Legal Writing

Topic & transition sentences in case explanations part 4

Posted on January 28, 2008
In place of the transition words and phrases, the writer has now used a transition that captures how the case relates to the previous one in somewhat substantive terms. Notice how the boldface language ties the current case back to the previous with repeated words and phrases...

Topic & transition sentences in case explanations part 3

Posted on January 28, 2008
We can make the topic sentences into fair transition sentences by adding transition phrases (boldface added):Using several strong formatting techniques will generally make a disclaimer conspicuous. Gravely v. Kirkland, 1999 WL 498201 *2 (Tex. App.--Beaumont July 15, 1999, pet...

Topic & transition sentences in case explanations part 2

Posted on January 28, 2008
Now each paragraph has a topic sentence: something that tells what this case is about and how it relates to the general rule (boldface added).Using several strong formatting techniques will generally make a disclaimer conspicuous. Gravely v. Kirkland, 1999 WL 498201 *2 (Tex...

Topic & transition sentences in case explanations part 1

Posted on January 28, 2008
After a paragraph setting up the rule of law on this topic and citing the relevant statute, these three paragraphs appear, explaining how courts have handled the issue. The goal of these paragraphs is to set up the analysis of the writer's own case. Please pay attention to the first sentences in each paragraph (boldface added)...

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Citation form as a sign of excellence

Posted on January 25, 2008
In the follow quotation, Professor Ian Gallacher may be right, but is that a good thing?[A]n ability to generate accurate citations is viewed as a proxy for a lawyer's attention to detail. [5] Some argue that . . . ?[a]ttention to citation form . . . will improve the reader's sense of reliability, credibility, and integrity when evaluating the worth of the document and the writer's professionalism...

Elegant variation

Posted on January 14, 2008
Note the highlighted words:The license agreement does not include or reference a noncompete agreement. If the license agreement did include a covenant prohibiting competition, special attention would need to be paid to the drafting of that provision ...

Seminar teaches the opposite of what you learned in law school

Posted on January 02, 2008
The ad for a legal-writing CLE seminar makes this claim:In this seminar, appellate attorney [instructor] advocates brevity,simplicity and clarity - the opposite of what lawyers learn in law school.This is offensive--deeply and painfully offensive. Just kidding...

Predictions for Bluebook

Posted on January 02, 2008
1. The Bluebook will eventually abandon the dual typeface conventions for law-review style and practitioner style. It's just a matter of time.2. The Bluebook publishers (students) will increasingly rely on professionals to help them. They are already using real lawyers and law professors as consultants...

Citation form as a social norm

Posted on January 02, 2008
Ray Ward of the (new) legal writer posted a wise blog entry here. He says he will try to pursue excellence in his writing without overemphasizing the trivial. I agree with him.He cited my post on the "tyranny of the inconsequential"--my term for the trivial aspects of citation form: spaces, abbreviations, commas...

Answer to legal-writing quiz 20

Posted on December 13, 2007
20. In 2002, University of Houston law professor David Crump wrote a law-review article and sent it to every legal-writing teacher in the United States. What was the name of the article?Answer: Against Plain EnglishI responded to Crump's article with my own article, What Plain English Really IsCongratulations to Bobbie

Legal-writing quiz 20

Posted on December 13, 2007
19. Legal-writing teachers generally agree that writers should not present authority to readers in a piece-meal fashion. Instead, writers should group related authorities together, reconcile them as much as possible, and draw from them principles, themes, or general rules...

Legal-writing quiz 19

Posted on December 13, 2007
18. This person is the foremost expert on the language of transactional legal drafting today and is the author of two books on the subject. Name this person.Answer: Kenneth Adams (congratulations to Ray Ward). Adams is the author ofA Manual of Style for Contract Drafting andLegal Usage in Drafting Corporate Agreements19...

Legal-writing quiz 18

Posted on December 13, 2007
17. Published by the ABA, this book, now in its second edition, describes the content, structure, and staffing of legal writing courses and makes recommendations for creating effective legal-writing programs. Name it.Answer: Sourcebook on Legal Writing Programs (congratulations to Bobbie)18...

Legal-writing quiz 17

Posted on December 13, 2007
16. Who is the current editor-in-chief of the Scribes Journal of Legal Writing?Answer: Joseph Kimble17. Published by the ABA, this book, now in its second edition, describes the content, structure, and staffing of legal writing courses and makes recommendations for creating effective legal-writing programs...

Legal-writing quiz 16

Posted on December 13, 2007
15. This citation manual, published by the University of Chicago Law Review in 1989, has never caught on outside that school. What is it usually called?Answer: Maroonbook (Congratulations to Bryan)16. Who is the current editor-in-chief of the Scribes Journal of Legal Writing?

