We’ve all seen it.
_________
A case that involves
Millions of documents
And thousands
Of pages
Of pleadings
May be
Decided
By one page
One paragraph
One sentence
Or even
A single
Word.
Writing Philosophy/Methodology
What is the basic philosophy of our methodology? Perspective. We look at the work through the glasses of the reader. There are three main issues of the reader’s perspective:
1. Time. The legal profession has experienced an over 20,000-fold increase in information in the past 20 years. Judges and Law Clerks have less time for each case. Because of this, we place considerable emphasis on clear introductions and summaries.
2. Complexity. The profession’s increase in informat-ion, and the implications for the demand on the Court's time is compounded by specialization and complexity. We don’t assume knowledge of the subject matter by the reader. Complexity is the second critical reason we place emphasis on introductions and summaries.
3. Emotion. In business and law, our central job is persuasion. Traditional legal training and practice opposes the use of emotion. But the neuroscience jury* has decided: “We buy on emotion, and justify it with logic.” Decision-making is emotional. Whenever possible, we use emotion to the greatest possible extent. The art is in not appearing to do so. Both emotion and logic are needed for persuasion.
Limitations on the Court's - or any reader's - time means that the work may not be completely read, or read at all - unless the first page or paragraph is clear and powerful. Our goal is to "win the war before the first battle is fought."
*Lerner, J. (2014, June 16). Emotion and Decision Making - Harvard University.
