I always love it when proofreading makes the news. It happened again this week when apparently a law clerk left a comment in an order filed in a California federal district court case. The order has since been amended in the court record to take that comment out, but Justia.com kept the original at https://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/california/casdce/3:2018cv02434/599099/56.
While this notation could have been much worse, it highlights the need to bring things you question to your attorney’s attention. My proofreading tip is as you are nearing the end of the editing process (i.e., you are on version 5 and it is due tomorrow), if there are blanks for references to other documents or things I want to bring to their attention, I highlight it. That way, as you scroll through the document, it stands out that it still needs attention.
Another hint is that when I am actually filing things with the court, I open the document before I attach it to the court filing system and scroll through it to make sure there is no highlighting or other marks that don’t belong, THEN I attach it to the court website.
Notes to yourself or to your attorney are an important part of making your document the best it can be, but leaving notes to yourself in your final document is just sloppy and could possibly give your opponent information you don’t want them to have.
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It’s time for “Confusing Words of the Week” where I take a set of two or three words that get confused and give you definitions and try to give you a memory trick to help you remember when to use which word. If you have words that confuse you, use the Ask PTB tab on the website or send an email to 
