LegalWriter.net
Devoted to law, the business of law, and to enhancing lawyers’ writing skills.
I’m Julius Melnitzer, Legal Journalist, Writing Coach & Media Trainer for Lawyers.
I also help create strategies and story ideas for law firms and legal departments, and I train lawyers to write in plain English that people want to read. I’ve created this site to showcase thoughts and opinions about law and the business of law, as well as providing a resource for law firms, legal departments, and their marketers interested in my services.
What I offer is a unique skill set that will help you take your firm to new levels of clarity, accessibility, and media exposure. With 25 years of experience as a legal affairs journalist, and 17 years of experience as a practicing trial lawyer, my deep understanding of both environments enables me to translate complex legalese into plain yet elegant English. I can produce your content myself; I can also train your lawyers to write in simple English that anyone can understand, and assist in placing and pitching your stories to the media.
Julius Melnitzer was the recipient of The Canadian Online Publishing Awards’ silver medal for Best Investigative Series 2020.
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Judges as Deitys: Not to the Public
Clients often say what lawyers only think in court. Are lawyers too invested in the system to enjoy the candour of the uninitiated?
BANNING NON-COMPETES CALLS EMPLOYERS’ BLUFF
Ottawa and the Competition Bureau want non-competes gone. For businesses built on client lists and trade secrets, that’s no loss: the clauses were mostly a bluff. The real threat is buried in Bill C-31.
Lawyers’ Phones are Made for Answering (or, Why I Had Clients)
Law practices aren’t built on lunches, cocktail parties and presentations, but on answering the phone, replying quickly, giving fee estimates unasked, meeting deadlines, and caring about them as people.
ALL TRICK, NO TREAT FOR ONTARIO’S CIVIL JUSTICE REFORM
A year after a working group declared Ontario’s civil justice system in crisis, the province has adopted none of the structural reforms the group recommended.
APPETITE, NOT DEBT, KILLED WEIL GOTSHAL
Weil, Gotshal & Manges had no debt and US$5.6 million in profit per equity partner, yet it’s winding down after more than 50 partners left for firms that paid more. In a profession that can’t find lawyers for people earning $30,000 a year, that appetite raises the question of what law is supposed to be about.
AI: Ask a Stupid Question, Get a Stupid Answer
Young lawyers who draft documents and form legal opinions by prompting AI, without ever having done the work themselves, lack the understanding to know which questions need to be asked — something AI can’t yet figure out on its own. The result: they rely on bad answers because they don’t know better, and that’s how negligence claims happen.