Law Practice Tips

Improve your writing by using active voice, action verbs, present tense, singular nouns and other principles of clear writing . Get inspired by reading  an article about the importance of improving writing throughout your career. Then enhance your writing skills by reading articles about  Common Mistakes ,  Grammar Goofs ,  Muddled Writing ,   Writing Tips  and Resources .  Visit the Federal Register website for its  Plain Language Tools ,  Drafting Resources , Newsletter  and  Handbook . Read  ABA books about  Grammar and Writing,   Judicial Perspectives on the Written Word , and  Legal Writing Resources . Proofread your writing with  Grammarly ,  Microsoft Edtor , and other writing tools .

Mark Twain learned about law from his father who was a Justice of the Peace. Twain's writings have several lessons for lawyers, including learning from mistakes, listening to your opponent, and pausing during presentations. Get inspired by reading Twain's  biography , his  tips for lawyers , and his  lessons for life . For deeper learning, read his  books and an anthology of his  humorous observations about life and lawyers . Get inspired by watching Hal Holbrook perform in Mark Twain Tonight.

Use virtual preparation to improve witness performance at trials and depositions. During practice sessions, keep conversations informal, make briefings short, and use playback as a teaching tool. For more tips, read articles about best practices ,  ethical rules , expert witnesses , and  virtual preparation . For comprehensive study, read the ABA  Guide to Preparing Witnesses   and Trial Manual .

Read the ABA’s 2020 Annual Survey of Law Firm Technology Trends to learn about  trends for lawyers and firms . Topics include trends in Billing ,  Budgeting , Cloud Computing , Cybersecurity ,  Getting Paid ,  Litigation ,  Management , Marketing , Training , and  Websites . Click here   for a page with links to all of the articles. Also see Robert Ambroggi's article about  Top Technology Trends  and visit the ABA’s Legal Technology Resource Center .

Hackers can  encrypt your files unless you protect them against ransomware attack s.  Protect your files and your clients by enabling   Controlled Folder Access   in Windows and using link protection in Outlook  a nd Gmail . Remember to continuously backing up files with an external hard drive or cloud service like Carbonite . Learn more by reading articles about   cybersecurity , hacking , and  ransomware . Also read the ABA's  Handbook on Cybersecurity  and  Survey of Best Practices . Also see  PC Magazine's Review of Cloud Backup Services  and visit security websites like   NoMoreRansom   and Krebs on Security .