we write
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We seek to create an interest in writing about the law and to promote a clear, succinct, and forceful
style in legal writing.
SCRIBES MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
Primary Win for Justice Michael Hyman
Scribes would like to congratulate our immediate past president Justice Michael Hyman, who won his primary race for the Illinois Appellate Court on March 17, 2020.
Just Hyman was appointed to the court in 2013 and faced three opponents in the primary. Congratulations!
EVENTS
2020 CLE in Chicago
Our 2020 CLE has been postponed until Friday, October 9. Look forward to more information in the coming months.
We will also present our writing awards as well as the Kimble Distinguished Service Award at that time.
Please contact Philip Johnson at with any questions.
NEWS
Congratulations to Our 2020 Award Winners!
We are pleased to announce the winners of our Book, Brief, and Law Review Awards.
Intimate Lies and the Law by Professor Jill Hasday won the Book Award.
Allyson Lynch, Paul Madden, and Sarah Martin of Belmont College of Law won the Brief Award for their brief written for National Appellate Advocacy Competition.
And Mary Marshall's comment for the Columbia Law Review, Miller v. Alabama and the Problem of Prediction, won our law review award.
See the award pages for runners up and honorable mentions.
Kimble Center for Legal Drafting
Western Michigan University Thomas Cooley Law School has created the Kimble Center for Legal Drafting in honor of Professor Joseph Kimble, a Scribes board member.
Professor Kimble is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Cooley, and has written extensively on legal writing and, specifically, plain language for a range of publications.
To read more about the Kimble Center and Professor Kimble's work, click here.
Scribes Board Member Darby Dickerson Becomes AALS President
Congratulations to Scribes board member Darby Dickerson, who became President of the American Association of Law Schools at its January 2020 meeting.
She is the Dean of the UIC John Marshall Law School, the author of the first editions of the ALWD Citation Manual, and the recipient of the 2018 Section Award for Lifetime Contributions to Legal Writing from the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Legal Research, among other honors. Read more here.
Scribes Co-Sponsored the Second Annual CLE in the City in Conjunction with the ABA on
August 2, 2018
Chicago law firms and top area law schools opened their doors for a CLE sessions in 8 tracks, including legal writing & persuasion, cybersecurity, family law, privacy & security, and more.
Participants earned up to 3.0 credits including 3.0 ethics credits in 60 minute jurisdictions or 3.6 credits including 3.6 ethics credits in 50 minute jurisdictions. Tickets were $35 per session.
Contact with any questions.
Scribes Welcomes a New Student Chapter
We are pleased to announce that students at WMU Cooley Law School started a Scribes student chapter in spring 2019 under the sponsorship of Professor Mark Cooney.
WMU Cooley joins the John Marshall Law School and Texas Tech University School of Law as the third school with a Scribes student chapter. These groups encourage strong legal writing in law school work and assist students with publishing their work before they graduate.
"Using plain language can save businesses and government agencies a ton of money."
—Joseph Kimble, author of Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please.
Scribes Student Legal Writing Society at Texas Tech
Scribes at LWI
