Expert Legal Writing [Paperback]

Terri LeClercq (Author), Thomas R., Chief Justice,Supreme Court of Texas Phillips (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1995

For ten years, Terri LeClercq's "Legal Writing" column in the Texas Bar Journal has helped polish the prose of lawyers and law students, judges and clerks, paralegals, writing instructors, and legal secretaries. This book collects all the advice she has given in her columns into one authoritative guide for expert legal writing. LeClercq covers everything a legal writer needs to know, from the mechanics of grammar and punctuation to the finer points of style, organization, and clarity of meaning. With her practical, readable, and often humorous advice, those who prepare legal documents can rid their prose of mind-numbing "legalese" and write with the clarity and precision that characterize the very best legal writing.

Editorial Reviews

Review

LeClercq can be read generally for an education or consulted specifically for an answer. In either case, her short and readable articles are practical aids to maintaining your intelligibility and, frankly, your credibility. (Lynn N. Hughes, United States District Judge )

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press (1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292746881
• ISBN-13: 978-0292746886
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #744,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the book for you if you practice law!, April 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Expert Legal Writing (Paperback)

"Expert Legal Writing" is exactly what the cover proclaims; a book to help you become the best legal writer you can become. Every lawyer could use the author's advice to improve their own writing and to help mentor associates or colleagues. The book covers the basics: 1) writing like a lawyer, 2) overcoming writer's block, 3) managing sentence structure(s), 4) handling punctuation (including common myths), and 5)other valuable foundational writing tools. This book also offers extremely helpful advice on legal organizations and deductive reasoning. Short (191 pages), this book can provide the quick assistance you need when you are puzzled (overwhelmed or just stuck) on how to write the very best legal argument.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How to write Law the correct way, April 11, 2000

By 

Luc (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Expert Legal Writing (Paperback)

"Expert Legal Writing" is a fairly rounded yet in depth guide on how to write legal documents. It has all the key elements which would be expected in such a book; such as how to do it, how long should the document be etc. It lends itself to being a little boring but the tutorial type manner of the book is a hard aspect to make entertaining. I enjoyed the book not so much for what it told me about law but more so for the fact it showed me how to prepare my very own legal documents. This is a great book for people interested in preparing quality homemade legal documents. The reason I gave it such a generous 4/5 stars was because in my case it taught me a lot of valuable information on a subject I was fairly interested in (Law and Legal Documentation). I myself have a few other books following the same line but "Expert Legal Writing" is definitely the most informative and intuitive book. Overall an excellent book if you have any interest in learning the know how's of legal document writing.

4.0 out of 5 stars Basic legal writing advice, May 12, 2011

By 

Citizen John (USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Expert Legal Writing (Paperback)

This self-help book has a range of tips on legal writing. The focus is on writing basics including fundamental skills tested on the LSAT and GMAT exams. I think the author noted common and typical writing mistakes, categorized them and then built the book around that. I credit this book with helping me correct some basic errors, saving me from embarrassment.