Over the weekend, Official Friend of De Novo(TM) Ross Guberman posted a challenge on Twitter: Who could come up with a fresh way to convey the idea that opposing counsel is on a fishing expedition?
Continue Reading In Which the Author Goes Hunting and Very Nearly Catches a Woozle
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Binding Assignments of Error
Binding assignments of error are a disaster, which is probably why Virginia is one of only eight states that still require them.*
By way of background, Rule 5:17(c)(1) requires that…
Letters from Camp
Legal Technology Update from VTLA Annual Convention
I was lucky enough to spend the weekend in lovely Williamsburg, Virginia, home to this year’s VTLA annual convention. The highlights of the convention included (1) Justice Mims’s interview of Anne Marie Slaughter, (2) Anne Marie Slaughter’s brother‘s interview of Chief Justice Lemons, and (3) Kenneth Polite‘s talk on the power of…
I Wrote a Thing
SCV Updates List of Acceptable Fonts!
How could I have missed this?! On December 15, the Supreme Court of Virginia revised Rule 5:6 to update its list of acceptable fonts. (H/t Steve Emmert.)
Until now, SCV briefs had to be printed in 14-point Arial, Courier, or Verdana. I’m on record as expressing mild disapprobation for that list. The new…
A Key Document is Missing from the Record–Now What?!
It’s not an unusual situation: The appellate lawyer realizes late in the game that a key document–a crucial exhibit, maybe, or a necessary transcript–is missing from the record. The document is supposed to be in the record. Everyone assumed that it was in the record. But when the lawyer double-checked the table of contents to…
Yes, You Can Start a Sentence with “And” or “But”
As longtime readers have no doubt picked up, I’ve got sort of a distinctive writing style for legal writing. If I had to characterize it, I’d say that it falls somewhere between “prickly” and “shrill.” Short sentences are crucial to this style, such as it is, both because they keep the pace moving and because…
Good Advice from a Bad Man . . .
. . . or at least, the author of the “bad-man theory” of the law. I was delighted to learn that Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., has his own wikiquote page. Here are some of his inspirational musings, which are sure to brighten your day:
- One has to try to strike for the jugular and
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