Writing for the Legal Audience

Writing for the Legal Audience PDF Author: Wayne Schiess
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
This book teaches lawyers how to adjust their writing to accommodate twelve different legal audiences. Each chapter addresses a different audience for legal writing, including consumers, supervisors, and trial judges. First, each chapter defines the needs of a specific audience. Next, the chapter offers tips designed to improve legal writing for that audience. Finally, Schiess cites examples of poor legal writing and includes explanations of why the poor examples should be fixed and how to do it. Readers will find sentence structure advice, as well as advice on organization, tone, format, and document design. Using a short, clear, and easy-to-read format, this book is ideal for practicing lawyers or law students who want to improve their writing. "Wayne Schiess knows his stuff, and it shows in this superb book. Any lawyer or paralegal who wants to write better - and therefore succeed more of the time - should keep this book close at hand." -- Bryan A. Garner, President, LawProse, Inc. "A fine book filled with sound, progressive advice about writing for many different legal audiences. Schiess is squarely on the side of plain English--bless him. He will show you the way to better legal writing." -- Joe Kimble, Thomas Cooley Law School "Wayne Schiess makes many superb suggestions for improving your writing by considering your audience's needs and sensibilities." -- Richard K. Neumann, Jr., Hofstra Law School "The writing tips in this book work... It is easy to read, easy to use, and -- especially considering the type of book it is -- surprisingly enjoyable." -- TRIAL, January 2004

Writing for the Legal Audience

Writing for the Legal Audience PDF Author: Wayne Schiess
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 164

Get Book

Book Description
This book teaches lawyers how to adjust their writing to accommodate twelve different legal audiences. Each chapter addresses a different audience for legal writing, including consumers, supervisors, and trial judges. First, each chapter defines the needs of a specific audience. Next, the chapter offers tips designed to improve legal writing for that audience. Finally, Schiess cites examples of poor legal writing and includes explanations of why the poor examples should be fixed and how to do it. Readers will find sentence structure advice, as well as advice on organization, tone, format, and document design. Using a short, clear, and easy-to-read format, this book is ideal for practicing lawyers or law students who want to improve their writing. "Wayne Schiess knows his stuff, and it shows in this superb book. Any lawyer or paralegal who wants to write better - and therefore succeed more of the time - should keep this book close at hand." -- Bryan A. Garner, President, LawProse, Inc. "A fine book filled with sound, progressive advice about writing for many different legal audiences. Schiess is squarely on the side of plain English--bless him. He will show you the way to better legal writing." -- Joe Kimble, Thomas Cooley Law School "Wayne Schiess makes many superb suggestions for improving your writing by considering your audience's needs and sensibilities." -- Richard K. Neumann, Jr., Hofstra Law School "The writing tips in this book work... It is easy to read, easy to use, and -- especially considering the type of book it is -- surprisingly enjoyable." -- TRIAL, January 2004

Guide to Legal Writing Style

Guide to Legal Writing Style PDF Author: Terri LeClercq
Publisher: Aspen Publishing
ISBN: 1454860243
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
This concise paperback focuses on the nuances of legal writing style and provides novice legal writers with the skills they need to polish their writing. Guide to Legal Writing Style, Fourth Edition, intended as an ancillary to any basic legal writing text, expands what students learn in their first-year courses by providing additional techniques and style tips that will help make their writing more precise, readable and elegant. This highly regarded paperback, specifically directed at legal writers, offers crisp, pointed advice written in a personal and humorous style lucid organization that helps students find the information they need most, including practice with basic skills and helpful advice on organization, sentence structure, word choice, punctuation, and formatting an emphasis on legal ethics throughout, with most of the examples and exercises focusing on ethical issues a chapter on organization that compares and contrasts undergraduate terms and goals with those expected by a legal audience a guide that helps students guard against plagiarism short, end-of-chapter exercises, with the answers at the back of the book, that strengthen skills and provide opportunities for self-testing Special features in the Fourth Edition include: an updated interactive CD-ROM with multiple exercises to reinforce the materials in the book, which includes updated and expanded tests of basic skills and click-on answers and explanations a new chapter testing common errors in professional writing, with explanations as well as succinct answers new checklists that reinforce essential advice of each chapter