Legal-writing quiz 15

Posted on December 12, 2007
14. There are at least four books that claim to be comprehensive style references (not just style guides?references) for legal writing. Name them.Answer:The Redbook: A Manual on Legal StyleJust Writing: Grammar, Punctuation, and Style For The Legal WriterLegal Writing: Getting It Right and Getting It WrittenAspen Handbook For Legal Writers15...

Legal-writing quiz 14

Posted on December 12, 2007
13. Name a book that focuses exclusively on litigation writing?not just on persuasion, appellate advocacy, or briefing.Answer: Plain and Accurate Style in Court Papers by Irwin Alterman (Congratulations to SAM)14. There are at least four books that claim to be comprehensive style references (not just style guides?references) for legal writing...

Legal-writing quiz 13

Posted on December 12, 2007
12. In 1992, the ABA published Legal Education and Professional Development?An Educational Continuum. Half of this report covered ?A Vision of the Skills and Values New Lawyers Should Seek to Acquire,? which emphasized, among other things, the importance of legal analysis and written communication in law practice...

Legal-writing quiz 12

Posted on December 12, 2007
11. The ALWD Citation Manual was introduced in 2000 as a competitor to The Bluebook. It uses a system of citation very similar to The Bluebook, with one major difference. What is the difference?Answer: In ALWD, the typeface conventions for scholarly writing and practitioner writing are the same...

Legal-writing quiz 11

Posted on December 12, 2007
10. To conclude an affidavit, which is better?a. Further Affiant Saith Naughtb. Further Affiant Sayeth Notc. SignedAnswer: Signed (Congratulations to SAM)See Nuts to Further Affiant Sayeth Naught11. The ALWD Citation Manual was introduced in 2000 as a competitor to The Bluebook...

Legal-writing quiz 10

Posted on December 11, 2007
9. What expert on clear writing created a 100-point readability scale and wrote Why Johnny Can't Read?Answer: Rudolf Flesch (Congratulations to Bobbie)10. To conclude an affidavit, which is better?a. Further Affiant Saith Naughtb. Further Affiant Sayeth Notc...

Legal-writing quiz 9

Posted on December 11, 2007
8. In 1963, a UCLA law professor published what is widely considered the finest and most exhaustive scholarly work on legal language. Name the book and author.Answer: The Language of the Law by David Mellinkoff (congratulations to SAM)9. What expert on clear writing created a 100-point readability scale and wrote Why Johnny Can't Read?

Legal-writing quiz 8

Posted on December 11, 2007
7. Name the colorful phrase that describes the legal-writing field?s high percentage of women and low status.Answer: Pink Ghetto (congratulations to Paul, who also provided this link)8. In 1963, a UCLA law professor published what is widely considered the finest and most exhaustive scholarly work on legal language...

Legal-writing quiz 7

Posted on December 11, 2007
6. Law professor James White offered this critique of the plain-English movement in his book, Heracles' Bow:The success of any movement to translate legal speech into Plain English will be severely limited. For if one replaces a Legal Word with an Ordinary English Word, the sense of increased normalcy will be momentary at best: the legal culture will go immediately to work, and the Ordinary Word will begin to lose its shape, its resiliency, and its familiarity, and become, despite all the efforts of the writer, a Legal Word after all...

Legal-writing quiz 6

Posted on December 11, 2007
5. The Legal Writing Institute, a national organization for legal writing, analysis, and research, was founded in 1984. Until 2002, the same group of legal-writing faculty served as hosts for the Institute?even though they moved from one law school to another...

Legal-writing quiz 5

Posted on December 10, 2007
4. In the summer of 2001, Richard Posner and Bryan Garner debated a legal-writing issue in a magazine for judges. Garner's position was also featured in a New York Times article and has caused considerable discussion among judges and brief writers. What is the issue?Answer: Putting all citations in footnotes...

Legal-writing quiz 4

Posted on December 10, 2007
3. According to modern readability standards, which of these is the best way to emphasize text?ALL CAPITALSBoldUnderlineAnswer: Bold (Congratulations to SAM). All-caps and underlining are vestiges of the typewriter and impair readability. See The PC is Not a Typewriter...

Legal-writing quiz 3

Posted on December 10, 2007
2. Who is the current editor-in-chief of Black's Law Dictionary?Answer: Bryan A. Garner (Congratulations to divine angst)3. According to modern readability standards, which of these is the best way to emphasize text?ALL CAPITALSBoldUnderline

Legal-writing quiz 2

Posted on December 10, 2007
1. Originally published as a law review article in 1978, this book, now in its fifth edition, has sold many thousands of copies and is probably the most successful legal-writing book ever. Name it.Answer: Plain English for Lawyers by Richard Wydick (Congratulations to Scott)2...

Legal-writing quiz 1

Posted on December 10, 2007
20 questions to test your knowledge of the field of legal writing.1. Originally published as a law review article in 1978, this book, now in its fifth edition, has sold many thousands of copies and is probably the most successful legal-writing book ever...

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