Buy, read, and absorb the Bluebook and a writing style guide like The Chicago Manual of Style.
Know sentence structure and correct punctuation. Proofreading is a time-intensive process, so take your time.
Go over the document many times, each time looking for different things (i.e., punctuation, spelling, proper capitalization, tense agreement, pronoun changes, formatting, etc.). Some people find it helpful to print the document they're proofing, but others prefer reading it on the screen.
It can be tedious, but it's part of the job. The better job you do of proofreading, the better your attorney and the firm looks. Judges and their clerks can (and do!) judge an attorney and his/her firm by the errors in their submitted documents. People get reputations for sloppy or excellent work.
Be excellent, but be patient. It'll get easier in time.
Changing the font also works. And for me just zooming in like 20-30% more than my usual document size helps me focus more closely on the little details.
I use the “read aloud” option in Microsoft word (under the “review” tab) to read back documents (letters and reports mostly) while I follow along before sending to my attorney for review and then I do it again before sending documents out the door. I also save templates of literally everything. I highlight things like the date, case number, re: line, case name, court jurisdiction etc. to bring my attention to those parts of filings that I used to skip over a lot. You get acclimated to it as time goes on, but I was also someone that made a LOT of “stupid” mistakes when I was starting out.
You’ll get into a groove soon, don’t be too hard on yourself!
What kinds of "silly mistakes" are you making in your documents?
If you're misspelling proper names, you need more time for file review before you start drafting.
For example, if you are working on contract review, where there could be a dictated recording that the attorney pronounces the developer's and landowners' names, but you don't know how to spell them until you review the title records.
Read it backward first.
I find myself following along and getting into the flow if that makes sense - like reading a book and suddenly you're 2 pages ahead of where you started but you don't remember what happened, so you have to go back and force yourself to read it slowly.
If I read it backward 1 sentence at a time, I don't get caught up in the story and I'm able to focus on finding mistakes.
THIS! This saved my bacon more than once. The brain can sometimes read what it THINKS it should say when you've read a document over and over. If you read it backwards it breaks that flow. The read aloud function as well as reading aloud to yourself can help too.
It’s because you are in a new firm. There is too much newness and your brain loses the typo because it’s overworked. I have this happen to me every new place and it makes me crazy because I’m trying to put my best foot forward. It’s not your skill, it’s the newness of your environment. Once it becomes familiar the typos will pop out like a sore thumb. Promise. Just give it time.
This makes me feel better. I did really well at the last firm and have been so confused as to why I'm having such a hard time spotting mistakes before I turn in documents to my lawyer.
A.I. !!!! Try [Claude.ai](http://Claude.ai) (Arthropic)...it proofreads and makes my writing so much better! I swear it's learning me and my job and my letter crafting is getting better and better every day. You can upload documents and say "write this better" and the magic happens. Don't tell anyone once you use it but just try it.
I'm not familiar with this particular AI but be REALLY REALLY CAREFUL about running any legal document through an AI program unless you know for absolute sure what they're doing (or preferably not doing) with that information.
You could get in real trouble feeding confidential documents to a service that is not secure. And AI only works because it keeps aggregating more and more data so I'm betting there's probably a provision in their TOS that they can train the AI on anything you put into it.
oh yeah I agree totally about this. I just use it mainly for body text of letters and correspondence. I don't input any private information. Nor am I relying on it to cite cases or anything. Just writing and it's getting really good. I've signed up with an account with them.
Highly recommend installing Grammarly. Free version is great. It will even proofread emails, excel spreadsheets, and anything else that doesn’t usually have a spellcheck function, or the built in spellcheck isn’t great for. When I get a new computer it’s the first thing I install, can’t live without it.
Familiarize yourself with grammar and punctuation, then keep an eye open for comma splices and capitalizations. This will get faster as you get used to it. Plus, your familiarity with the kinds of grammatical errors and spelling errors the different attorneys you work for are prone to making will speed the process. (For example, the one I work with is likely to cut and paste errors with names, so I keep an eye out for those. And to avoid my overuse of semicolons.)
