By James Grimmelmann
Associate Professor
New York Law School

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The Laboratorium

Epic Fail

July 13, 2010 at 11:44 PM

4 Comments

Someone should write a Green Bag article about the use of “fail” in law review articles. Many authors respond to other scholars with phrases such as “Professor X fails to consider that …” or “This argument fails because …” It’s a bit of a tic; I personally find it a little off-putting.

July 14, 2010 at 9:40 AM

Steven

“Fail” appears a lot in briefs and judicial opinions too. One of my reviewers at work almost invariably replaces it with “does not” — e.g., “Professor X does not consider that ….” That may be more appropriate but it doesn’t quite convey the right sense of moral outrage!

July 14, 2010 at 12:48 PM

joe

What about the converse, “succeeds”… like “this argument succeeds …”?

July 14, 2010 at 2:51 PM

Frances Grimble

James, believe me, lawyers earn more than editors. Stick to law.

July 19, 2010 at 6:04 PM

Peter G

I fail to discern your point, James.

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