JEFFREY ZAJAC, ESQ.                                                          732.249.4118

Favorite Quotes On Legal Writing

​

If a writer's verbs are strong, he or she doesn't need as many adjectives and adverbs. So it goes for lawyers, even though they seem wedded to the notion that the more such words they use, the better. Too many adjectives and adverbs weaken writing, albeit for different reasons. "The adjective is the enemy of the noun; the adverb is ·the enemy of the verb," Judge John Minor Wisdom, a wonderful writer on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, used to warn his clerks. "Adverbs are guilty until proven innocent," quipped Howard.Ogden.   -Writing to Win, Steven Stark.

I'm sorry judge, I didn't have time to make it shorter.   -Legal Proverb  

​

Never write a sentence that you couldn't easily speak.  -The Winning Brief, Bryan Garner

​

Pretend that the Appellate Division page limit is 45 pages, not 65.    -Jeffrey Zajac

​

The deeper you are into litigation, the easier it is to forget what Chief Justice Abrahamson calls the "context in which the case arises."  That's why so many lawyers' preliminary statements make you feel as if you've been hit over the head with a hammer.    -Point Made, Ross Guberman

​

​