But instead of giving it a simple open-ended prompt, we taught it how to use some of the techniques used by the best legal writers in the world.
Check out what it came up with—if only more legal writers wrote this well. 1/x
To celebrate the upcoming launch of Write.law's new AI legal writing practice, we had our team work with GPT to write a motion from start to finish.
All we used was a simple list of factual details, some legal research notes, and our teams' prompts.
2/x
If you'd prefer an interactive version of the whole motion (complete with breakdowns of how we got GPT to craft each part of the motion) check it out here: write.law/writing-walkth…
Ok, let's break it down!
3/x
Use a deep introduction to do the work for readers.
☑️ GPT's intro paragraph orients you to the background of the case. Then it breaks down the key issues using specifics.
☑️ Judges love introductions that give them a cheat sheet of what matters like this.
Summarize the story with a quick movie trailer.
☑️ Consider beginning your fact sections with a quick movie trailer that gives readers the big-picture storyline at the outset—as GPT did.
☑️ This helps readers see the forest before the trees.
Craft factual headings that categorize each major group of details while also highlighting specifics.
☑️ Fact headings are a powerful way to highlight specific details from a section—as well as organize the factual details into a few manageable categories for readers.
Capture what matters from your fact paragraphs in the first sentence.
☑️ Distill the main takeaway from each paragraph at the outset. That way busy readers always know what matters, no matter how quickly they skim your document.
GPT agrees.
Surgically quote only what will help your readers.
☑️ If you find a good quote, use the smallest snippet that will serve your reader. Otherwise, let your better writing shine through.
Keep procedural standards short, to the point, and in plain language.
☑️ Most of your legal readers probably know the basic procedural standards (especially if it's a judge). So don't waste time with pages of legalese. Keep these sections short and easy to read.
Roadmap your points.
☑️ Readers love roadmaps. Number off your reasons or your sections or your categories, and it's almost impossible to get lost (so long as you stick to the map).
Stay tuned for the launch of the first AI-powered legal writing training, available only on Write.law!
I'll also give a shout-out to @BriefCatch and @legalwritingpro because a lot of the tuning we had to do were things I know for a fact BriefCatch would fix with a click. GPT + BriefCatch may constitute an entire top-notch lawyer!
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Finding great legal writing isn't that hard. Just look to the best—like the crack shot attorneys at @KelloggHansen
There's a reason @DavidLat called them the "uber-elite, D.C.-based litigation boutique."
They make it look so easy.
Let's see how. 1/x
The best introductions are so simple they feel like common sense.
Many legal writers dive straight into the details: weighing readers down with section numbers, clunky case names, and everything else readers have no context for yet.
Instead, strive to tell a simple story.
Use details to make points—not subjective characterizations.
For most lawyers, a party didn't just ignore a case—they "wholly mischaracterized it."
The other side didn't just fail to meet a burden—it "fell far, far short" of it.
One instantly sells you: The points are so direct and logical—it all just makes sense.
The second covers the same stuff, but the message is so tangled you get lost.
Being that first lawyer is easier than it seems. Let's see how /X
Judges can be the snappiest legal writers around. So this week, let's look at some writing moves from one of our favorite judicial writers, federal Judge Jennifer Dorsey.
☑️ First up: Label key concepts descriptively so they're easy to remember throughout your document.
Use purposeful word or structure echoes to highlight key points.
☑️ Judge Dorsey shows us how to pull off one of the easiest echo forms: Stacking two or more sentences together that follow the same grammatical structure.
What do EPA point-source rules, radio stations, and court-appointed receivers have in common?
They are all the subject of some great legal writing penned by the pros at @GlaserWeil!
Check out 7 simple strategies to elevate your legal prose, straight from these experts. /X
Head(ings) I win!
Pick up a random brief, and chances are the headings will tell you little (if anything) that matters.
☑️ The authors here tell you everything about a section in a quick heading. You know what court decision matters, why it matters, and the result.
In that same brief, the lawyers include three magic ingredients you'll nearly always find in great introductions:
☑️ Background context that orients readers to the dispute.
☑️ A clear illustration of where the parties disagree.
☑️ A persuasive pitch for resolving the dispute.
Sending $500m on accident is sensational enough. The legal teams @HoganLovells@Mayer_Brown for Citibank kept things concrete and common sense from the start.
And that paid off.
A brief that saved half a billion must have some legal writing lessons worth looking at... 1/X
Legal readers are busier than ever: Craft an elevator pitch that sells them.
✔️ The first sentence orients readers from ground zero
✔️ The law is woven in with conversational language (ordinarily...)
✔️Em dashes highlight the hardest-hitting fact
✔️Appeal to common sense
Great fact headings like these are hard to find.
✔️ Headings stand out: Highlight details you care about
✔️ Consider what story your headings will tell in the TOC (without reading the brief)
✔️ What do you want readers to remember from each section/group of facts?
By popular request, let's explore some legal-writing tricks courtesy of the all-star @Twitter team in the Elon Musk complaint!
Legal folks often ignore that complaints can be good for more than just leaping the pleading hurdle. They can persuade, too. 1/X
Use movie trailers. Readers crave frameworks before details. Give readers the bones of the story so that as they dig into the specifics, they already know where everything grafts onto. And use your best style out of the gate to make the best first impression.
Develop characters with choice details. What do we know about good stories? It's usually all about the characters. The characters are what get us to care, to sympathize, and hopefully, to lean toward the decision we want.