Achieving Clarity Gerald Lebovits
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Fordham University School of Law From the SelectedWorks of Hon. Gerald Lebovits May, 2017 Free at Last from Obscurity: Achieving Clarity Gerald Lebovits Available at: https://works.bepress.com/gerald_lebovits/308/ May 2017 In This Issue: 22 Stronger Commercial Noncompete Agreements 26 The Joint Employer Doctrine and the Franchise Business Model 30 The NLRB’s Redefined Joint Employer Standard is Justified May 2017 Michigan Bar Journal 3 May 2017 volume 96 number 5 THEME ISSUE EDITORS: Brian C. Draper and Richard C. Kraus 22 Antitrust and Franchising Law 21 New Environments and New Controversies Theme Introduction — Howard Yale Lederman 22 Innovation Ventures Paves the Way for Stronger Commercial Noncompete Agreements — Howard B. Iwrey, Cale A. Johnson, and Cody D. Rockey 26 Uncertainty Abounds 26 The Joint Employer Doctrine and the Franchise Business Model — David L. Steinberg, Derek D. McLeod, and Emily M. Mayer 30 The National Labor Relations Board’s Redefined Joint Employer Standard is Justified and Necessary — Howard Yale Lederman 30 Of Interest 18 The Importance of Law Day and the Fourteenth Amendment Lawyers, Let’s Share Our Passion for Constitutional Democracy — Linda A. Klein 34 Michigan Lawyers in History: Fred Magnus Butzel Special Feature — Steve Savickas 67 Proposed Section Bylaw Amendments ‘‘No organization of lawyers can long survive which has 68 Michigan State Bar Foundation not for its primary object the Report on Financial Statements protection of the public.’’ Roberts P. Hudson, First State Bar of Michigan President Michigan Bar Journal May 2017 4 May 2017 volume 96 number 5 Official Journal of the State Bar of Michigan Executive Director: Janet K. Welch Departments Editor Advertising 16 President’s Page Linda M. Novak Stacy Marciniak May Day—Law Day: Faith, Force, and the Rule of Law Copy Editor/Writer Communications Manager Michael Eidelbes Samantha Meinke — Lawrence P. Nolan Editorial Assistant Graphic Design Joyce Nordeen Ciesa Design 38 Plain Language Citation Support Contributing Free at Last from Obscurity: Achieving Clarity Chelsea Huber Graphic Designer — Hon. Gerald Lebovits Sarah Nussbaumer Publications and Website Advisory Committee 40 Trial Practice John R. Runyan Jr., Chairperson Tell Me Where It Hurts: Early Assessment of the Strengths Brendan H. Frey, Vice Chairperson Christopher R. Trudeau, Vice Chairperson and Weaknesses of Your Case Linda M. Watson, Vice Chairperson — Karen Libertiny Ludden William J. Ard Joseph Kimble David M. Cohen Richard C. Kraus Margaret A. Costello Gerard V. Mantese 42 Libraries and Legal Research Brian C. Draper John P. Mayer Franchising in an Entrepreneurial Age David R. Dyki Neal Nusholtz Jessica S. Fox Rebecca A. Schnelz — George Ward Vani C. Gujuluva Tyra L. Wright John O. Juroszek 44 Law Practice Solutions Editorial and Advertising Offices The Business of Practicing Law: Targeting Millennials Michael Franck Building 306 Townsend Street — Ashley E. Heidemann Lansing, MI 48933-2012 (517) 346-6300 (800) 968-1442 FAX: (517) 482-6248 46 Section Briefs www.michbar.org Articles and letters that appear in the Michigan Bar Journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the State Bar of Michigan and their publication does not constitute an endorse ment of views which may be expressed. Readers are invited to send their own In Every Issue comments and opinions by e-mail to [email protected] or by mail to Opinion and Dissent, Michigan Bar Journal, Michael 9 Money Judgment Interest Rate Franck Building, 306 Townsend St., Lansing, MI 48933-2012. Pub- lication and editing are at the discretion of the editor. Copyright 2017, State Bar of Michi gan. 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Publication of Notice of Hearings on Petitions for Reinstatement an advertisement is at the discretion of the editor. 