COLUMN > Write to Counsel
BY JACLYN C. CELEBREZZE
As attorneys, writing is often a daily practice, yet finding dedicated time to draft is a constant conundrum. And when we do manage to carve out space for writing, staying focused and finding flow can be a problem. Because the clock is always ticking, increasing the pressure to produce. Here are some helpful techniques for tackling the attorney-writer’s most common issues: getting started, pushing for progress, and knowing when to stop.
Getting Started
Oftentimes, the hardest part of writing is starting. Especially when you have a tight turnaround. But taking a few proactive steps before you begin writing can ease the way, namely: plotting your success, setting your intentions, and adopting a positive perspective.
First, plan and plot your success. Start by asking yourself these three questions:
- What am I hoping to produce?
- What is the anticipated format or length?
- What is the allotted timeframe?
Identifying your document type dictates the format, components, and length of the document. Next, be sure to assess the clock. Do you have a short deadline? Or a considerable amount of time to prepare?
- For short writing assignments, apportion your time ruthlessly. Ensure you budget time for each step, but do not hesitate to lean on your team. As attorneys, one of our greatest strengths is our ability to draft collaboratively. You may need to delegate research or editing to others.11 Anna P. Hemingway & Jennifer M. Lear, “Tips for Lawyers Writing in a Time Crunch,” ABA Litigation Journal, Vol. 40, No. 1, Dec. 1, 2012.
- For longer-term writing assignments, you will need to maintain enthusiasm for a considerable duration. Be sure to plan around project fatigue by breaking the project up into several pieces.
Next, set your intentions. Draft a chart breaking down the stages of the assignment and include three columns: stage, benchmark for completion, and time allotted. This will help you identify the areas that need most attention and allow you to research and draft accordingly. Alternatively, draft a task list.22 For an example of the progress chart, see Angela B. Debush, “Using Intention-Setting Practices to Increase Student Engagement in the First-Year Legal Writing Classroom,” 27 Legal Writing 237, 244 (2023). For an example task list, see Bryan Garner, “Law Prose Lesson 385: How to Write Under Pressure,” Law Prose, Oct. 12, 2022, https://lawprose.org/lawprose-lesson-385-how-to-write-under-pressure/.
If you notice you repeatedly have trouble meeting deadlines, you will want to practice your intention-setting on less time-sensitive matters and expand your chart to include barriers and self-evaluation.33 For improvement charts showing examples of barriers and methods of self-assessing, see Angela B. Debush, “Using Intention-Setting Practices to Increase Student Engagement in the First-Year Legal Writing Classroom,” 27 Legal Writing 237, 244 (2023). Identify the research barriers, competing work assignments, or travel obligations that are preventing you from making progress on a matter. Track your progress over four or five assignments and identify the stumbling blocks in your process.
Finally, adopt a positive perspective. As attorneys, we are experts in framing an issue. Apply that concept to your own writing process. Shift your perspective from having to write a brief to getting to write a brief.44 Jami Attenberg, 1000 Words 28 (2024). Suddenly, a dreaded task will be reset in your mind as an exciting challenge. And all the reasons you were excited to work on this matter will come flooding back.
If You Cannot Write Today, Save Your Idea for Tomorrow
What about when you have lots of ideas, but no time to start drafting? How do you hold onto the sharp insights or important policy arguments you want to include in your brief when you do not have time to sit down and draft? J. Courtney Sullivan has a fantastic strategy she calls “breadcrumb moment[s].”55 Attenberg, supra note 4, at 91.
Rather than trying to store errant ideas in your brain for days on end, any time you think of a strong point or argument that you want to include in your project, send yourself an email. Just be sure to place the name of the project in your subject line and keep the same name for the project the whole time.66 Id. Then, when you can devote meaningful time and attention to drafting, you will have notes that you can easily convert into an outline. Just be cognizant of attorney-client privilege when note-taking.
Getting Restarted
Let’s move to the next challenge—getting restarted. A legal writing project is seldom started and finished in one writing session. And a lot of time and energy can be lost when restarting a draft. It takes a certain amount of time to settle back in, remember where you were, and where you are going. Sometimes you end up re-reading the entire document to get your bearings. Here are some tips for avoiding confusion and getting restarted efficiently.
