Wayne Schiess

University of Texas School of Law

Senior lecturer and faculty, Beck Center for Legal Research, Writing, and Appellate Advocacy

727 East Dean Keeton St.

Austin, TX 78705

United States

http://www.utexas.edu/law

  • University of Texas School of Law

SCHOLARLY PAPERS

12

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Scholarly Papers (12)

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1.

Legal Writing Is Not What It Should Be

Southern University Law Review, Vol. 37, p. 1, 2009
Number of pages: 24 Posted: 19 Aug 2010
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 1,747 (16,061)

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Legal Writing, Style, Self Expression, Undergraduate, Knowledge Telling, Legal Analysis, Legal Drafting, Judicial Opinions, Time Pressure, Forms, Revising, Editing, Over-Formality, Complacent, Mediocre

2.

Ethical Legal Writing

The Review of Litigation, Vol. 21, p. 527, 2002
Number of pages: 25 Posted: 08 Jan 2009 Last Revised: 09 May 2012
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 1,121 (31,245)

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legal writing, legal research, ethics, sanctions, bar discipline, unethical, fines, lying, attacks, court rules, citation, plagiarism

3.

What Plain English Really Is

Scribes Journal of Legal Writing, Vol. 9, p. 43, 2003-2004
Number of pages: 33 Posted: 19 Jan 2009 Last Revised: 12 Mar 2014
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 801 (49,820)
Citation 1

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plain English, plain language, legal writing, legal drafting, myths, sources, Crump

4.

Issue Statements – Different Kinds for Different Documents

Washburn Law Journal, Vol. 50, 2011
Number of pages: 24 Posted: 19 Jan 2011
Wayne Schiess and Elana Einhorn
University of Texas School of Law and University of Texas at Austin - School of Law
Downloads 787 (51,046)

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question, question presented, issue, issue statement, single sentence, multiple sentence, under-does-when, whether, deep issue, syllogism, traditional, brief, brief on the merits, question of law, question of fact, memo, trial brief, email, letter, mediation statement

5.

When Your Boss Wants It the Old Way

Scribes Journal of Legal Writing, Vol. 12, p. 163, 2009
Number of pages: 5 Posted: 06 Aug 2010
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 416 (113,515)

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writing, legal writing, judges, boss, fear, inertia, professionalism, modern

6.

What Transactional Drafters Should Know About Plain English

Texas Journal of Business Law, Vol. 39, No. 515, 2004
Number of pages: 12 Posted: 08 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 398 (119,466)

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legal writing, legal drafting, transactional drafting, plain English, plain language, myths, misconceptions

7.

The Art of Consumer Drafting

Scribes Journal of Legal Writing, Vol. 11, p. 1, 2007
Number of pages: 24 Posted: 19 Jan 2009 Last Revised: 10 Apr 2011
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 192 (250,773)

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plain English, plain language, consumer, drafting, legal drafting, nonlawyer

8.

Advice for Drafting a New NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement

Texas Review of Entertainment and Sports Law, Vol. 11, p. 205, 2010
Number of pages: 13 Posted: 20 Aug 2010
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 146 (316,806)

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drafting, collective bargaining agreement, legal drafting, standard English, archaisms, grammar, punctuation, layout, format, numbering, design, ambiguous, provisos, serial comma, future

9.

Graphics in Briefs: Why Not?

The Advocate (Fall 2020)
Number of pages: 8 Posted: 18 Feb 2021
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 114 (381,798)

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legal writing, persuasion, persuasive legal writing, briefs, appellate briefs, trial briefs, graphics, visuals

10.

Saxon Words and Romance Words

Wayne Schiess, Saxon Words and Romance Words, 98 Mich. B.J. 58 (July (2019)
Number of pages: 7 Posted: 06 Aug 2019
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 87 (457,796)

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Anglo-Saxon, Saxon, Latin, French, Romance, plain, formal, informal, persuasive, persuasion, contract, order, writing, drafting, Saxon Finish, Saxon Restatement

11.

Using Intensifiers is Literally a Crime

Michigan Bar Journal, August 2017
Number of pages: 4 Posted: 20 Jun 2019
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 82 (474,515)

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intensifier, clearly, persuasion, literally, legal writing, persuasive writing, bullets, dashes

12.

Bouncing and E-Bouncing: The End of the Citational Footnote?

26 Appellate Advocate 409 (Summer 2014)
Number of pages: 12 Posted: 30 Aug 2014
Wayne Schiess and Elana Einhorn
University of Texas School of Law and University of Texas at Austin - School of Law
Downloads 80 (481,479)

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brief, judicial opinion, citation, footnote, citational footnote

Other Papers (49)

Total Downloads: 8,565
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1.

