The Lawyer's Guide to Writing Well, Second Edition [Paperback]

Tom Goldstein (Author), Jethro K. Lieberman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520234731 | ISBN-13: 978-0520234734 | Publication Date: November 4, 2002 | Edition: 2

This eminently practical volume demystifies legal writing, outlines the causes and consequences of bad writing, and prescribes straightforward, easy-to-apply remedies that will make your writing readable. Complete with usage notes that address lawyers' most common errors, this well-organized book is both an invaluable tool for practicing lawyers and a sensible grounding for law students. This much-revised second edition contains a set of editing exercises (and a suggested revision key with explanations) to test your skill. This book is a definitive guide to becoming a better writer--and a better lawyer.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Journalist Goldstein and law professor/journalist Lieberman examine the most common usage and style mistakes which make legal writing one of the most criticized forms of technical writing. The text is also leavened with over 70 pointed quotations about legal writing and has a glossary summarizing all the principles outlined in the book. This title belongs on all law library shelves next to Lucy V. Katz's Winning Words: A Guide to Persuasive Writing for Lawyers (Harcourt, 1987), Richard Weisberg's When Lawyers Write (Little, 1987), and C. Edward Good's Mightier Than the Sword: Powerful Writing in the Legal Profession ( LJ 3/15/89). Recommended.
- Merlin Whiteman, Indiana Univ. Sch. of Law, Indianapolis
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Should be in the office of every lawyer."-William Safire, NYTimes Magazine

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Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 2 edition (November 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520234731
• ISBN-13: 978-0520234734
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #346,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential for Any Lawyer, April 24, 2006

By 

Randall Christison (San Diego) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lawyer's Guide to Writing Well (Paperback)

Even though this book is 17 years old, it remains in the first rank. More extensive than Steven Stark's, more engaging than Garner's, Goldstein and Lieberman's book is my first choice for any lawyer seeking to become a competent writer. Part III, the longest part of the book is entitled, "Making Your Prose Serviceable," the part one must read. But particularly worthy is the Part following, "Making Your Prose Memorable." Even though few of us will ever attain that goal, it's worth trying. I can't think of another book in the genre suggesting such a lofty purpose. I appreciate having some guidance.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Good, October 19, 2007

By 

Andrew Kennedy (Monroeville, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lawyer's Guide to Writing Well, Second Edition (Paperback)

How good is this book? Well, I've put it on my shelf right between Bryan Garner's masterwork The Winning Brief and Steven Stark's famous and succinct Writing To Win. Like both of those books, Professors Goldstein and Liberman present a systemic approach to legal writing. They are brave enough to offer real-life legal writing duds as well as writing gems from practicing lawyers as well as judges. Only professors could do that. If a lawyer tried it, it would be professional harikari.

Their advice is more general than Garner's and more detailed than Stark's. In that vein, the book is a good middle-of-the-road guide for lawyers. Frankly, I was skeptical of a book written for lawyers by two professors. I thought they'd be throwing stones from their ivory towers at the litigators in the trenches. They do, but not so much we can't handle it. More importantly, their advice is mostly on the mark.

That doesn't mean they don't stray a bit from time to time. They spend the first agonizing 34 pages telling us over and over again how legal writing has been atrocious for centuries apparently never to change. So why should we bother with this book? And at one point they proclaim that lawyers too often are careless about punctuation. Poppycock, I say. In my experience, many lawyers obsess over typos and punctuation and completely forget to breathe any life into their arguments.

But those are minor flaws in a very good writing guide. If you know a lawyer, chances are this would make a great gift. Too bad I already have it...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than good writing advice., July 22, 2002

By 

Wayne Schiess (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lawyer's Guide to Writing Well (Hardcover)

Are lawyers professional writers? Could a law office benefit by adopting some methods of a book publisher or newspaper office?

Yes and yes, according to the authors of this excellent book.

The writing advice is superb, from commas to sentence length and from transitions to editing methods. But the best parts of the book are the suggestions for managing a law office so that it will produce consistent, top-notch written work. The authors recommend using proofreaders, training junior lawyers in editing, and employing someone in the position of copy editor. All great advice that would improve legal writing.