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Columbia Law School From the SelectedWorks of Hon. Gerald Lebovits March, 2019 Thoughts on Legal Writing from Irving Younger—Part I Gerald Lebovits Available at: https://works.bepress.com/gerald_lebovits/336/ NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION MARCH 2019 Journal VOL. 91 | NO. 2 CONNECT WITH NYSBA VISIT NYSBA.ORG/BLOG Estate Planning Special Needs Trusts LAW PRACTICE Juror Texting MANAGEMENT: for Inventors WHAT TO ASK Eileen M. Ebel The Right to Be Forgotten VENDORS ABOUT The Art of Cross-Examination AI PRODUCTS THE LEGAL WRITER GERALD LEBOVITS Thoughts on Legal Writing from the Greatest of Them All: Irving Younger – Part I rving Younger was the master of legal writing and legal Five of his columns were republished in the Best Of series Ispeaking. in the Scribes Journal of Legal Writing: Symptoms of Bad Before commencing his brilliant 30-year career, he gradu- Writing, Skimming the Fat Off Your Writing, A Good Exam- ated from Harvard University in 1953 and from New ple and a Bad, Lessons from a Bar Journal, and Culture’s the 13 York University School of Law in 1958.1 After serving Thing. Although he wrote his columns over 30 years ago, as an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Gar- judges, lawyers, and law students can benefit forever from rison and as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern his timeless insights. This two-part column features his District of New York, he established a law firm with his best insights on legal writing. wife, Judith T. Younger.2 In 1965, he began teaching full In the first of our two-part column, we focus on Professor time at NYU.3 He was then elected from Manhattan’s Silk Younger’s suggestions to improve the mechanics of legal Stocking District — the storied Ninth Municipal Court writing. District — to the New York City Civil Court, where he sat from 1968 to 1974. In that time he was promoted to New ROMANCING THE VERB York County acting Supreme Court justice and served Professor Younger suggested using verbs. Verbs translate as an NYU Law adjunct.4 Judge Younger retired from thought with “clarity and conviction.”14 the bench in 1974 to teach at Cornell Law School as the 15 Samuel S. Leibowitz Professor of Trial Techniques.5 From Verbs describe an action, event, or a state of being. 1981 to 1984, he became partner at Williams & Connolly “Agree,” “decide,” “conclude,” and “argue” are verbs. Verbs are essential. They follow the subject matter of every sen- in Washington, D.C.6 Then he became the University of tence. Minnesota’s Marvin J. Sonosky professor of law until his untimely death in March 1988.7 Judith T. Younger still Professor Younger offered three simple rules to improve teaches at the University of Minnesota Law School.8 your use of verbs: Many consider Professor Younger the greatest speaker on • Use verbs “freely and frequently.”16 They identify the the law in American history.9 He lectured for BARBRI who and what of every sentence. They “give move- and created countless video and audio tapes for students ment and life” to writing.17 10 on evidence, trial practice, and civil procedure. • Replace verbs that convey no action — like “to be,” Professor Younger is almost as well known for his writ- “is,” or “are” — with regular verbs as in the examples ing as he is for his speaking. As a great communicator, he above.18 Consider this issue statement using “is”: wrote as eloquently as he spoke. He wrote two books on “The question in this case is whether a contract is the law of evidence: The Art of Cross Examination in 1976 enforceable under the Statute of Frauds when the and, with Michael Goldsmith, Principles of Evidence in agreement is oral and by which goods of a greater 1984.11 than $500 value are sold.”19 The next issue state- ment, with regular verbs, sounds better: “This case When the study of American-style legal writing was in its raises the question whether the Statute of Frauds for- relative infancy, Professor Younger also wrote 26 columns bids enforcement of an oral agreement for the sale of on legal writing in the American Bar Association Journal goods valued at more than $500.”20 as part of a series called Persuasive Writing. In 1990, his columns were compiled into a book: Persuasive Writing.12 • Use the active rather than the passive voice. For example, you should “discuss” the next issue rather than state that the next issue “is to be discussed.” The Gerald Lebovits ([email protected]), an acting Supreme Court active voice is more concise. And the active voice justice in Manhattan, is an adjunct at Columbia, Fordham, and NYU law gives words an energetic flow to capture your reader’s schools. He thanks his judicial fellow, Laura Tsang (Fordham University School of Law), for her research. attention. New York State Bar Association 61 Journal, March 2019 THE LEGAL WRITER