Ivy Grey

Ivy Grey
Ivy B. Grey is the Chief Strategy & Growth Officer for WordRake. Prior to joining the team, she practiced bankruptcy law for ten years. In 2020, Ivy was recognized as an Influential Woman in Legal Tech by ILTA. She has also been recognized as a Fastcase 50 Honoree and included in the Women of Legal Tech list by the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center. Follow Ivy on Twitter @IvyBGrey or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Recent Posts

How to Build an Expert Legal Writer

Every generation of senior lawyers complains that junior lawyers can’t write. But becoming a lawyer takes years of post-secondary education and apprenticeship, so it’s not reasonable to interpret this complaint to mean young lawyers are illiterate. So what’s the source of this perennial complaint and how can we address it?

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Defining Technology Competence in the Age of GenAI

Introduction to the New(ish) Technology Competence

Technology competence is not new, but in the age of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), it applies in new, more complex ways. Under ABA Model Rule 1.1 and its Comment 8, competent representation includes understanding the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology. When it issued ABA Formal Opinion 512, the ABA reaffirmed that the duty of technology competence applies to GenAI, along with all other ethical duties, including:

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Leading with Generosity: The “Give First” Philosophy for Networking and Building Professional Relationships

I am a fan. An unabashed fan. I admire people openly and I tell them—and everyone within earshot. So if you want my advice on networking, that’s it: Be a fan.

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Writing is Thinking: Why Knowledge Workers Must Maintain Their Writing Skills

Since generative AI can produce polished text in seconds, it’s tempting to ask: Why write at all? If the end result, like a report, an email, a memo, or a presentation, looks the same whether written by a human or GenAI, why not just let the technology do the work? Because writing isn’t just about producing text. Writing is thinking.

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What Comes Before the Zero Draft? Exploring the Negative Draft

Using Generative AI to Discover What You Don’t Want

Writers often discuss the zero draft—a rough document where they begin shaping their ideas. Anne Lamott calls it the “shitty first draft.” But what if getting to that point feels impossible? Before reaching the zero draft, writers can try something new: the negative draft.

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Why Legal Documents Look the Same, But Need Not Sound Alike

Legal writing often feels formulaic. It follows established patterns and uses predictable structures. But those formulas exist for good reason. Predictable structures help legal readers—judges, lawyers, clerks, and other professionals—quickly understand the argument, locate key facts, and process information. Legal readers rely on them for cognitive shortcuts to handle their caseloads.

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Craft a “Commercial” for Your Case to Find Clarity Before You Write

To write effectively, you must know your message before you start. Planning your pitch is the first step to writing for your audience. Everything before this stage serves you, not the reader.

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Writing in Reverse: How Planning, Checklists, and Outlines Can Improve Your Writing

Writing isn’t a linear process with a specific set of tools that a writer must use to succeed. It’s more like the messy, disjointed process of putting together a puzzle, where you don’t find the missing pieces until the end. Only after it has taken shape do you see it more clearly. But just because the act of writing is non-linear, doesn’t mean that the process has to be unstructured.

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5 Great Gifts for Graduates

At the end of the school year, we’re thinking about gifts for soon-to-be graduates. The ideal gift will set a graduate up for success and provide lasting value.

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9 Effective Proofreading and Editing Strategies for Attorneys

Regardless of practice area, document creation consumes a significant portion of every lawyer’s time. According to Thomson Reuters, up to 60% of lawyer time is spent on writing, editing, and proofreading. Even after the first draft is complete, editing and proofreading can drag on for hours—and sometimes errors still slip through the cracks.

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Our Story

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WordRake founder Gary Kinder has taught over 1,000 writing programs for AMLAW 100 firms, Fortune 500 companies, and government agencies. He’s also a New York Times bestselling author. As a writing expert and coach, Gary was inspired to create WordRake when he noticed a pattern in writing errors that he thought he could address with technology.

In 2012, Gary and his team of engineers created WordRake editing software to help writers produce clear, concise, and effective prose. It runs in Microsoft Word and Outlook, and its suggested changes appear in the familiar track-changes style. It saves time and gives confidence. Writing and editing has never been easier.