Have you ever circulated for review and comment what you thought was a well-written draft motion or brief? Then you know how disconcerting it feels when your draft is returned with so much redlining (or undecipherable handwritten edits and notes), that your original is barely visible.
How should you, a previously confident legal writer with a suddenly shattered ego, react? Is there any way to prevent this frustrating if not infuriating experience from recurring? And if you are a reviewing partner, senior associate, or in-house counsel, how can your editorial or substantive input be provided in the most constructive and collegial way?
Having been on both the drafting and reviewing ends of legal writing projects countless times during the past 45 years, here are some practical tips in my article Collaborating Collegially on Legal Writing.