Legal Reasoning And Legal Writing: Structure, Strategy, And Style (Paperback)

by Richard K. Neumann (Author) "At Pevensey, on the south coast of England, a man named William, Duke of Normandy, came ashore, together with ten thousand soldiers and knights, on..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, New York, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 542 pages
• Publisher: Aspen Publishers; 5 edition (March 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 073554655X
• ISBN-13: 978-0735546554
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #210,077 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellant Introduction to legal writing style, July 28, 2002

By	B. Falk "eoi" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Legal Reasoning and Legal Writing Structure Strategy and Style (Paperback)

The text focuses on constructing proof of a conclusion of law and teaches format, style, and grammar collaterally. The goal is to help students learn how to make the
kind of writing decisions that center on the need to prove analysis. Most students have substantial difficulties learning how to construct proof. If format and style
receive primary emphasis, the problem is compounded because the student is invited to mimic the customary appearance of a document, rather than to think through its
content and inner logic. Moreover, format comes easier to students who have already learned the dynamics of proof, and legal writing's heightened requirements of
style and grammar may be easier to accept when they are explained as ways of clarifying proof. And as a skill, style is much more valuable when rewriting second and
third drafts than in producing a first draft.

Part I of the text introduces students to the court and litigation systems, the structure and operation of rules of law, judicial opinions, and methods of briefing them.
Legal writing in general is introduced in Part II. Part III explains how to write an office memorandum; organize proof of a conclusion of law; use authority; analyze
facts; and use paragraphing, style, and citations. Part IV helps students with their first law school examinations. Part V introduces the advocacy skills of theory
development, argumentation, and accurate handling of procedural postures. Writing a persuasive motion memorandum is covered in Part VI; appellate briefs in Part
VII; and oral argument in Part VIII.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get Mr. Neumann's Book!, July 14, 2002

By	"a5779" (Lockport, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Legal Reasoning and Legal Writing: Structure, Strategy, and Style (Legal Research and Writing) (Paperback)

I got this book from the law library at school and I am going to buy Mr. Neumann's 2002 edition if there is one.
This is a good book to have for Law School!

I have read many pre-law books. This book explains so much in just two short concisely written chapters. I do have one small complaint the title of this book is wrong, this book covers so much more!

This book is an introduction to law, it explains and provides a general overview of the civil procedure process and goes over case briefing. I think this book is more useful than Helen Shapo's book on Legal Writing. In short, GET IT!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for first semester, lacking for second semester, April 27, 2008

By	Topper "1L" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This is a well-written guide for a first year law student in their first semester of legal writing. It goes into great detail on writing one's first memorandum, with sections on researching, writing the memo, and a paradigm for how to construct a proof of a conclusion of law. However, once I got to writing my first appellate brief, I found that the book devotes a mere 16 pages to actual writing of the brief. This was extremely lacking and provided very little useful guidance as to this important milestone in a law student's career. I had to buy another book on the subject, doubling my expenditures on legal writing texts.