Plain Language Legal Writing

Plain Language Legal Writing PDF Author: Cheryl Stephens
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 0557014506
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 154

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Book Description
A complete guide to clean, precise and understandable legal writing So many books give you advice that turns out to be hollow: "know your audience," "structure your writing." The real strength in Plain Language Legal Writing is how, throughout, Stephens provides clear instructions on how to accomplish what she's recommending. Instead of just telling you to plan what you're going to write, she walks you step-by-step through the planning. Instead of telling you to consider your audience before writing, she describes in detail the sorts of audiences a legal document might have (more than you'd expect!) and how to best meet their needs. Plain Language Legal Writing will help you produce documents that people are willing to read and able to understand. More: PlainLanguageLegalWriting.comOther versions: e-book

Creating the Law

Creating the Law PDF Author: Michael K. Romano
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429867867
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
Written opinions are the primary means by which judges communicate with external actors. These sentiments include the parties to the case itself, but also more broadly journalists, public officials, lawyers, other judges, and increasingly, the mass public. In Creating the Law, Michael K. Romano and Todd A. Curry examine the extent to which judges tailor their language in order to avoid retribution during their retention, and how institutional variations involving intra-chamber dynamics may influence the written word of a legal opinion. Using an extensive dataset that includes the text of all death penalty and education decisions issued by state supreme courts from 1995–2010, Romano and Curry are the first to examine the connection between retention incentives and language choices. They utilize text analysis techniques developed in the field of communications and apply them to the text of judicial decisions. In doing so, they find that judges write with their audience in mind, and emphasize duelling strategies of justification and persuasion in order to please diverse audiences that may be paying attention. Furthermore, the process of drafting a majority opinion is a team exercise, and when more individuals are involved in its crafting, the product will reflect this complexity. This book gives students the tools for understanding how institutional variation affects judicial outcomes and shows how language relates to decision-making in the judiciary more specifically.

Legal Writing and Analysis

Legal Writing and Analysis PDF Author: Michael D. Murray
Publisher: Foundation Press
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
The Murray and DeSanctis titles are designed for the current generation of law students whose familiarity and comfort with on-line and computer-based learning create a demand for teaching resources that take advantage of that familiarity and comfort level. Legal Writing and Analysis provides a process-based text covering all aspects of first year legal analysis and objective legal writing topics. It employs the TREAT paradigm and the doctrine of explanatory synthesis, designed with reference to rhetorical theory to maximize the effectiveness of audience-directed legal writing. Paired with the book is an electronic, computer-based version of the text that adds links to on-line databases and internet-based resources and supplements the text with pop-up definitions from Black's Law Dictionary. The electronic version of the text is searchable and highly portable, with internal and external navigation links, making them more valuable for use in class and out. The interactive text employs a layout that departs from the traditional, all-text casebook format through use of callout text boxes, diagrams, and color/border segregated feature sections for hypotheticals, references to scholarly debates, or other useful information for law students. For more information and additional teaching materials, visit the companion site.

Your Client's Story

Your Client's Story PDF Author: Ruth Anne Robbins
Publisher: Aspen Publishing
ISBN: 154380540X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 469