64 The publisher shall not be liable for any costs or damages if for any reason it fails to publish an advertisement. The publisher’s lia- 66 Public Policy Report bility for any error will not exceed the cost of the space occu pied by the error or the erroneous ad. 79 Index to Advertisers The Michigan Bar Journal (ISSN 0164-3576) is published monthly for $60 per year in the United States and pos sessions and $70 per year for foreign subscriptions by the State Bar of Michi gan, Michael Franck Building, 306 Townsend St., Lan- sing, MI 48933-2012. Periodicals post age paid at Lansing, MI and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the State Bar of Michigan, Michael Franck Building, 306 Townsend St., Lansing, MI 48933-2012. Michigan Bar Journal May 2017 38 Plain Language Free at Last from Obscurity: Achieving Clarity By Hon. Gerald Lebovits scar Wilde was kidding when 4. Give the rule first; then give the excep- 10. Keep related matters together. Then say he wrote, “‘[R]emain, as I do, tion in a separate sentence. Explain any it once, all in one place. incomprehensible: to be great exception you give. Don’t simply write 11. Begin with an effective introduction, or O is to be misunderstood.’”1 Pres- that exceptions exist. If you don’t want road map, that summarizes your case ident and later Chief Justice Taft got it right, to devote space to explaining excep- and the legal principles. Use small-scale though in the negative: “‘Don’t write so that tions, state your rules so precisely that transitions—concepts and words—to you can be understood; write so that you they admit no exceptions. link sentences, paragraphs, and sec- can’t be misunderstood.’”2 The hallmark of 5. Introduce before you explain. Novices tions. Use topic sentences to bridge be- good legal writing is that an intelligent lay- often discuss something before they lay tween paragraphs. person will understand it on the first read. a foundation for it. The reader won’t Some writers use complicated language, understand if you discuss the terms of 12. Minimize acronyms. intentionally or not, to mask their lack of a contract before you establish that the understanding of the subject. Others write 13. Avoid, as if your writing depended on it parties have a contract. turgidly because they want to impress, be- (and often it does), intrusive phrases or cause they believe that people are supposed 6. Dovetail (a type of segue) to connect clauses—like the two in this sentence. to write that way, or because they don’t one sentence or paragraph to the next. 14. Untangle complex conditionals and neg- know better. They err. As Webster stated in Move from old to new, from short to ative statements by writing in the affirm- 1849, “‘The power of a clear statement is long, and from simple to complex. ative. A sign next to the judges’ elevator the great power at the bar.’”3 bank at the Criminal Courts Building In short, above all else, the legal writer 7. State the point before you give the de- in Manhattan reads: “NOTICE: USE OF must be understood. This article offers some tails, raise the issue before you answer THIS ELEVATOR IS RESTRICTED TO suggestions for achieving that goal. it, and answer before you justify. JUDGES ONLY.” The sign means that 1. Write only if you have something to 8. Stress issues, not legal authority. Novices anyone but a judge may use the judges’ say. Simplify your writing by omitting devote one paragraph after another to elevator; no restrictions have been placed unnecessary law, facts, and procedure. cases. Good writers organize by issues, on anyone else. Cut clutter, redundancies, and extrane- not caselaw. Authority should be used ous words, thoughts, and points. to support conclusions within issues, 15. Make comparisons complete and logical. 2. Put essential things first in sections not as an end in itself. Thus, cite au- 16. State whose position is being asserted. and paragraphs. thority as a separate sentence (or in a “Plaintiff moves for summary judgment footnote), after the stated proposition, 3. Assume that your reader knows little or because the facts are not in dispute” to de-emphasize authority and to em- nothing about your case. becomes: “Plaintiff moves for summary phasize issues. judgment because, he argues, the facts 9. Familiarize the reader with the person are not in dispute.” ‘‘Plain Language’’ is a regular feature of or entity before you discuss what that the Michigan Bar Journal, edited by Joseph 17. Shun overspecificity, which prevents person or entity did or didn’t do. Give Kimble for the Plain English Subcommittee the reader from distinguishing between the full names of people and entities of the Publications and Website Advisory the important, the less important, and the the first time you mention them. Use a Com mittee. To contribute an arti cle, contact unimportant. Overspecificity also bores shorthand version thereafter. Similarly, Prof. Kimble at Western Michigan Univer- the reader. sity Cooley Law School, P.O. Box 13038, Lan- familiarize the reader with the concept sing, MI 48901, or at [email protected].