Thursday, January 28, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Typography for Lawyers
An interesting website. Style matters, too.
I disagree with the rule that there should only be one space between sentences. But, it comes from an interesting point -- the "two space" rule is obsolete b/c it stems from old-school typewriters, so now there's no need for two spaces. Relatedly, this is one reason I prefer the Georgia font to TNR (Times New Roman), because the Georgia periods are larger. Apparently, the TNR periods are so small b/c in the old days, the newspaper ink would expand, so the periods were designed overly small. Now, they're too small b/c obviously, computer screens don't involve expanding ink.
I disagree with the rule that there should only be one space between sentences. But, it comes from an interesting point -- the "two space" rule is obsolete b/c it stems from old-school typewriters, so now there's no need for two spaces. Relatedly, this is one reason I prefer the Georgia font to TNR (Times New Roman), because the Georgia periods are larger. Apparently, the TNR periods are so small b/c in the old days, the newspaper ink would expand, so the periods were designed overly small. Now, they're too small b/c obviously, computer screens don't involve expanding ink.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Orthogonal argument
A rule of thumb in legal writing is if you have to look up a word, it's the wrong word to use in your brief. The point being that you should KISS (keep it simple stupid) and not distract with fancy words.
Apparently it's a whole different story in oral argument. A law professor (go figure) arguing to the U.S. Supreme Court dropped the word "orthogonal," which means, right angle, unrelated, irrelevant. Because the Justices had no idea what the word meant, it turned into an "orthogonal" sidebar about the meaning of the word. This turned out to be a brilliant piece of advocacy, because it let the professor get a special connection with the Justices, and he had a couple jokes ready to go. I would bet money the professor had planned the whole exchange in preparing his oral argument.
Apparently it's a whole different story in oral argument. A law professor (go figure) arguing to the U.S. Supreme Court dropped the word "orthogonal," which means, right angle, unrelated, irrelevant. Because the Justices had no idea what the word meant, it turned into an "orthogonal" sidebar about the meaning of the word. This turned out to be a brilliant piece of advocacy, because it let the professor get a special connection with the Justices, and he had a couple jokes ready to go. I would bet money the professor had planned the whole exchange in preparing his oral argument.
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