Customer Reviews

The Legal Writer

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was impressed by this clear and concise guide. As an undergrad, I took a legal writing class. We had no textbook, but we could have used this one. Now, I'm in law school, where I found this book on my own. Half the work is trying to figure out what legal types are saying. Judges and lawyers could make my job easier by reading this book. As a student, I find it a good resource to help avoiding such pitfalls.

The Legal Writer In law school students are forced to read hundreds of decisions written in an era before it was discovered that simple prose is best. Because students have been subjected to these poorly written opinions they come to believe that they should mimic this style. And this is why legal prose is typically so dense and incomprehensible.

Today there is a movement to make legal writing more accessible. There are tremendous advantages to having a clear style of communication. For starters, it's hard to persuade someone to adopt your position if they can't understand it, or if they have to work too hard to grasp it.

Judge Mark Painter is an appellate judge in Cinncinnati, and he knows how to write. More importantly, he knows the simple rules that should guide lawyers as they craft their legal briefs. His short manual is a compendium of 40 easy to grasp rules. One of my favorites is Rule 27 "The Parties have names," where he advises against using procedural titles such as "Plaintiff" or "Defendant." Some of the rules might seem obvious, but only to extremely disciplined legal writers.

Most of us need help finding the signposts. And it's refreshing to see a Judge take the time to help us find them.