Drafting Complaints

The Wife's paralegal certification class continues, and she's been asked to draft a complaint. It's occasionally frustrating -- for both her and for me -- to help her out. I've been writing complaints and other pleadings for so long now that it's second nature to me. Seeing her go through the process reminds me of how precise the language in such a document needs to be. In a way, it's a good refresher for me; a reminder of exactly how the work gets done. It's also a test of my patience; I hope that she'll be able to get what I'm telling her the first time out and sometimes she doesn't.

(It's also a good distraction from how badly the Philadelphia Eagles are getting clobbered by the Seattle Seahawks, causing no end of damage to my fantasy football team's previously-halfway-comfortable lead. Just past halftime, Seattle is winning, 42-0. Ratings may decline in the second half. The only bright spot is that now our final backup QB may have a chance to prove his worth. Good luck, Koy.)

Mainly, though, I worry that I've helped her too much and that she won't be able to write a complaint on her own when the time comes. But I try and remember that once upon a time, I couldn't write like that, either; it takes practice. She needs the practice and along the way, she needs to have someone show her how to do it and where she has made mistakes, just like I did when I was a new lawyer. And unfortunately for her, she got hit with a complex factual scenario that has a good cause of action in it requiring some very technical pleading -- this while she is still learning the appropriate verb tense. It's a process. I'm glad to help.