• Read widely—not just books on legal writing, but read fiction also and think about what works. Read the New York Times and think about why its articles are so readable. Read briefs of lawyers you respect, and analyze their techniques.
• Outline first. This is the single best technique to improve your written work product. Outlining forces you to organize your thoughts.
• Avoid footnotes. They break the reader’s train of thought. Never use them to respond to tough substantive points. Confront those points in text.
• Avoid legalese and jargon. Cut to the chase and use simple words that even a layperson will be able to understand.
• Avoid overstatement. Don’t take on a burden of persuasion you don’t need to take on to win. Learn the value of understatement. It can be powerful.
• Embrace brevity. I try not to use more than three sentences in a paragraph. People can grasp arguments better when they absorb themin short chunks.
• Edit, edit, and edit some more. Don’t fall in love with your own words; ruthlessly edit them. Regardless of what your page or word limit is, once you have an almost final draft, mentally set your own limit of a certain number of words less than you presently have. Then edit to eliminate that number of words. Doing this exercise will help you get rid of unnecessary adjectives and adverbs and will change the passive voice to active.  It will get rid of repetition and make your written work crisper and more persuasive.
• Ruthlessly eliminate repetition. Saying it twice is not as good as saying it effectively one time. Saying the same thing over again doesn’t persuade; it irks the reader. The phrase “in other words” is a red flag indicating that you did not say it very well the first time. Edit until you have made your point clearly and powerfully, and then eliminate repetition of the point.
• Do your last edit in hard copy. Don’t do it on your computer. You will be surprised at what you spot when you edit on hard paper.
• Have good writers who are cold to the case read and critique your writing. This is the toughest thing of all to do, but it will help you the most. No one likes to see their writing edited. It is hard on your ego. But subject yourself to this scrutiny; it will make you a better writer.