The purpose of the client letter is not to convey everything you know but to help the client meet their objectives, whatever those may be.

Last fall, the BCCA clarified the correct approach to drafting responses to civil claim.

Many lawyers start blogs with the intention of reaching potential clients. But then they write the blog as if their audience is a bunch of other lawyers practising in their same field.

If you are a litigator in BC — particularly one in your first 10 years of practice — you likely spend a fair bit of time preparing chambers materials.

Does this happen to you? After hours of research and document review, you sit down to write your argument or factum. You know the facts. You know the law. And yet. You just can’t get started.

Good legal writing should “flow.” This is easier than you think. It has a lot to do with the first sentence of each paragraph.

Or at least stop using it all the time without thinking about what it means.

As I’ve written here before, I love reading what judges have to say about legal writing. If you’re like me, you’ll enjoy Judges Speaking Softly, an article by Ross Guberman for the American Bar Association.

This is a cautionary tale.

This topic came to me recently when I was trying to compress 20 pages of submissions into a notice of application which, according to our court rules, must be 10 pages or less.

Drafting an originating pleading can be overwhelming. I’ve broken it down into 3 relatively simple steps.

Use these at your peril.

Increasingly, lawyers are using e-mail for substantive legal content. The lack of structure can make it difficult to be clear, concise, and professional.

Microsoft Word. I’ve probably been using it for 25 years (what?). But it wasn’t until fairly recently that I learned some of its best features.

Growing up, I enjoyed writing. Then I went to law school.