Substance & Style
| Publication year | 2012 |
| Pages | 12 |
| Citation | Vol. 81 No. 4 Pg. 12 |
Spell Check Is Not Your Friend (and Other Tips for Effective Proofreading)
By Joyce Rosenberg, University of Kansas School of Law, Lawrence, jorose@ku.edu
“Proofreading?[1] Really? It seems kind of basic." I was talking to my legal writing colleagues at KU Law about the subject for this column. We teach our first-year students the importance of attention to detail in their written work. From the beginning of law school on, lawyers know it's essential. And yet, perhaps the lesson can't be repeated enough.
Proofreading goes far deeper than just cosmetic appearance. It's about even more than making a good first impression. Cautious proofreading actually improves your advocacy. It makes a brief easier to read. It makes the points clearer. It improves the writer's credibility, a key component of persuasion.
By contrast, careless proofreading can lead to big trouble. For instance, in one case, U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell found the plaintiff's papers "riddled with unprofessional grammatical and typographical errors that nearly render[ed] the entire Motion incomprehensible."[2] Judge Presnell edited the papers in red pen, attached the marked copy to the order, and required the lawyer to give his client a copy.[3] In another example, multiple technical errors were partly to blame for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upholding dismissal of a complaint.[4] The court noted many punctuation and grammar problems. The complaint's "rampant grammatical, syntactical, and typographical errors contributed to an overall sense of unintelligibility."[5]
No one wants to be on the receiving end of an opinion that focuses on the lawyer's poor attention to technical details. Aside from the embarrassment of such an order — which, in both of the above cases, made legal news nationwide[6] — the lawyers must have been horrified at the possible damage to their clients' cases, not to mention to their own reputations.[7]
Proofreading may be a basic skill, but it's vital. So proofread meticulously. Here are some tips for more effective proofreading. Implementing even one of these practices can improve your finished product.
1. Give yourself time and distance from your document.[8] After working with a document for hours or days on end, it can become difficult to see the mistakes. Step away from the brief. Work on something else. Go for a walk...
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