you make revisions to that draft? Do you know how to type or use a word processing program? If not, will the firm give you lessons? Is there a piece of equipment that you would use if your firm supplied it?
   
2. Are you encouraged to ask questions when you receive an assignment?
   
3. Are page lengths assigned? If not, how do you decide how long to make a document?
   
4. Are you given a deadline? Do you set your own deadlines? Do you have enough time to write? Enough time to edit? If not, is the problem that the deadlines are too short or that you tend to wait until the last minute to begin writing?
   
5. How many times do you edit your drafts? How many times is your work edited or rewritten by others? By whom?
   
6. Have you ever limited the time you spent writing or editing because you felt you could not justify billing your client for more time?
   
7. After you turn in a document, do you see it again? Does the person who assigned it discuss the edited work with you in detail? Does anyone else offer comments?
   
8. Who does the editing, retyping, proofreading, and formatting of the documents you write?
   
9. Roughly what percentage of your time on any assignment do you devote to research, composing, and editing? Do you record the time spent on each of these activities separately?
   
10. Does the firm have a commitment to good writing? If so, how has it made this commitment known?
    
11. Describe any bottlenecks in the copy flow.
    
12. What do you think your writing problems are? What have you been told your writing problems are?
    
13. What writing reference books do you keep at your desk (e.g., dictionary, thesaurus, The Blue Book, stylebook, usage book)?