Customer Reviews

Plain English for Lawyers

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book provides great advice and practical, well-designed exercises. Once considered radical by most lawyers, the book has helped reform legal writing, teaching a generation of lawyers that their writing "should not differ, without good reason, from ordinary well-written English."

The book is also a model of effective prose. It's clear and understandable even to a first-year law student. Yet it's also valuable to seasoned lawyers, especially to those die-hard lawyers who insist that legal writing should remain dense, and often incomprehensible, just because it's always been that way.

Well-respected experts such as Wydick and Garner reject that notion. And clients, who often succeed or fail (and sometimes live or die) by their lawyers' words, should reject it too.

This book was required reading for my first year in law school. After having read through it, I am glad it was. I wish that more lawyers were required to read it.

'Plain English for Lawyers' helps everyone write effectively from the Law Student, the practicing Lawyer, the Judge on the Bench, or just somebody that wants to write a persuasive or complicated report how to

Several frequent exercises are included to give the reader an opportunity to practice. Examples are plentiful, and illustrated well.

The last chapter covers punctuation. This chapter makes the book a reference worth keeping. I would recommend to anyone needing a reference for writing briefs, memorandum, or legal correspondence to keep this book on hand.

I'm a lawyer who is considered a wordsmith by colleagues and judges. This is one of the most important books I've ever encountered. I was exposed to it in my first law school year's writing class, and its lessons have remained with me since. Banish the passive voice! (unless deliberately and thoughfully chosen and used). This is not merely a key to fluidity in writing, but in a sense a moral imperative. Actions are attributable to actors - they don't simply occur. If you're asserting an action took place, you and your reader should know who or what you claim set it in motion. This necessitates intellectual rigor and clarity. Also, I remember and have employed for twenty-five years Wydick's apt metaphor that good legal writing is like fine cabinetmaking: the skill of the craftsman is shown by the crafted joints not requiring glue, just as the quality of a piece of prose is shown by its lack of reliance on "glue words" (read the book). I've used the lessons of Wydick's brief book as a lawyer, writer and writing teacher. I've given it to colleagues, non-lawyers and young relatives. Their writing uniformly improved.

I first read this book in 1989, and I loved it. It made so much sense, yet it seemed so radical to a young associate at a large law firm. But the advice in this book has been around since 1978. Back then, it was breaking new ground. Now, its advice, though common among plain-English advocates, is still needed by the practicing bar. How great it would be if every lawyer followed Wydick's advice in this book.

I bought this book during my first year of law school. It was recommended, but not required reading, so I tossed it aside. Big mistake.

Now that I am getting paid for my work product, I am more concerned about its quality. So, I finally opened the book. It is a quick and easy read, but oh so helpful. Every positive thing posted about the book is dead on.

Reading Plain English for Lawyers has been the best CLE of the year.

This book was part of my first-year curricula in law school, but this book is valuable for anyone who paid attention in high school composition, and who is looking for a reader-friendly guide to improve their skills in edited English. The hook for the title comes from the fact that the legal profession is one of the more notorious for having cluttered syntax, archaic terminology, and unnecessary abstractions.

Clear writing begins with clear thinking, and the reader-friendly rules in this book will help sort out the writing quirks that sometimes pop up when a writer isn't as confident in what he/she is trying to say.

This is a simple text reminding us simply how to write. Often we fail to communicate our message because we lack clarity in our writing. The mark of a genius is to take a complicated idea and communicate it to another in a simple manner: this text helps us act like geniuses. The target audience is the legal profession yet it is applicable to anyone who writes memos, briefs or such. It provides clear instruction, concise and illuminating examples and exercises. I found this useful when writing my thesis and continue to use it in practice. Please, buy this, read it and SHARE it: I hate reading legalise for the sake of legalise.

I've worked a professional writer and was on law review, but this remains my top choice for teaching people how to write. Everyone can take something from this book regardless of skill level. Learning to write is a constantly evolving process, and too many people (especially in the legal field) fail to understand both that being able to write does not necessarily mean that you know how to write well and that writing is about quality and not quantity.

Exceptional book.

My first year legal writing professor required this book for all of her students and I am glad that she did. This book has been utilized nearly as much as my Bluebook when I write papers. While it contains many of the same recommendations that you will find in Strunk & White's Elements of Style (such as when to use affect vs. effect, avoiding passive voice, etc.), what sets this book apart is that it contains numerous exercises that you can use while proofreading your paper that will help improve your writing and earn that all important A. I used this book in my writing course during my first year and earned the highest grade in my section. If you heed the book's advice and utilize its exercises you will surely be at or near the top of your class because many students will not take the time to do this. If you are a law student, this book is a must have. Next to the Bluebook, it is the reference you will turn to more than any other book you own.
That said, I would not recommend buying this book before starting law school or doing some legal writing. It is not meant to be a law school prep book (like Law School Confidential). The exercises may translate towards other forms of persuasive writing, but don't feel like you "must" buy this book if you aren't in law school.

I've often been complimented on my writing. However, my writing has previously been the areas of creative or business writing. Legal writing is a whole different beast. While I have still received compliments on my writing in law school, this book has definitely helped me refine my writing significantly. After reading this book (well, portions of it, as I have not read the whole thing yet) many of the pitfalls in my own writing became blatantly obvious. Styles that work well when writing creatively can hinder legal writing. This book definitely helps.