The best legal writers are those with the biggest boxes of authority evidence.

These attorneys can work creatively to make readers question, even when a precedent seems like it binds the result.

Here are five tools to help you start filling your authority-evidence toolbox. 🧰 1️⃣ Use multiple types of authority evidence for key points.

Often it’s more persuasive to combine multiple types of authority evidence—a quote, a comparable fact, and so on—rather than relying on only one dimension of an authority. (2/6)

Let’s take a look at an opinion penned by the writing maven Judge Don Willett (@JusticeWillett).

The Judge gave us a holiday present better than anything under the tree:

A document packed with writing examples and visuals that might convince you to try something similar. 🧵 ➡️ Use visuals when words aren’t enough.

If you’re explaining complicated concepts, untangling processes, or showing readers data—pull out your visual toolbox.

Judge Willett teaches us how an esoteric blockchain technology works using some simple diagrams. (2/8)

Adding insight or explanation in a parenthetical after a citation can do wonders for your readers.

But too many thoughtless parentheticals can make this tool worthless.

Let’s explore three common mistakes to avoid: 🧵 First, parentheticals are not the place to deliver crucial points for the first time.

If you’ve never made the transferred intent point in this next example, then don’t expect your reader to see it crammed inside a parenthetical. (2/6)

Striking the right tone is tough for legal writers.

Much of what we read in the legal world is either dry, boring, or over-the-top and downright scandalous.

But it turns out that the most persuasive tone in legal writing is a likable one. Here’s why this works: 🧵 We use approachable language that doesn’t talk down to readers while avoiding any esoteric references that sound condescending.

Also, we respect our readers’ judgment by encouraging them to reach conclusions based on the law and the facts—not our opinions. (2/6)

A star-studded cast of legal writers took on the @EPA over controversial electric vehicle rules.

The brief is a treasure trove of persuasive writing techniques ranging from small style tricks to major messaging strategies.

Let’s see how some of the greats do what they do:🧵 1️⃣ Good legal writing boils down complex issues into clear, memorable points.

By offering distilled takeaways, writers prime the reader to engage with the argument and absorb the details.

The team makes sure you know exactly what’s at stake and why their argument matters. (2/9)

GenAI operates in two modes: reasoning and nonreasoning.

For legal writers, understanding GenAI’s reasoning abilities is key to producing accurate results.

But how do you master that? Let’s break down the process: (1/6) ➡️ In reasoning mode, GenAI retrieves information first and then uses it to complete the next task.

➡️ In nonreasoning mode, GenAI quickly generates answers based on its general knowledge. (2/6)

If you’ve ever read Frankenstein, you probably spotted the theme without much effort.

Themes are moral, emotional, or practical principles that tie some or all of a document together 📑

But what is the best advice when choosing a theme? (1/10) ✅ Consider your audience and the atmospherics.

Is there a counterargument to your position, a bias your decision-maker will likely have, or some other obvious force working against you?

That’s where you push back. Here’s an example from the NYT v. OpenAI case: (2/10)

Top legal writers know quality often trumps quantity.

Let’s check out some powerhouse legal writing moves from two teams that couldn’t be more different:

An elite group at the U.S. Supreme Court led by @PaulWeissLLP and a small plaintiff’s firm out of Nevada. 1/🧵 In the opening paragraphs, there were many details the Paul Weiss team could have pointed to.

But instead, they highlighted the single most powerful emotional point. 2/

I spend a lot of time in the generative AI world. I get at least 20 AI newsletters a day, I've taken dozens of courses, and I read every major study as it comes out.

But it's often the discord innovators and reddit experimenters who come up with the most incredible ideas. 1/4 Case in point: I've tested tens of thousands of prompts with our team at Writelaw (our own and, often, those used in major research studies).

But we found one of the most powerful tweaks—that drastically improves legal writing tasks—in a small community of AI makers. 2/4

Dry, dense legal issues in the hands of incredible legal writers at @omelvenymyers, @SidleyLaw, @McDermottLaw, @JennerBlockLLP, @troutmanpepper, @BlankRomeLLP, @DorseyWhitney, and Kellogg, Hansen?

Easy-to-read and easy-to-understand briefs.

Let's see how (a🧵1/x) Responding Done Right.

Many legal writers pen their responses and replies as if their readers had carefully memorized every detail in the prior documents. No.

Check out how the @omelvenymyers pros remind you of enough specifics in a reply so that you can understand now.

Legal Writing Mastery: A Thread 🖋️

🌟 We talk about the power of distilling a lot at @writedotlaw. Not just as an aspiration, but as a skill that only the best legal writers are good at.

Check out some great examples from briefs filed this week across the nation. 1/ Check out how much Supreme Court regular Paul Clement and his team pack into the first sentence of a reply brief this week.

Those specifics dish up most of what you need to know—in the entire brief—with a single opener.

What happens when legal writing pros at firms like @JennerBlockLLP and @bsfllp tackle a tough case?

Fantastic legal writing lessons for us all.

Check out how some of the best lawyers craft the crux, prime audiences to win, and list their path to victory! /x Introductions are everything.

Legal readers these days want the specific questions and answers at the outset. If they can decide your case in five minutes, all the better!

Start by orienting readers to what your document is about and the questions they need to answer.

@Disney's complaint against Florida is a master class in advocating through pleadings.

A killer ToC, emotional priming, and surgical quoting give us a lot to learn from!

1/x ☑️ Emotional Priming: Reframe the Bad Facts.

The greatest legal writers don't run from the bad facts.

Instead, they often manage the bad in a couple of ways: (1) providing counter facts that detract from the bad or (2) reframing the bad facts so they look better.

Who wants to see some data on what separates amazing legal writing from the run-of-the-mill stuff?

We compared 50 legal briefs from across the country with a random sample of 10 Justice Kagan opinions.

Any differences?

Oh, yea.

Here's some of what we found. 1/x Fewer state-of-being and to-be verbs:

Justice Kagan used bland state-of-being verbs (like is, was, are, etc.) on average, 1 time for every 16 times the lawyers used them.

What does a brief look like when a dozen legal writing superstars (from @wilsonsonsini, Williams & Connolly LLP, and others) team up to write it?

Google's brief in Gonzalez.

We read a ton of legal writing, and Lisa Blatt and her team created magic here.

Let's see how. 1/x What makes this brief so special is that it's a tour de force in a tricky (but powerful) technique: Emotional priming.

YouTube was accused of recommending ISIS terrorist videos to users. So the crack-shot team knew they had to do some emotional work before the legal stuff.

We had #ChatGPT write a legal brief.

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

I may have found the best brief of the year. The backstory is like a Netflix special: Rural North Carolina families feud with hog farm that's dumping "waste" on their lawns and driveways.

Boutique Hilton Parker shows off ridiculously good writing techniques here. Seriously. 1/x Craft fact headings that tell a story on their face—while also categorizing the major factual takeaways

☑️ Divide your fact background into a few manageable categories

☑️ Make your headings tell a story on their face

☑️ Highlight the most persuasive facts from each section

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.

Two lawyers writing on the same topic.

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.

When imagining the best legal writers, you might think of big names at big firms.

But small firms have powerhouses, too.

Case in point: A ridiculously good brief penned by a plaintiff's attorney at the boutique Hilton Parker LLC.

Check this out. 1/X In the introduction:

☑️ You need no background to get into the story.

☑️ Facts do the heavy lifting instead of opinions.

☑️ Readers aren't bogged down by case law.

☑️ Storytelling is center stage (as are emotional facts); sentences are about actors carrying out actions.

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.