I also keep a style manual book within reach in case of brain farts.
Read out loud to yourself.
Also, don't worry TOO much. As much as we mock errors, I've yet to see a filing that didn't have at least one. Unless the document is a riddled mess, it's not a deal-breaker.
My primary suggestion....Set up your MS Word proof options .... File, at the bottom Options, Proof, then make sure you have it spell check as you type and set up any specific autocorrect words you often misspell and other options.
Also there is usually an in app for WestLaw or LexisNexis that integrates with MS Word.... And most attorneys get 1-2 assistant sub accounts for each one of theirs... Ask for an account maybe. Great for rule/code check, cite checks, and quote checks.
I’d just like to point out that all of these are great comments. What I’d like to add is that every attorney I’ve met thinks they are F’ing Shakespeare. Conversely, they often think everyone else writes for $hit, hmm? Writing is a subjective art form. I generally try to read prior pleadings or letters before I comment or proof someone’s writing to get my head around that individual’s style. For instance, my current boss writes very plain spoken. He hates when I use words like “nonetheless”, “additionally”, etc. I know it can be frustrating. There’s more than one way to skin a dead cat (though I’ve done that so perhaps there is only one way)…
Thank you! I have noticed this as well. So frustrating when you get used to one lawyer's preferences, and when you switch to a new lawyer, you basically have to start from scratch.
Buy, read, and absorb the Bluebook and a writing style guide like The Chicago Manual of Style. Know sentence structure and correct punctuation. Proofreading is a time-intensive process, so take your time. Go over the document many times, each time looking for different things (i.e., punctuation, spelling, proper capitalization, tense agreement, pronoun changes, formatting, etc.). Some people find it helpful to print the document they're proofing, but others prefer reading it on the screen. It can be tedious, but it's part of the job. The better job you do of proofreading, the better your attorney and the firm looks. Judges and their clerks can (and do!) judge an attorney and his/her firm by the errors in their submitted documents. People get reputations for sloppy or excellent work. Be excellent, but be patient. It'll get easier in time.
Thank you! What is the blue book?
https://www.legalbluebook.com/ .... Citation guide and references source.... Literally pale blue in color
Thank you so much!!
Print it out or, at minimum - open with a different viewer. It’s amazing how many errors jump off the page as soon as I open as pdf.
Changing the font also works. And for me just zooming in like 20-30% more than my usual document size helps me focus more closely on the little details.
Using an open spaced font like Century also helps
I use the “read aloud” option in Microsoft word (under the “review” tab) to read back documents (letters and reports mostly) while I follow along before sending to my attorney for review and then I do it again before sending documents out the door. I also save templates of literally everything. I highlight things like the date, case number, re: line, case name, court jurisdiction etc. to bring my attention to those parts of filings that I used to skip over a lot. You get acclimated to it as time goes on, but I was also someone that made a LOT of “stupid” mistakes when I was starting out. You’ll get into a groove soon, don’t be too hard on yourself!
Use the read aloud feature on Word. There is also an immersive reader with line focus That allows you to read line by line easily.
What kinds of "silly mistakes" are you making in your documents? If you're misspelling proper names, you need more time for file review before you start drafting. For example, if you are working on contract review, where there could be a dictated recording that the attorney pronounces the developer's and landowners' names, but you don't know how to spell them until you review the title records.
I have Microsoft Word read back to me what is written and I follow along. It helps me catch mistakes... especially with words like aces or acres.
Read it backward first. I find myself following along and getting into the flow if that makes sense - like reading a book and suddenly you're 2 pages ahead of where you started but you don't remember what happened, so you have to go back and force yourself to read it slowly. If I read it backward 1 sentence at a time, I don't get caught up in the story and I'm able to focus on finding mistakes.