E-Mail Like a Lawyer

Downloads 1,070 ( 9,932)

E-Mail Like a Lawyer

Student Lawyer, p. 22, May 2007
Number of pages: 5 Posted: 12 Feb 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 722

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email, e-mail, lawyer, legal writing, profession, subject, body, salutation, sign-off, paragraph, attachment

E-Mail Like a Lawyer

Scribes Journal of Legal Writing, Vol. 12, p. 151, 2009
Number of pages: 11 Posted: 06 Aug 2010
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 348

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e-mail, lawyer, legal writing, writing, formal, informal, salutation, subject line, sign-off, brief, short, haste

3.

Write Effective Letters to Opposing Counsel

Trial, p. 70, June 2002
Posted: 12 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 499

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4.

Sentence Length

Austin Lawyer, No. 15, September 2007
Posted: 31 Dec 2008
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 418

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5.

Common Student Citation Errors

Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research & Writing, Vol. 10, p. 119, 2002
Number of pages: 5 Posted: 10 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 382

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6.

The Bold Synopsis: A Way to Improve Your Motions

Texas Bar Journal, Vol. 63, No. 1030, December 2000
Posted: 07 Jan 2009 Last Revised: 12 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 348

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7.

Improving Your Writing

Austin Lawyer, No. 7, June 2007
Posted: 31 Dec 2008
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 305

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8.

How to Write an Effective Memo

Student Lawyer, p. 22, May 2003
Number of pages: 5 Posted: 12 Feb 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 302

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legal writing, memo, memorandum, legal memo, answer, conclusion, question, issue

9.

Some Legal Words and Phrases We Can Do Without

Austin Lawyer, No. 6, May 2008
Number of pages: 2 Posted: 02 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 292

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10.

Write Better Faster

Austin Lawyer, Vol. 15, February 2009
Posted: 23 Feb 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 248

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legal writing, better, faster, compose, outline, deadlines, excuses

11.

Writing a Brief the George Orwell Way

Appellate Advocate: State Bar of Texas Appellate Section Report, Vol. 14, p. 6, Spring 2001
Posted: 07 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 238

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12.

Are You Justified?

Austin Lawyer magazine, Feb. 2013, page 11
Number of pages: 2 Posted: 06 Jun 2013
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 226

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justification, Microsoft Word, fully justified, left justified, left aligned, ragged right margin, readable

13.

Mind Your Prepositions

Austin Lawyer, No. 13, October 2007
Posted: 03 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 217

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14.

Email Advice Part 2

Austin Lawyer, p. 6, June 2009
Posted: 07 Aug 2009 Last Revised: 05 Aug 2010
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 199

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email, e-mail, caution, forward, reply, reply-all

15.

Choosing Topics for Topic Sentences

Austin Lawyer, No. 13, December 2007 / January 2008
Posted: 03 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 196

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16.

Summaries in Legal Writing, Part 1

Austin Lawyer, No. 9, February 2008
Posted: 03 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 188

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17.

Troubled Legal Writing, Part 1

Austin Lawyer, No. 13, June 2008
Number of pages: 2 Posted: 02 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 184

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18.

What I Wish I'd Known About Legal Writing

Number of pages: 2 Posted: 18 Dec 2014
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 171

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legal writing, writing, editing, time, write, edit, sources, guides, study, practice, mastery, practice

19.

When Verbs Become Nouns

Austin Lawyer, No. 6, April 2008
Posted: 02 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 168

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20.

Composing

Austin Lawyer, Vol. 13, September 2008
Posted: 31 Dec 2008
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 152

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21.

Summaries in Legal Writing, Part 2

Austin Lawyer, No. 6, March 2008
Number of pages: 3 Posted: 03 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 151

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22.

The Wrong Word, Part 1

Austin Lawyer, No. 13, November 2008
Number of pages: 2 Posted: 02 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 150

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23.

Changes in Legal Writing

Austin Lawyer, No. 13, July-August 2007
Posted: 31 Dec 2008
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 145

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24.

Editing

Austin Lawyer, No. 13, October 2008
Posted: 02 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 144

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25.

Lite Connectors

Austin Lawyer, No. 13, December 2008 / January 2009
Number of pages: 2 Posted: 02 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 143

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26.

When the Passive Voice is Used

Austin Lawyer, No. 13, July-August 2008
Posted: 02 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 139

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27.

Writing for Nonlawyers

Austin Lawyer, Vol. 13, November 2007
Posted: 31 Dec 2008
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 136

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28.

You Can Use the Same Word Twice in the Identical Discussion

Austin Lawyer, p. 6, July/August 2009
Posted: 07 Aug 2009 Last Revised: 05 Aug 2010
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 135

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legal writing, elegant variation, inelegant variation, same word

29.

Writing to the Trial Judge – For Motions

Scribes Journal of Legal Writing, Vol. 12, p. 131, 2009
Number of pages: 10 Posted: 06 Aug 2010
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 114

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legal writing, writing, persuasion, motions, judges, trial judges, organization, summary, synopsis, honesty

30.

Splitting Infinitives, Ending with Prepositions, and Beginning with But

Wayne Schiess, Splitting Infinitives, Ending with Prepositions, and Beginning with But, Mich. B.J. 46 (June 2015)
Number of pages: 6 Posted: 19 Aug 2015
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 112

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split, infinitive, verb phrase, but, preposition, end, sentence, myth, Latin, writing, tone, formality, audience

31.

