12.5 SUMMARY

In practice, you will often need to write and file documents in a hurry, without time to polish and proofread in a leisurely way. Take the time now to develop an effective polishing process.

Chapter Twelve Review

1. Remember that your short-term memory interferes with good proofreading and polishing. Accordingly, try the following techniques: a. Put your document away for at least two days before proofreading. b. Use the search function to find and scrutinize locations with common problems

(e.g., citations, quotation marks, pronouns). c. Use quick-correct functions built into your software to pre-correct your common mistakes. d. Make your document look different before you review by changing the type and size of your font. (Change it back before you file it!) 2. Proofread the hard copy a few times to give yourself a different physical and mental perspective.

¹ Patricia M. Wald, 19 Tips from 19 Years on the Appellate Bench, 1 J. App. Prac. & Process 7, 22 (1999). ²Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Remarks on Appellate Advocacy, 50 S.C. L. Rev. 567, 568 (1999). ³Styles v. Philadelphia Elec. Co., No. CIV.A.93-4593, 1994 WL 245469, at *3 (E.D. Pa. June 6, 1994) (cited in Judith D. Fischer, Bareheaded and Barefaced Counsel: Courts React to Unprofessionalism in Lawyers’ Papers, 31 Suffolk U. L. Rev. 1, 27 (1997)).

⁴ DeVore v. City of Philadelphia, 2004 U.S. Dist. Lexis 3635, at *6 (E.D. Pa. Feb. 20, 2004). The court noted that counsel’s lack of care “caused the court, and I am sure, defense counsel, to expend an inordinate amount of time deciphering the arguments.” Id. at *6-7.

⁵All Things Considered, Magistrate Judge Jacob P. Hart Discusses His Fight to Get Lawyers to Clean Up Their Written Work (Nat’l Pub. Radio broadcast Mar. 4, 2004).

⁶ Of course, getting a friend or colleague to review the document can also be helpful, since that person will not have the information in his or her short-term memory. In an academic setting, you should not use this method unless you have specific permission from your teacher. In a professional setting, asking a friend to review your work is fine; finding someone who has the time to help you is the hard part.

⁷ See also Judge Stephen J. Dwyer, Leonard J. Feldman & Ryan P. McBride, How to Write, Edit, and Review Persuasive Briefs: Seven Guidelines from One Judge and Two Lawyers, 31 Seattle U. L. Rev. 417, 425 (2008). ⁸See Mary Barnard Ray & Jill J. Ramsfield, Legal Writing: Getting It Right and Getting It Written 371-72 (4th ed., Thomson/West 2005).