This law school is among the 1% that allow use of AI to write admissions essays

Can would-be law students use generative artificial intelligence programs, such as ChatGPT, to write admissions essays? Fifty-four percent of surveyed law schools have no official policy on the issue, according to a survey by test prep company Kaplan.

Oct 9, 2024 2:47 PM CDT

Will generative AI ever fix its hallucination problem?

A misplaced reliance on generative AI for research can be like overtrusting your robocar’s driving skills, resulting in real or metaphorical crashes.

Oct 1, 2024 2:30 AM CDT

Guard against poor legal research with these 3 writing practices

“Not long ago, the partners at a law firm told me of an embarrassingly disastrous trial. … They wanted to know whether I knew of ways to prevent this type of problem. The answer is a qualified yes: While there are no panaceas, certain protocols can minimize the risks of suboptimal research. Here are the three crucial points.”

Oct 1, 2024 2:10 AM CDT

The Supreme Court is a liberal body—when it comes to legal writing

Legal writing professor Jill Barton spent five years analyzing more than 10,000 pages of SCOTUS opinions to produce The Supreme Guide to Writing. Her biggest takeaway? The justices are not a conservative bunch when it comes to writing style.

Sep 25, 2024 8:48 AM CDT

Multitalented lawyer turns passion for Hawaiian history into new film

By day, Lance Collins is a lawyer. By night, (and sometimes day) he’s also a filmmaker, book editor and music producer. Now, he can add another title to his eclectic resumé: screenwriter for a feature-length film now playing on a streaming service near you. “When it comes to my time,” Collins says, “every minute is accounted for.”

Sep 24, 2024 8:48 AM CDT

9 changes to the Chicago Manual of Style, and why they matter

The Chicago Manual of Style’s rules are meant not only for those of us who write and edit for a living but for anyone who writes and edits, which is to say everyone.

Sep 20, 2024 9:00 AM CDT

A bookish Supreme Court keeps stacking the shelves

The gift shop on the ground floor of the U.S. Supreme Court building offers all manner of knickknacks and mementos—gavels, paper weights, Christmas ornaments and neckties. But the shop is dominated by books about the court, from children’s picture books to serious biographies and legal tomes.

Sep 19, 2024 1:30 PM CDT

AI-enabled workflow platform Vincent AI expands capabilities

Leading AI-powered legal tech company vLex released a major upgrade Thursday to Vincent AI, its workflow platform.

Sep 12, 2024 10:06 AM CDT

Kids create video, write law journal article about Texas Supreme Court

Two siblings whose mother is an appellate lawyer decided to make a video in which they interviewed Texas Supreme Court justices about their daily lives, their work and how they reach decisions in the cases that come before them.

Sep 5, 2024 2:17 PM CDT

Ketanji Brown Jackson gives readers a tour of her meteoric rise

Although it offers a wealth of biographical detail, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s new memoir, Lovely One, showcases little of the feistiness that marks Jackson’s judicial pronouncements.

Sep 4, 2024 10:55 AM CDT

How to integrate marketing insights into legal writing

Assuming that you share your legal knowledge and experience without oversimplification, advice from marketing experts can be worthwhile and immensely useful. Here are a few ways to embrace marketing advice without leaving your legal training behind.

Sep 3, 2024 1:10 PM CDT

Legal thriller author David Ellis’ day job? Appellate court justice

Justice David W. Ellis has served on the Illinois Appellate Court for the 1st District for nearly 10 years. But readers may know him better as author David Ellis, bestselling writer of more than a dozen legal thrillers.

Aug 29, 2024 8:41 AM CDT

‘Magic spell hypothesis’ may explain legalese, researchers say

Researchers studying the origins of legalese say lawmakers and lawyers may write laws and legal documents in a convoluted manner to confer a “ritualistic, spell-like element” signaling authority.

Aug 20, 2024 3:12 PM CDT

Lawyers as Explainers: Remember, you are writing for intelligent people

As professional workers with words, lawyers above all must be good explainers. The basic approach of expert explainers is to say what would need to be said clearly, simply and pleasantly to a small mixed audience of intelligent people. You think all this is obvious? It’s not. The qualities we’re discussing here aren’t commonplace. They’re rare.

Aug 1, 2024 1:40 AM CDT

Chicago lawyer writes about being GOAT at New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest

Jul 25, 2024 12:19 PM CDT