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Appellate Practice,
Guide to Legal Writing,
Law Practice

Aug. 21, 2023

The joy of editing

Careful editing might seem a mere perfectionist’s obsession. But it’s more than that. Appellate Justices spend most of their working lives reading and writing. That is their livelihood, so they take it seriously. Typos and the like stop them in their tracks – breaking their absorption of the substance of your argument. Not good.

Myron Moskovitz

Legal Director
Moskovitz Appellate Team

90 Crocker Ave
Piedmont , CA 94611-3823

Phone: (510) 384-0354

Email: myronmoskovitz@gmail.com

UC Berkeley SOL Boalt Hal

Myron Moskovitz is author of Strategies On Appeal (CEB, 2021; digital: ceb.com; print: https://store.ceb.com/strategies-on-appeal-2) and Winning An Appeal (5th ed., Carolina Academic Press). He is Director of Moskovitz Appellate Team, a group of former appellate judges and appellate research attorneys who handle and consult on appeals and writs. See MoskovitzAppellateTeam.com. The Daily Journal designated Moskovitz Appellate Team as one of California's top boutique law firms. Myron can be contacted at myronmoskovitz@gmail.com or (510) 384-0354. Prior "Moskovitz On Appeal" columns can be found at http://moskovitzappellateteam.com/blog.

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There must be something wrong with this title. Editing is drudgery – necessary - but ugh! How can there be any joy in it?

I love editing. It’s like taking a scuffed-up gold ring and polishing it to a smooth sheen.

I got to thinking about this a while back, when helping my then-ten-year-old with his homework. Math and science come easily to Ari, and he loves history. But now that he was in 6th grade, his teacher...

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