SKIMMING THE FAT OFF YOUR WRITING • An important case should be both cited and ana- lyzed.36 Your explanation assures that a judge will Good legal writing takes time — time to edit and revise. understand the case as you see it.37 Not every lawyer enjoys the luxury of time. Professor Younger identified two principles to streamline the editing • Avoid string citations.38 Cite only the best case — process: the most recent case on point from the highest bind- ing court. Cite more than one case only if doing so • Eliminate.21 Review each word to determine the helps a reader, not to prove your research skills. purpose it serves. Excise words that don’t add to the main point: they’re unnecessary. This first step sepa- • Cite cases from an appropriate court.39 Judges must rates the necessary and unnecessary components of pay attention to binding precedent. They needn’t pay your writing. attention to persuasive precedent. • Boil down.22 Reflect on word choice and the length • Don’t use long quotations.40 Summarize important of your writing. As Professor Younger cautions, a points and hope that the judge will read the original “briefer version is always better than a longer.”23 opinion if the citation is critical to your case. Boiling down stresses the precise phrasing and ver- • Be candid about the citation on which you rely.41 biage you propose to use. Analogize and distinguish your citations.42 Never mislead a court. THE DEFINITIVE WORD ON DEFINITIONS What should you do if no case supports your argument? Definitions enhance clarity and reduce ambiguity. A defi- 24 Professor Younger suggested relying on “good sense, fair- nition states the exact meaning of a word. Definitions ness, and decency.”43 On this occasion, you might find can accomplish several objectives, including confining, that your strongest citation is none at all. expanding, and arbitrarily attributing a word’s meaning.25 Whether you’re drafting a pleading, agreement, or statute, “. AND WRITE IN ENGLISH, PLEASE!” definitions will help make your point concisely. Professor Younger described four ways to define: Effective legal writing calls for more than placing English on a page. Professor Younger cited one example of ineffec- • A term should be defined by a simple and precise tive writing from the Ninth Circuit. The defendants’ brief term.26 For example, “infant” means “a person who described the “juxtaposition of the real world environmen- has not attained the age of eighteen years.”27 tal encasement of the two sides.”44 In response, the Ninth • A term should be analyzed by its components.28 For Circuit commented that “[b]riefs should be written in the example, “United States” means “the several States of English language!”45 To avoid a rebuke from the court, the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Professor Younger offered two ways to avoid incoherent commonwealths, territories, and possessions of the sentences: United States.”29 • Rather than immediately typing out the first • A term should be defined with reference to the whole thoughts that come to you, identify the exact words of its parts.30 For example, “complaint” includes “the that convey what you intend to argue.46 Saying your notice of petition and the petition, respectively, in a thoughts aloud will help you in this exercise. Clarity special proceeding.”31 of thought precedes clarity in writing. • A term can be defined by listing all items the • Use simple and plain words.47 You might struggle term encompasses.32 Note the distinction between to identify the best words to describe your thoughts. “means” and “include” in any list that follows a defi- Readers shouldn’t. nition. “Means” will restrict a term to its stated defi- nition.33 “Includes” is used when a definition doesn’t READY, SET . WAIT! limit a term.34 Rewriting isn’t a cure for “premature penmanship.”48 Don’t just disgorge your thoughts randomly onto the page. CITING CASES FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT Professor Younger proposed that writers follow five steps Citations are the legal precedents that support your argu- to set the stage for persuasive writing. He gave his advice ment. Professor Younger outlined six ground rules for in the context of drafting appellate briefs, but his methods effective and authoritative citations: apply universally to other pieces of persuasive writing: • Cite sparingly.35 Citations are necessary but needn’t • Read and reread the record until you’ve mastered the be redundant. details.49 During this process, prepare an index and chronology of events. New York State Bar Association 62 Journal, March 2019 • Find a secondary source that explains an area of assumptions will undermine your argument. Professor law.50 At this stage, look at the big picture rather Younger explained that you shouldn’t state a conclusion than the details.

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