Best Employment Lawyers in Westlake Village, CA

Overcoming Writer’s Block: A Guide for the Appellate Advocate In the intricate dance of legal practice, appellate attorneys often face a formidable opponent that transcends the courtroom: writer’s block. Janet R. Gusdorff, a seasoned appellate law specialist and the principal of Gusdorff Law, P.C., offers an exploration of this challenge. Understanding that the stakes of appellate writing are high and the deadlines tight, Gusdorff provides practical strategies for attorneys to break through the barriers of writer’s block and excel in their craft. Identifying the True Enemy At the heart of writer’s block often stems not from a lack of ideas or legal acumen, but from our own internal critic. Expectations, perfectionism, and insecurities wield the power to halt our creative processes. Recognizing these underlying issues is the first step toward overcoming them. The Paradox of Getting Started Ironically, the solution to writer’s block lies in the very act that it impedes: writing. Gusdorff suggests a counterintuitive approach where one simply begins to write, regardless of the content. This act of writing, she argues, serves as a reset button, clearing the mental clutter and refreshing the mind’s focus. Leveraging Legal Writing’s Structure Appellate attorneys have a unique advantage in their writing toolkit: the structure and precedent inherent in legal writing. By adapting previous work or starting with case law summaries, attorneys can generate momen...