Typos have always haunted me. But only after I became a lawyer - when I had to write to eat – did they really became a stressor. I recall once as a young lawyer staring down at a brief I just filed and seeing the “Court of Common Please” in the caption. Argggh. Fortunately, some great secretaries kept me afloat long enough that I was able to rise to a position where I could judge the work of others and appear wise. But I was no wiser. Typos not of your own creation are simply easier to catch, but some still survived, as they have for centuries. The year 1892 was the first time “typo” was used to describe a writing mistake, but those mistakes predated the term. An infamous example occurred in 1631 with the publication of the “Wicked Bible.” In that edition of the King James Bible, the word “not” was dropped from the commandment addressing adultery. That error resulted in fines for the printer, the destruction of the offending books, and, perhaps for some, a brief period of guilt-free adventurism. Another significant example occurred in 1962 when NASA’s Mariner 1 spacecraft blew up shortly after launch. The cause was a hyphen which was left out of the computer code used to control the craft. Reading about this incident helped me gain some perspective and hopefully it will bring you some solace as well. Numerous methods can help reduce typos. Although, these have been proven effective, none have eliminated this scourge. But since the only good typo is a corrected one, even less than perfect techniques remain useful. For example, covering all the text except the specific lines under scrutiny, increasing font size, changing font style, and reviewing on paper have all been proven effective. As are reading aloud and reading backwards. There are also technological tools. Most of us are familiar with Microsoft Word’s built-in feature that checks for spelling and grammar. Another widely used tool is Grammarly, which uses AI to not only correct spelling and grammar, but also spot word choice errors. And there are many more such weapons that can be brought to bear against this menace. However, despite the numerous weapons that have been deployed against it, like weeds, cockroaches, and potholes, the typo survives. And like the typo, so do we. While certainly embarrassing and sometimes consequential, the only solution to never having a typo is to not write. So, if you are going to keep writing, then you are eventually going to face a typo staring back at you from the published page. Having experienced this pain often, I suggest you get past the mistake as quickly as possible, and as the great American Poet-Philosopher, Shawn Carter, instructs - “Get that dirt off your shoulder.” The reality is that despite all the scientifically tested techniques and advanced technology that can help reduce this curse, if you write, you are likely to have a typo published under your name. In light of this inevitability, it may be helpful to reconsider how you view the typo. Specifically, instead of seeing the typo as a personal failure, it may help to view it as confirmation that, despite being a lawyer, you are, in fact, still human. And, the typo serves to connect you with every other human who has undertaken the difficult task of communicating using the written word. Now, if my prediction holds, you may have spotted a typo in this piece. If so, I ask only that you be kind the next time we meat.