Practicing Razor Writing at Creative Commons
In the latest Creative Commons workshop on February 24, 2021, Razor Writing, Gabriel Bellman, ’05 (Director of Graduate Advising, CDO), and Mattie Robertson, ’10 (Deputy Director, CNDR) led students in an interactive writing practice.
A key skill for lawyers is being able to distill complex ideas into easily digestible points. We started with some fun improv to get our imaginations flowing, then practiced creative writing exercises designed to demystify and strengthen these skills by slowly condensing our stories over several rounds.
We discussed how simplifying language is more effective in conveying ideas, and how many lawyers fall prey to using unnecessary long-winded legalese. Students found the free writing process to be relaxing and helped them to feel more ready to tackle their legal work afterwards. Lastly, having a few laughs allowed us to connect and build community, which is always a bonus in the virtual world.
The Creative Commons team encourages you to open up your creative pursuits, because this kind of practice can support gaining focus, stress reduction, and is very useful in prepping for exams!
Creative Commons is collaboration between the Career Development Office (CDO) and the Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (CNDR). Creative Commons is a regular series of events designed for current UC Law SF students that focus on using creative tools to develop lawyer skills through experiential learning.