Losing Your Reader with Acronyms: Judge Bacharach on Legal Writing

Timothy Kowal, Esq.
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July 9, 2021
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How do you use acronyms in your briefs?

Judge Robert Bacharach of the 10th Circuit told Jeff Lewis and me that he wishes that whoever invented acronyms hadn’t: "If you can avoid acronyms, do it." When you make the judge flip back in your brief to look up what an acronym means, or who a party is, you ruin the momentum of your argument.

Watch the clip here.

This clip is from a June 2021 interview in episode 12 of the California Appellate Law Podcast here.

Tim Kowal helps trial attorneys and clients win their cases and avoid error on appeal. He co-hosts the Cal. Appellate Law Podcast at www.CALPodcast.com, and publishes a newsletter of appellate tips for trial attorneys at www.tvalaw.com/articles. His appellate practice covers all of California's appellate districts and throughout the Ninth Circuit, with appellate attorneys in offices in Orange County and Monterey County. Contact Tim at tkowal@tvalaw.com or (714) 641-1232.

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