Softbound - New, softbound print book.

Although the art of legal writing and drafting has been practised for as long as there have been laws and lawyers, it is only recently that the subject has been recognised as worthy of serious study. Traditional training methods which have been handed down from generation to generation havenot served the profession well. Legal writing is often accused of suffering from lack of clarity owing to its lengthy intricate construction and antiquated forms of expression. People read legal writing not because they want to, but because they have to. Lawyers need to learn to write in good clearEnglish that their clients understand. this book gives guidance in good practice to those just starting out on a legal career so that bad habits are eliminated from the outset rather than perpetuated.

A comprehensive guide to writing and drafting from the first stage of preparation to the final edit. Features checklists, worked examples and chapters on using email, and designed to accompany readers from vocational study through to their qualification as solicitors as well as throughout the early years of practice.

This book presents a discussion of the ingredients of effective legal writing. A number of illustrations of letter writing, brief writing, opinion writing, and drafting of pleadings and statutes are provided.

A Practical Guide to Legal Writing and Legal Method provides complete coverage and analysis with the clarity and precision that has made it a classic in the field. Discussion, examples, and practice exercises teach students how to apply the concepts of legal writing and legal method to a written analysis or oral argument. The text not only provides a complete foundation for classroom instruction, but also supports independent study and review. Graduates will want to keep this text within reach as they enter legal practice. New to the Seventh Edition: Restructured format to emphasize common themes Consolidated and streamlined chapters that are even more accessible to both professor and students Expanded appendix on email communications Professors and student will benefit from: Accessible introductions that outline and explain legal method Examples of both effective and ineffective approaches to all of the topics covered Focused exercises to develop and practice the skills addressed in each chapter In-depth instruction on reading and understanding both statutes and caselaw synthesizing cases and statutes applying the law to specific facts organizing and drafting a legal analysis the principles of objective writing for memoranda, client communications, and judicial opinion writing the principles of persuasive writing, including structuring an effective argument and writing for the court drafting traditional and shorter “summary of the law” memoranda drafting opinion letters drafting both trial and appellate court briefs Guidelines for using electronic communication for legal memoranda and correspondence—when it is appropriate, and strategies for effective communication in legal writing and practice Integrated treatment of ethics and professional conduct A sample case file in the appendices with memos in both traditional and email format, client letters, and trial and appellate court briefs

Legal Reasoning and Legal Writing teaches students how to organize and incorporate a legal argument into strong and cogent writing for a variety of applications in legal practice. This clear and coherent text has been updated to address the new skills required for modern law practice. While the Ninth Edition still includes the fundamental tools that has made it one of the best-selling legal writing texts, it has been updated to incorporate current and more sophisticated material for students wishing to take their advocacy skills to the next level. Designed for utility in a wide range of legal writing courses, the book covers multiple types of legal writing, including office memos, appellate and motion briefs, client letters, and email correspondence, as well as all aspects of legal reasoning from rule-based analysis to strategies of persuasion. It also covers other key skills such as oral reports to supervisors, appellate and motion argument, tips about the realities of online law practice and modern changes in language and style. The Ninth Edition reflects the collective wisdom of three leaders in the legal writing discipline who together have over 90 years of experience teaching, writing and speaking about legal writing. New to the Ninth Edition: New chapters 23-33 (The Shift to Persuasion). The new chapters are thoroughly modernized and to incorporate the best ideas of the legal scholarship on persuasion in an accessible and clear fashion. The newly organized chapters reflect that legal writing courses might teach appellate briefs or motion briefs, or some combination, and make the assigning of chapters easier for all approaches. New content about theory of the case, motions, procedural posture and the client’s story. Professors and student will benefit from: Clear coverage of the nuts and bolts of writing an office memo, a motion memo, and an appellate brief organized to make assigning chapters easier for all different course approaches. The authors’ paradigm for Organizing a Proof of a Conclusion of Law, which provides the best explanation available of the reasoning underlying the proof of a conclusion of law. Immersive pedagogy where students learn both to think like lawyers and to think like writers. A thoughtful look at all aspects of legal reasoning, from rule-based analysis to the strategy of persuasion An accessible approach that focuses on the process of writing timely examples and exercises from legal practice A full complement of sample documents in the Appendices Teaching materials Include: Teacher’s Manual Additional resources included with Connected Coursebook

The Legal Writing Practice Book is the ideal accompaniment to theLegal Writing Handbook. This comprehensive supplement contains:hundreds of class-tested exercises to help students practice theirskills while reinforcing their understanding of the materialan accessible format with perforated pages that make it easy to use forboth class assignments and individual studyan answer key for all the exercises cross-referenced to The LegalWriting Handbook, Fourth Edition, including short explanations about why agiven answer is recommendednew exercises for English as a second languageKey topics covered in the Legal Writing Practice Book include:paragraph lengthtopic and concluding sentencesactive/passive voicestransitionscreating emphasisconcisenessfragmentsgrammarpunctuation

A Practical Guide to Legal Writing and Legal Method continues to provide complete coverage of basic legal writing and analysis with the clarity and precision that has made it a classic in the field. The text is concise and flexible, teaching students to apply legal method concepts to a written or oral argument through a combination of introductory exposition, extensive examples, and practice exercises. Offering great teaching opportunities in the classroom, the lessons and examples also support independent study and review. A valuable text that students will want to keep as practitioners. Key Features: Expanded coverage includes: A new chapter on reading & understanding statutes to help students deconstruct and comprehend legislation and administrative rules. A new chapter on summary of the law memoranda to teach students how to draft a document increasingly being used in modern law practice to answer the question what is the law on . . . or when a full analysis of a legal issue is not needed. Two new appendices provide examples of a summary of the law memorandum in both email and traditional memo format. Improved structure and organization: New emphasis on objective writing as the foundation for in-house memoranda and client communications. New emphasis on guidelines for the use of email for legal memoranda and client correspondence, including the determination of whether email is the appropriate medium and strategies for effective communication. Unparalleled number of examples and exercises, including numerous examples of good and bad writing appear throughout. Clear explanations detail the advantages and disadvantages of each. Unique coverage of the shorter summary of the law memo that lawyers are frequently asked to write under a variety of circumstances. when a full analysis of a legal issue is not appropriate.