First, try returning to your progress chart. As Chicago-Kent College of Law Professor Angela DeBush writes, “[C]entered intention setting creates a tether … [writers] can use to reconnect with their work and to recalibrate their focus.”77 Angela B. Debush, “Using Intention-Setting Practices to Increase Student Engagement in the First-Year Legal Writing Classroom,” 27 Legal Writing 237, 241 (2023). If you forget where you are in your writing assignment, reviewing your chart should jog your memory and allow you to dive right back into drafting.
If that does not work, give yourself a “writing ledge.”88 Shannon McCarthy, “Writing With Focus: How to Tackle a Distant Deadline,” Harvard Griffin GSAS News, Nov. 1, 2024, https://gsas.harvard.edu/news/writing-focus-how-tackle-distant-deadline. At the end of every writing session, leave yourself a prompt of what you should write next. This will help jumpstart your next writing session. As Shannon McCarthy explains:
[W]hen I’ve finished my work for a day, I take two minutes to jot down what I would write next if I had more time and bandwidth… having these thoughts to look at the next time I sit down to write helps pull me back into the same headspace and flow that I left. This small refocusing exercise helps me begin my next writing session more smoothly.99 Id.
Finding Focus
Let’s talk location, time, and distractions. Most attorneys do not have the luxury of writing alone in the woods to a soothing duet of chirping birds and babbling brooks. Instead, the attorney-writer’s background music is the whir of a copy machine, the faint rustle of papers, intermittent coughing, and the near-constant buzzing of our “silenced” cell phones. So, how can we find focus amid all these distractions?
First, consider your writing environment. You need to take stock of where—and when—you produce your best work and try to recreate those writing conditions for yourself as often as possible.1010 David A. Rasch & Meehan Rasch, “Overcoming Writer’s Block and Procrastination for Attorneys, Law Students, and Law Professors,” 43 New Mexico Law Rev. 193, 222 (2013). This could be drafting in the early morning or mid-afternoon, sitting in front of a sunny window, or turning on classical music. Set the writing stage for your drafting success.
Second, be sure to minimize distractions as much as possible. Shut the office door, put away your phone, and close your inbox. If you find it difficult to self-regulate, technology can help. A multitude of zero–distraction and time-management applications exist to cut down on outside noise.1111 Joe Regalia, Level Up Your Legal Writing: Techniques and Technology to Supercharge Your Skills, 16-17 (2024).
Finding Flow
What about originality and creativity? How can you foster creative flow while drafting under a deadline? “Flow is an intrinsically enjoyable state of being in which what one is doing is accomplished with such passion and mastery that nothing else seems to matter when engaged in it,” writes Dr. Michelle K. Lewis, psychology professor at Winston-Salem State University.1212 Michelle K. Lewis, “In the Zone: How the Brain Helps Us Flow,” Psychology Today, Mar. 16, 2024, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cultural-neuroscience/202403/in-the-zone-how-the-brain-helps-us-flow.
To successfully achieve creative flow, you need to practice regularly and let go mentally while performing the activity.1313 Id. Translating that to legal writing, attorneys should write daily and freely while drafting. Do not focus on whether you have checked off every step during the writing process—that is what editing is for.
And don’t just practice in an ideal environment. If you can practice writing under timed conditions with a distraction or two, you build up your mental resilience, making it easier to achieve flow no matter the circumstances.1414 Hayley Caldwell, “How do top athletes get into the zone? By getting uncomfortable,” Ideas.ted.com, Mar. 1, 2023, https://ideas.ted.com/how-do-top-athletes-get-into-the-zone-by-getting-uncomfortable/.
Pushing For Progress
When you get stuck, diagnose the difficulty.1515 Attenberg, supra note 4, at 198. Attenberg recommends using your reasons for not writing as a prompt to overcome writer’s block and jumpstart a writing session. Ask yourself why you cannot move forward on your brief, memo, or client letter. And write down your answers. This will help you plot your path forward by showing you what information you need to keep going. Follow this process until you have answered all the lingering questions of law and fact.