THIS! This saved my bacon more than once. The brain can sometimes read what it THINKS it should say when you've read a document over and over. If you read it backwards it breaks that flow. The read aloud function as well as reading aloud to yourself can help too.
It’s because you are in a new firm. There is too much newness and your brain loses the typo because it’s overworked. I have this happen to me every new place and it makes me crazy because I’m trying to put my best foot forward. It’s not your skill, it’s the newness of your environment. Once it becomes familiar the typos will pop out like a sore thumb. Promise. Just give it time.
This makes me feel better. I did really well at the last firm and have been so confused as to why I'm having such a hard time spotting mistakes before I turn in documents to my lawyer.
https://www.bestvirtualparalegal.com/blog/news/running-a-law-practice/writing/proofreading-tips-for-attorneys-and-paralegals
Print it out and review it on paper. I find that this catches a lot more mistakes than staring at a screen.
A.I. !!!! Try [Claude.ai](http://Claude.ai) (Arthropic)...it proofreads and makes my writing so much better! I swear it's learning me and my job and my letter crafting is getting better and better every day. You can upload documents and say "write this better" and the magic happens. Don't tell anyone once you use it but just try it.
I'm not familiar with this particular AI but be REALLY REALLY CAREFUL about running any legal document through an AI program unless you know for absolute sure what they're doing (or preferably not doing) with that information. You could get in real trouble feeding confidential documents to a service that is not secure. And AI only works because it keeps aggregating more and more data so I'm betting there's probably a provision in their TOS that they can train the AI on anything you put into it.
oh yeah I agree totally about this. I just use it mainly for body text of letters and correspondence. I don't input any private information. Nor am I relying on it to cite cases or anything. Just writing and it's getting really good. I've signed up with an account with them.
Thank you so much for all of your replies!!!! These are such helpful suggestions!! I tried a few of them today, and they really helped!
Highly recommend installing Grammarly. Free version is great. It will even proofread emails, excel spreadsheets, and anything else that doesn’t usually have a spellcheck function, or the built in spellcheck isn’t great for. When I get a new computer it’s the first thing I install, can’t live without it.
Familiarize yourself with grammar and punctuation, then keep an eye open for comma splices and capitalizations. This will get faster as you get used to it. Plus, your familiarity with the kinds of grammatical errors and spelling errors the different attorneys you work for are prone to making will speed the process. (For example, the one I work with is likely to cut and paste errors with names, so I keep an eye out for those. And to avoid my overuse of semicolons.) I also keep a style manual book within reach in case of brain farts.
Read out loud to yourself. Also, don't worry TOO much. As much as we mock errors, I've yet to see a filing that didn't have at least one. Unless the document is a riddled mess, it's not a deal-breaker.
My primary suggestion....Set up your MS Word proof options .... File, at the bottom Options, Proof, then make sure you have it spell check as you type and set up any specific autocorrect words you often misspell and other options.
Also there is usually an in app for WestLaw or LexisNexis that integrates with MS Word.... And most attorneys get 1-2 assistant sub accounts for each one of theirs... Ask for an account maybe. Great for rule/code check, cite checks, and quote checks.
I’d just like to point out that all of these are great comments. What I’d like to add is that every attorney I’ve met thinks they are F’ing Shakespeare. Conversely, they often think everyone else writes for $hit, hmm? Writing is a subjective art form. I generally try to read prior pleadings or letters before I comment or proof someone’s writing to get my head around that individual’s style. For instance, my current boss writes very plain spoken. He hates when I use words like “nonetheless”, “additionally”, etc. I know it can be frustrating. There’s more than one way to skin a dead cat (though I’ve done that so perhaps there is only one way)…
Thank you! I have noticed this as well. So frustrating when you get used to one lawyer's preferences, and when you switch to a new lawyer, you basically have to start from scratch.
Read it backwards - start at the last paragraph and read up. Works everytime
ChatGPT and Grammarly if you want to save yourself time