Webinar: A Judge’s Perspective on the Science and Art of Legal Writing

In his presentation, A Judge’s Perspective on the Science and Art of Legal Writing, Judge Bacharach will illustrate principles from his recently published book (ABA Press), entitled Legal Writing–A Judge’s Perspective on the Lessons from Science and Rhetoric. Judge Bacharach’s presentation draws on lessons from the field of psycholinguistics, which involves the study of how the human brain processes and stores language. For example, psycholinguistics have studied how quickly or slowly we read particular types of passages, how the human brain filters written language, and how the brain stores certain information for recall and not other information. But the presentation is not an academic foray into science.

Judge Bacharach’s presentation uses these scientific principles to show how attorneys, judges, and law students can improve the clarity and memorability of their legal writing. The book illustrates these lessons with examples from well-known advocates and orators, showing how we can apply the same principles to our own legal writing.

About the Presenter

Hon. Robert Bacharach, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Judge Bacharach was appointed in March 2013 as a United States Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. He graduated with High Honors from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in History and obtained his Juris Doctorate from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, where he graduated Order of the Coif. In law school, he also served as the Developments Editor of the Washington University Law Quarterly.

Upon graduation from law school, Judge Bacharach clerked for Judge William J. Holloway, Jr., who was then the Chief Judge of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. After completing this clerkship, Judge Bachaarach practiced civil litigation at Crowe & Dunlevy in Oklahoma City. He then served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Western District of Oklahoma until 2013, when he was appointed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Within the Federal Bar Association, Judge Bacharach has served as Vice President for the Tenth Circuit, Chairperson for the Chapter Activity Grant Committee, and President of the Oklahoma City Chapter. In 2006, Judge Bacharach was honored with the Earl W. Kintner Award for his outstanding service in programming and membership development to the Oklahoma Chapter.

Judge Bacharach authored the recently published book on legal writing, Legal Writing: A Judge’s Perspective on the Science and Rhetoric of the Written Word, published by ABA Press.

In addition to this most recent work, he has also authored Section 1983 and the Availability of a Federal Forum: A Reappraisal of the Police Brutality Cases, 16 Memphis State University Law Review 353 (1986); Section 1983 and an Administrative Exhaustion Requirement, 40 Oklahoma Law Review 407 (1987); Motions in Limine in Oklahoma State and Federal Courts, 24 Oklahoma City University Law Review 113 (1999); Dirks v. SEC’s Footnote Fourteen: Horizontal and Vertical Reach, 62 Washington University Law Quarterly 477 (1984); and Post-Trial Juror Interviews by the Press: The Fifth Circuit’s Approach, 62 Washington University Law Quarterly 783 (1985). Judge Bacharach and Professor Lyn Entzeroth (now Dean of Tulsa University School of Law) coauthored Judicial Advocacy in Pro Se Litigation: A Return to Neutrality, 42 Indiana Law Review 19 (2009).

Registration

Registration is closed for the webinar session.

Cancellation Policy

No refunds will be made for cancellations received after the close of business on June 29, 2020. No-shows will be billed. Substitutions may be made at any time upon notification. Please contact Ariel White at awhite@fedbar.org with cancellation and/or substitution requests.

CLE

Please note that CLE credit is not offered for this webinar.

If you have any questions regarding this program, please contact Caitlin Rider, Conference Manager.