Write Like Supreme Court Nominee Brett KavanaughBrett Kavanaugh and
Neil Gorsuch have much in common—same prep school, same clerkship year, same clerkship boss—but when it comes to writing style, they part ways.
In his dozen years as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Kavanaugh earned a reputation as a skilled, clear writer—straightforward, succinct and understandable. Nothing fancy, and nothing like Gorsuch’s
quirky, sometimes smug and over-explanatory prose that inspired the #gorsuchstyle hashtag.
In other words, Kavanaugh’s writing style is so un-quirky, it might not warrant a #kavanaughstyle meme. Except there is one already, created by
Ross Guberman, president of Legal Writing Pro, and creator of
BriefCatch.com. And he means it as praise, not criticism.
As he did with
Gorsuch in 2017, Guberman has analyzed Kavanaugh’s writing style, and he finds it to “fall right in with
Chief Justice Roberts and
Justice Kagan. He seems to have the same values of economy and clarity—not controversial, a very safe approach.”
With one colorful exception, Guberman said: Kavanaugh once opined that granting the extraordinary writ of mandamus in the case before him would be like “
using a chainsaw to carve your holiday turkey.” And in case you are wondering, Guberman says
Kavanaugh uses two spaces after a period, embraces the Oxford comma, and avoids contractions and footnotes.
Below are some of Guberman’s suggestions on how to write like Kavanaugh. (The rest are in a recent
LinkedIn essay by Guberman.)
→ Avoid heavy words and phrases: Refreshingly, Kavanaugh avoids “in order to,” in favor of just plain “to.” He’ll write “use,” not “utilization,” and “if” instead of “in the event that,” and “must” instead of “is required to.” He’s also not big on Latin phrases, using “among other things” instead of “inter alia.”
→ State your opponent’s position fairly: In developing his own position, Kavanaugh describes the other side’s case in a neutral and fair way, Guberman said. Doing so, instead of bashing the adversary, is a sign of confidence, and also makes one’s own position more persuasive.
→ Acknowledge that the law is tough: In small but notable ways, Guberman said, Kavanaugh shares his thinking process with readers, helping them understand that doctrine can be hard to apply. “Conveying a sort of nerdy wonderment about the law doesn’t hurt, either,” Guberman wrote.
Guberman’s praise for Kavanaugh stems in part from running 18 of Kavanaugh’s opinions through
BriefCatch, Guberman’s popular editing tool that gives instant feedback and suggestions for improving a brief or opinion. Kavanaugh ranked high.
Lawyers, scholars, judges and even Supreme Court justices are using BriefCatch, Guberman said. He would not divulge which justices use the tool. Nor would he discuss his
lunch at Del Mar restaurant in the Wharf complex with Justice Elena Kagan on July 13.
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