Editing for Concision

Wayne Schiess, Editing for Concision, 95 Mich. B.J. 34 (Dec. 2016)
Number of pages: 7 Posted: 21 Jul 2017
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 104 (491,334)

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concision, edit, editing, brevity, short, passive voice, possessive, redundancy, nominalization, preposition, clause

32.

Writing to the Trial Judge – For Affidavits

Scribes Journal of Legal Writing, Vol 12, p. 141, 2009
Number of pages: 9 Posted: 06 Aug 2010
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 100

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legal writing, writing, persuasion, affidavit, judge, trial judge, summary, synopsis, headings

33.

Clichés in Legal Writing

Austin Lawyer Magazine, Apr. 2013, page 7
Number of pages: 2 Posted: 06 Jun 2013
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 95

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cliche, cliché, legal writing, trite, hackneyed, over-used

34.

Lawyers are Professional Writers

Austin Lawyer magazine, Nov. 2012, page 11
Number of pages: 2 Posted: 06 Jun 2013
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 92

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lawyer, legal writing, professional, writer, references, improvement, editors

35.

Rhetoric: Three Simple Techniques

Austin Lawyer Magazine, Mar. 2013, page 7
Number of pages: 2 Posted: 06 Jun 2013
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 92

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rhetoric, polysyndeton, asyndeton, isocolon, parallelism, emphasis, persuasion. conjunctions

36.

Wrong Words Part 2

Austin Lawyer, p. 22, March 2009
Number of pages: 1 Posted: 07 Aug 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 92

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usage, incorrect, misuse, typgraphical error, typo, spelling

37.

Briefs and Contracts in Plain English?

Number of pages: 6 Posted: 21 Sep 2012
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 91

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plain English, plain language, briefs, contracts, legal writing, legal drafting

38.

Meet ALWD: The New Citation Manual

Texas Bar Journal, Vol. 64, No. 911, October 2001
Posted: 07 Jan 2009 Last Revised: 12 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 89

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39.

Dear Employer

Student Lawyer, p. 26, October 2002
Number of pages: 6 Posted: 12 Feb 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 81

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writing, legal writing, letter, cover letter, job, application, resume, employer, grammar, punctuation, spelling, accuracy, honest

40.

What to Do When Students Say, 'My Boss Won't Let Me Write Like That'?

Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research & Writing, Vol. 11, p. 113, 2003
Number of pages: 3 Posted: 13 Jan 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 80

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41.

Writing for Your Client

Scribes Journal of Legal Writing, Vol. 12, p.123, 2009
Number of pages: 8 Posted: 06 Aug 2010
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 77

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legal writing, writing, letters, clients, legalisms, citations, colloquial

42.

Email Advice Part 1

Austin Lawyer, p. 6, May 2009
Posted: 07 Aug 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 77

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email, e-mail, subject, emoticons, question

43.

Troubled Legal Writing Part 2

Austin Lawyer, p. 11, April 2009
Posted: 07 Aug 2009
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 70

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ethics, word length, page length, poor writing, court rules, page limits

44.

The Texas Pattern Jury Charges - A Plain-Language Project: The Writing Consultant’s View

Michigan Bar Journal, November 2010
Number of pages: 3 Posted: 22 Dec 2011 Last Revised: 21 Sep 2012
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 68

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jury charge, jury instruction, plain English, plain language, readability, revision, writing

45.

Rhetoric: Three More Techniques

Austin Lawyer magazine, May 2013, page 7
Number of pages: 2 Posted: 06 Jun 2013
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 67

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parallelism, anaphora, epistrophe, chiasmus, rhetoric, emphasis, persuasion, legal writing

46.

Writing for Screen Readers

Austin Lawyer magazine, Dec. 2012/Jan. 2013, page 11
Number of pages: 2 Posted: 06 Jun 2013
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 47

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screen, screen reader, print, brief, brevity, summary, summarize, headings, subheadings, left align, skimming

47.

Whatcha Gonna Do: One Space or Two?

Austin Lawyer, p 13, March 2012
Number of pages: 2 Posted: 21 Sep 2012
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 34

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legal writing, punctuation, layout, design, document design, period, space, typewriter

48.

Third Time Still Charms: A Review of the Lawyer's Guide to Writing Well by Tom Goldstein & Jethro K. Lieberman

Legal Communication & Rhetoric: JALWD, Vol. 13, 2016
Number of pages: 5 Posted: 09 Dec 2016
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 24

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legal writing

49.

Case Illustrations: Thesis Sentences, Concise Narration, and Explanatory Parentheticals

Case Illustrations, Austin Lawyer 11 (April 2016)
Number of pages: 5 Posted: 19 Jul 2018
Wayne Schiess
University of Texas School of Law
Downloads 13

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legal writing, case, explanatory parenthetical, case narration, case illustration, topic sentence, thesis sentence