Welcome to the Legal Nonfiction Blog
We are a seminar in writing legal nonfiction at the University of Baltimore School of Law. Our aim is to use this blog to practice our ability to make complex legal issues understandable to the...
View ArticleHope Keller interview
On Thursday, October 15, the class did an interviewing exercise. After consulting with the other students, Kayla Faria interviewed Hope Keller, the Law School’s director of communications and a veteran...
View ArticleEditing: A Checklist
We start the Legal Nonfiction seminar every year with an exercise not in writing but in editing. I think that no one can become an excellent nonfiction writer without developing the eye and the skills...
View ArticleAnatomy of an Op-Ed: An Opinionated Guide
1. Lede: offbeat or interesting if possible. a. Not good: “What did the authors of the Oregon Constitution mean when they gave the State Senate the power to ‘advise and consent’ to gubernatorial...
View ArticleWriting for the Popular Audience
• One thought per sentence. Ordinary readers need shorter sentences than do lawyers and courts, with fewer subordinate clauses. • As far as possible, write in the active voice unless you have good...
View ArticlePlacing op eds: A guide for lawyers and professors
A good op-ed ideas is timely, specific, aimed or at least compatible with the target publication, professionally reported, specific, and authoritative. Remember you are selling. To quote Glengarry Glen...
View Article
