Augie, my two-year-old son, has mastered the art of implied passive voice. Here’s how it works. Say, purely as a hypothetical, he throws his new toy car off a bridge and into the Arno River. Rather than say “I threw my car into the river,” he immediately turns to me and asks “What happened?” In …
Avoid Sexist Language
My most stunning and irrevocable gender reference occurred when I tried to make a friend after getting settled in my college dorm room. I strolled into the adjoining room, introduced myself to Deb, the occupant, then, in an effort to make conversation, glanced at a picture on her bulletin board, pointed and said, “Is that …
Keyboard Shortcuts
Every month we get together with Minnesota State Bar Association members for Off the Clock, an informal discussion about tech tools for solo and small firm practitioners. Once a week we post either a tech or writing tip so you can better yourself two minutes at a time. One of the best ways to save …
Legal Style Guides
To badly hijack a quote from Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, good legal writing style, like pornography, is hard to define, but you know it when you see it. Attorneys start developing a legal writing style in law school. For most of us, it is awkward at first. Remember IRAC (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion)? Not to …
So, What Is Off the Clock?
Save the date Greg is back from Italy, so we’re returning to our regularly-scheduled monthly Thursday happy hours. Save the date for Off the Clock #6 on Thursday, February 25, 3:00-6:00 at Common Roots Cafe in Minneapolis. What is Off the Clock? Prompted by discussions on the MSBA’s solosmall listserv, we’ve been having get-togethers with …
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