Ending
At a certain point, you need to stop. But as the common adage goes, “writing is never done, it’s simply due.”1616 Although not confirmed, many attribute this quote to teacher and author Kelly Gallagher. That said, no matter how tight your timeline, always allow time for editing.1717 Bryan Garner, “Law Prose Lesson 385: How to Write Under Pressure,” Law Prose, Oct. 12, 2022, https://lawprose.org/lawprose-lesson-385-how-to-write-under-pressure/. Remind yourself that you have done the necessary research, written strong arguments, and edited scrupulously; it is time to send your document into the world so that it can have power and impact. It will never change a life if it does not get read. So, in these instances, “done is better than perfect.”1818 Attenburg, supra note 4, at 227.
Conclusion
The next time you have trouble getting started or focusing in on a writing assignment, I hope one of these techniques helps. And try to remember: The aches and pains of getting started, staying motivated, finding your flow, and getting back on track are the symptoms of good writing. Whether you are getting started, resetting your intentions, or wrapping up a project, happy drafting.
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About the author
Jaclyn C. Celebrezze is an assistant teaching professor at the University of Washington School of Law, where she teaches first-year legal analysis, research, and writing.
NOTES
1. Anna P. Hemingway & Jennifer M. Lear, “Tips for Lawyers Writing in a Time Crunch,” ABA Litigation Journal, Vol. 40, No. 1, Dec. 1, 2012.
2. For an example of the progress chart, see Angela B. Debush, “Using Intention-Setting Practices to Increase Student Engagement in the First-Year Legal Writing Classroom,” 27 Legal Writing 237, 244 (2023). For an example task list, see Bryan Garner, “Law Prose Lesson 385: How to Write Under Pressure,” Law Prose, Oct. 12, 2022, https://lawprose.org/lawprose-lesson-385-how-to-write-under-pressure/.
3. For improvement charts showing examples of barriers and methods of self-assessing, see Angela B. Debush, “Using Intention-Setting Practices to Increase Student Engagement in the First-Year Legal Writing Classroom,” 27 Legal Writing 237, 244 (2023).
4. Jami Attenberg, 1000 Words 28 (2024).
5. Attenberg, supra note 4, at 91.
6. Id.
7. Angela B. Debush, “Using Intention-Setting Practices to Increase Student Engagement in the First-Year Legal Writing Classroom,” 27 Legal Writing 237, 241 (2023).
8. Shannon McCarthy, “Writing With Focus: How to Tackle a Distant Deadline,” Harvard Griffin GSAS News, Nov. 1, 2024, https://gsas.harvard.edu/news/writing-focus-how-tackle-distant-deadline.
9. Id.
10. David A. Rasch & Meehan Rasch, “Overcoming Writer’s Block and Procrastination for Attorneys, Law Students, and Law Professors,” 43 New Mexico Law Rev. 193, 222 (2013).
11. Joe Regalia, Level Up Your Legal Writing: Techniques and Technology to Supercharge Your Skills, 16-17 (2024).
12. Michelle K. Lewis, “In the Zone: How the Brain Helps Us Flow,” Psychology Today, Mar. 16, 2024, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cultural-neuroscience/202403/in-the-zone-how-the-brain-helps-us-flow.
13. Id.
14. Hayley Caldwell, “How do top athletes get into the zone? By getting uncomfortable,” Ideas.ted.com, Mar. 1, 2023, https://ideas.ted.com/how-do-top-athletes-get-into-the-zone-by-getting-uncomfortable/.
15. Attenberg, supra note 4, at 198. Attenberg recommends using your reasons for not writing as a prompt to overcome writer’s block and jumpstart a writing session.
16. Although not confirmed, many attribute this quote to teacher and author Kelly Gallagher.
17. Bryan Garner, “Law Prose Lesson 385: How to Write Under Pressure,” Law Prose, Oct. 12, 2022, https://lawprose.org/lawprose-lesson-385-how-to-write-under-pressure/.
18. Attenburg, supra note 4, at 227.