Editing is a difficult task with many interconnected pieces. It requires that we know and apply writing, grammar, and style principles to complex topics. And some writing professors have found that even if you have vast knowledge of grammar, syntax, and style, you can’t successfully apply that knowledge to thoroughly edit a piece of writing without help. Either you’ll get overwhelmed with too much information or you simply cannot remember enough to put the rules into practice while editing.

Because presenting our work in a clear and pleasing manner is so important, effective legal writers devote 35% of their time in any legal writing task to revising, editing, proofreading, and otherwise polishing the document.

As a judge reads our facts, she will form an opinion. When she finishes, often she has already decided the case. She will appreciate our argument to help her frame her opinion, but what motivates her is the story we tell and how we tell it. She already knows what the law says; she doesn’t know the facts. If we properly develop and present those Facts, argument becomes almost unnecessary.

Editing is the process of improving content, clarity, structure, and substance. It involves checking the content of the text to ensure that the ideas are expressed clearly and logically, and form a coherent and meaningful whole. It should be the first task you undertake after you have a fairly complete document. (Save the proofreading for later.) The purpose of editing is to make your document better. Here’s what to check:

Writing relaxes me and provides an outlet to explore concepts and ideas. Without writing, those same ideas would distract me during meetings or conversations with friends. Writing makes me feel happy and keeps me sane, so I know I should do it regularly. But I’ve struggled for years to find adequate time to write. I finally succeeded when I developed an intentional writing practice.

The perfect brief requires keen investigation and shrewd fact-gathering. The better facts we gather, the better story we can tell the judge, and the more persuasive our brief. No brief can exceed the quality of its facts—so invest in finding the right facts. Unfortunately, in law school we learn to present facts like a news reporter, but not to find them like an investigative journalist. 

Document creation consumes a significant portion of every lawyer’s time regardless of practice area—up to 60% of lawyer time is spent drafting documents. And lawyers spend an additional 10 hours per week revising, editing, polishing, and proofreading. But despite this effort, according to Lexis Nexis, 90% of all legal documents still contain errors regardless of whether they were proofread.

Before we write an introduction, we should think about its purpose and ask ourselves a question:

Do we even need an introduction?

Writing is not a linear process with a specific set of tools that a writer must use to succeed. For many, it’s a messy, disjointed puzzle where the missing pieces are not found until the very end of the process.

Judges, mediators, and other decision-makers live with major distractions. We need to capture their attention in the first sentence. Too often, we use that opening sentence—and sometimes several paragraphs—to overwhelm the judge with minutiae or to present the other side’s case.