Legal Writing Advice From the Supreme Court Justices

Bryan Garner’s 2006-2007 interviews with Supreme Court justices on the topic of legal writing can be viewed online as well as read in Scribes Journal of Legal Writing, volume 13.  The print transcript has the added benefit of pdf searching for specific items, such as “crafting the issues” or “statement of facts”.   The Scribes article has an introduction by the editor, which pulls out some good quotes, such as:

“I have yet to put down a brief and say, ‘I wish that had been longer’”

“[T]he genius is having a ten-dollar idea in a five-cent sentence, not having a five-cent idea in a ten-dollar sentence”

Thanks to Professor Ed Kramer for the tip.