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Book Description
Your Client’s Story: Persuasive Legal Writing centers on the foundations of advocating for a client, with a focus on ways to persuade the reader to grant the relief each client seeks. That sets it apart from other legal writing textbooks, which mainly organize around parts of an appellate brief. Organized to reflect the client-advocacy process that results in written documents, the text begins with meeting the client, moves to investigating the facts, and then provides guidance on analyzing and choosing the appropriate persuasive strategy. The material is rooted in concepts of narrative theory, brain science, and cognitive psychology. The book is written in an easy-to-read, conversational style to guide students through an explanation that classical rhetoric and modern persuasion theory provide the foundation for memorable legal writing. Coverage includes both the trial and appellate levels. By focusing on the process of persuasion, Your Client’s Story: Persuasive Legal Writing creates strong connections between the first-year objectives and the upper-level skills, externship, and clinic courses. Editable versions of the sample briefs appear in the appendices so that professors can tailor them to individual needs. New to the Second Edition: A new chapter on logical fallacies, unique among legal coursebooks, categorizing and describing 16 common logical fallacies, providing examples and guidance on how to spot and avoid them A new chapter on reasoning with facts (inferential reasoning), covering fact synthesis, weight of facts, and drawing negative inferences from the absence of critical facts Expanded coverage of how to write a powerful conclusion to your brief Professors and students will benefit from: This book focuses on the question, “How can the lawyer persuade the audience through legal writing?” rather than “What does a brief look like?” This book puts the facts first. It is the only text on the market to devote several chapters to factual research, fact synthesis, and reasoning with facts. The client-centered focus makes this textbook unique in the legal writing market. By learning how to effectively tell “Your Client’s Story,” this book helps students stay grounded in client-based advocacy. The book includes more extensive coverage of visual design than competing books, including a discussion of visualized legal reasoning. The authors have individually and collective written germinal legal scholarship about legal narrative and legal document design. The authors are all prior presidents of the Legal Writing Institute. One of them is the co-editor-in-chief of the legal journal devoted to publishing persuasive-writing articles for practicing attorneys.

Making Your Case

Making Your Case PDF Author: Antonin Scalia
Publisher: West Publishing Company
ISBN: 9780314184719
Category : Appellate procedure
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In their professional lives, courtroom lawyers must do these two things well: speak persuasively and write persuasively. In this noteworthy book, two noted legal writers systematically present every important idea about judicial persuasion in a fresh, entertaining way. The book covers the essentials of sound legal reasoning, including how to develop the syllogism that underlies any argument. From there the authors explain the art of brief writing, especially what to include and what to omit, so that you can induce the judge to focus closely on your arguments. Finally, they show what it takes to succeed in oral argument.

Just Writing

Just Writing PDF Author: Anne Enquist
Publisher: Aspen Publishers
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Like other forms of writing already known To The first-year law student, clear writing for law contains good grammar, punctuation and organization. it is with that in mind that this text was created For The legal writing novice. JUST WRITING takes what the student already has familiarity to and bridges those concepts into the world of law. The transition into legal authorship becomes easier as the seemingly complicated design of legal works is unraveled, As well as when an understanding of the audience is attained. In JUST WRITING: Grammar, Punctuation, and Style For The Legal Writer, students will gain an understanding of: what the legal audience expects in style the A,B,Cs of legal writing: accuracy, brevity, and clarity general principles in writing and how they manifest themselves in strong legal writing vital skills for every aspect of the law JUST WRITING also features: a special section designed to assist legal writers for whom English is a second language easily navigable chapters and sections that cover everything from introduction to revision descriptions of the most effective ways to get your point across in legalese Recommended for every student in a first-year legal writing course, JUST WRITING: Grammar, Punctuation and Style For The Legal Writer covers all the bases. Students will learn what type of writing to avoid and what writing habits it is best to employ for maximum effect. JUST WRITING is the most efficient, cogent and complete title to guide you through the difficult field of legal writing.

Persuasive Legal Writing

Persuasive Legal Writing PDF Author: Louis J. Sirico Jr.
Publisher: Aspen Publishing
ISBN: 1454860782
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
Persuasive Legal Writing offers complete instruction, exercises, and examples to teach students how to frame and assert arguments. Starting with an introduction to classical rhetorical devices and the psychology of persuasion, the authors explore every aspect of persuasive writing, from structuring sentences and paragraphs to writing style, tone, storytelling, audience analysis, the ethics of argument, and citing authorities. This concise books features consistent emphasis on the three keys to persuasive writing: writing simply and clearly; arguing ethically; writing for the audience and offers information on how to use all parts of a brief to frame and assert an argument. Key New Features A new chapter on applying storytelling principles to legal argument A new chapter on using visuals in support of persuasive arguments New examples of empirical studies and analysis that support the lessons throughout the book New examples of particularly appealing use of language in Appendix A

Women Writing the Academy

Women Writing the Academy PDF Author: Gesa Kirsch
Publisher: SIU Press
ISBN: 0809318709
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
Through extensive interviews, investigates how women in different academic disciplines perceive and describe their experiences as writers in the university. No index. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR