Marilyn Bush LeLeiko

Writing skills training & coaching for lawyers, accountants, & other professionals, including paralegals, managers & staff. Effective Email programs

[Marilyn Bush LeLeiko @LawWriting]

@KCDavisSays @jduffyrice Music focus

[Marilyn Bush LeLeiko @LawWriting]

@dickiebush Please send me the prompt you mentioned. Thanks!

[Bridget Mary McCormack @BridgetMaryMc]

And more than that, sometimes it is the best way to start a sentence. #legalwriting https://t.co/mLDMlCHRN0

[Jason P. Steed @profsteed]

Yes, especially good short stories and narrative nonfiction (in short form, like magazine articles). Reading good models of brevity is key -- because briefs can't (or shouldn't) be like novels. #legalwriting https://t.co/rqKozBSXMB

[Steve Leben @Judge_Leben]

Brief-writing tip: If there's one background fact that really should lead to a win for your side, keep your brief short to make it stand out rather than repeating it page after page after page. The repetition in the 50-page brief I'm reading today lessens the impact.

[Kristin A Norse @FloridaAppeals]

If the string of citations really helps your case, perhaps you might explain how in at least a parenthetical? Or did you cite 6 inapt cases just to make me look them all up?

[Orin Kerr @OrinKerr]

When the heading says, "no, you don't want to read the rest." (From a brief recently filed in the 9th Circuit)

[Bridget Mary McCormack @BridgetMaryMc]

I tell my new clerks that I love crappy first drafts. From a crappy first draft we can figure out where we need to go. #legalwriting https://t.co/i7DKaiSckz

[Marilyn Bush LeLeiko @LawWriting]

Important https://t.co/1OpgcA7UvR

[Joel Klettke @JoelKlettke]

Dear every single person who writes reports of any kind for clients:
PLEASE include an "Executive summary" section that sums up your core recommendations in plain English. It's probably the only thing most of 'em will read with focused attention.

[Marilyn Bush LeLeiko @LawWriting]

First, before writing, delete name from TO line. https://t.co/betnR1TDoC

[Ben White @EconomyBen]

One of life's most important skills is writing a nasty, angry email, letting it sit for a minute, then deleting it and moving on.

[Marilyn Bush LeLeiko @LawWriting]

Great thread on upward feedback: how to give editing feedback to someone senior https://t.co/uuYJzUYFxx

[Scott Myers @GoIntoTheStory]

Lin-Manuel Miranda: “You write until the rust comes out of the faucet and it’s clear water. Then you write down the clear water.” #writing

[PlainLanguage.gov @govplainlang]

A 36-line deep paragraph is a wall of text that no reader should ever have to climb. #plainlanguage

[Marilyn Bush LeLeiko @LawWriting]

"Change horses in midstream", "beat a dead horse", etc. — dictionary coverage for non-native speakers. https://t.co/PdZMuvAHOm

[Peter Sokolowski @PeterSokolowski]

If you've never thought about the difference between a dictionary written for non-native speakers and one made for native speakers, take a look at these entries.

[Marilyn Bush LeLeiko @LawWriting]

And in legal writing, don't just drop the parenthetical thought into a footnote. https://t.co/XVikZUe6dk

[Editor Mark (@[email protected]) @EditorMark]

If a thought is parenthetical, maybe you ought not include it. If you include it, maybe it ought not be parenthetical. #amediting #writing

[Marilyn Bush LeLeiko @LawWriting]

Never install any major software updates (operating system, PowerPoint, Keynote) on the day of a presentation. Or when traveling. https://t.co/7Gx46voZU4

[John Zimmer🇨🇦✊ @ZimmerJohn]

Never do this on the day of a presentation! https://t.co/QpvrrgPoje

[Steve Padilla @StevePadilla2]

#EzraPound, #BTD, said good writers "keep the language efficient. That is to say, keep it accurate, keep it clear." Note the accuracy part.

[Marilyn Bush LeLeiko @LawWriting]

Point-first writing: The last thing you want to do is force the reader to ask ‘What’s this all about and where is it going?’ https://t.co/btxbNvAHKr

[Marilyn Bush LeLeiko @LawWriting]

Spell check isn't enough. Best typo 2017 from Beethoven bio: Being dead did not stop him . . . https://t.co/k9bszhq2wX

[Polly Smith @plantypal]

Best typo 2017

[Marilyn Bush LeLeiko @LawWriting]

Pre-tenure faculty members: writing full of dense impenetrable sentences choked with polysyllabic prose. Too much legal writing can be described the same way. @racheltoor https://t.co/H5Q05iWqc2

[The Chronicle of Higher Education @chronicle]

"They’d earned their stripes, and in doing so, had made their work unpalatable to any except the few in their own speciated niches." https://t.co/Y0PaLTEE9s