The Role of Ethics in Legal Writing: The Forensic Embroiderer, the Minimalist Wizard, and Other Stories
Scribes Journal of Legal Writing, Vol. 9, p. 77, 2003-2004
33 Pages Posted: 9 May 2007
Abstract
This article analyzes courts' reactions to unprofessionalism in lawyers' writing. The lawyers' errors included poor research, misstatements about the law, misrepresentation of facts, poor analysis, plagiarism, and lack of civility. Consequences for the lawyers ranged from reproaches to fines and even disbarment. For an update to this article, see Pleasing the Court: Writing Ethical and Effective Briefs (Carolina Academic Press 2005).
Keywords: Lawyer, attorney, court, errors, unprofessionalism, legal writing, brief, research, misrepresentation, facts, organization, wordiness, analysis, verbosity, legalese, gobbledygook, clarity, bar, discipline, suspension, Rule 11, sanctions, judges, civility, plagiarism
JEL Classification: K10
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation