Legal Writing


Book Description

"A magnificent book on writing. Drawing on the lessons from psycholinguistics and rhetoric, Judge Bacharach has written a remarkably practical book on how to write effectively. Judge Bacharach illustrates his points with very specific suggestions and countless examples from briefs from top lawyers and opinions of judges. I learned so much from this wonderful book." -- Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, Berkeley School of Law




Judicial Writing Manual


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Decisions, Decisions


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Judicial Writing


Book Description

To validate their institutional continuance as a branch of government, writes Chinua Asuzu, judges must make sound decisions. They must also articulate and express those decisions efficiently and comprehensibly. This book shows how. This book will help judges, arbitrators, and other decision-writers master the art and science of judicial writing. A most welcome guide, Judicial Writing: A Benchmark for the Benchsets a high, yet attainable, standard of excellence for writing judicial decisions. It will no doubt become the reference point for judging judges and their judgments. Chinua Asuzu is that uncommon lawyer who wrote The Uncommon Law of Learned Writing. His other works includeAnatomy of a Brief andFair Hearing in Nigeria. A versatile arbitrator, Asuzu served as an administrative-law judge at the Tax Appeal Tribunal in Nigeria from 2010 to 2016.He is now the Senior Partner of Assizes Lawfirm, a team of tax lawyers.




Opinion Writing


Book Description

This book is based on real life experiences where the possibility of the living being able to communicate with the deceased is investigated. The belief in reincarnation and life after death raises a tantalising question: Can the living communicate with the dead? Most churchmen and scientists are sceptical, but many people, including churchmen and scientists, believe such a thing is possible. The belief in the immortal soul is a dogma of Christianity (resurrection), Hinduism (reincarnation or samsara), Islam (Day of Judgement), Judaism (sheol), and the Shona (NyikaDzimu). Moreover, man has been familiar with the concept of life after death since time immemorial. Immortality has been rejected by those who feel its only basis is wishful thinking that when the body dies, the personality dies with it because it is part of the physical body. Believers can cite the resurrection of Jesus, and maintain that since life on earth is not completely fulfilled an afterlife is necessary for completion. Another argument in favour of an afterlife is that since matter and energy may be transformed but not destroyed, neither can personality, which exists just as do the elements in nature, be destroyed. In many of the ancient societies, including Egypt and Greece, dreaming was considered a supernatural communication or a means of divine intervention, whose message could be unravelled by those with certain powers. In modern times, various schools of psychology have offered theories about the meaning of dreams. In Communication with the Deceased is meant to serve only as a basis for reflection in order for the reader to examine all the clues and then derive further meaning from specific circumstances of his/her own dreams. To be able to interpret a dream, one does not need to have an academic degree in psychology. What is important is to use one's instinct and common sense. Try to develop your own personal insights into what the common symbols in your dreams mean. When it comes to dream symbols, there are no equivocally universal rules or meanings. Dreams dictionaries help by providing hints at the meaning of symbols that appear in one's dreams. This book is of value to those studying psychology and those participating




Judicial Writing Manual


Book Description

Judicial Writing ManualA Pocket Guide for JudgesSecond EditionFederal Judicial CenterThe link between courts and the public is the written word. With rare exceptions, it is through judicial opinions that courts communicate with litigants, lawyers, other courts, and the community. Whatever the court's statutory and constitutional status, the written word, in the end, is the source and the measure of the court's authority. It is therefore not enough that a decision be correct—it must also be fair and reasonable and readily understood. The burden of the judicial opinion is to explain and to persuade and to satisfy the world that the decision is principled and sound. What the court says, and how it says it, is as important as what the court decides. It is important to the reader. But it is also important to the author because in the writing lies the test of the thinking that underlies it. “Good writing,” Ambrose Bierce said, “essentially is clear thinking made visible.” Ambrose Bierce, Write It Right 6 (rev. ed. 1986). To serve the cause of good opinion writing, the Federal Judicial Center has prepared this manual. It is not held out as an authoritative pronouncement on good writing, a subject on which the literature abounds. Rather, it distills the experience and reflects the views of a group of experienced judges, vetted by a distinguished board of editors. No one of them would approach the task of writing an opinion, or describe the process, precisely as any of the others would. Yet, though this is a highly personal endeavor, some generally accepted principles of good opinion writing emerge and they are the subject of this manual. We hope that judges and their law clerks will find this manual helpful and that it will advance the cause for which it has been prepared.William W SchwarzerDirector Emeritus, Federal Judicial Center




Point Taken


Book Description

In Point Taken, Ross Guberman delves into the work of the best judicial opinion-writers and offers a step-by-step method based on practical and provocative examples. Featuring numerous cases and opinions from 34 esteemed judges - from Learned Hand to Antonin Scalia - Point Taken, explores what it takes to turn "great judicial writing" into "great writing". Guberman provides a system for crafting effective and efficient openings to set the stage, covering the pros and cons of whether to resolve legal issues up front and whether to sacrifice taut syllogistic openings in the name of richness and nuance. Guberman offers strategies for pruning clutter, adding background, emphasizing key points, adopting a narrative voice, and guiding the reader through visual cues. The structure and flow of the legal analysis is targeted through a host of techniques for organizing the discussion at the macro level, using headings, marshaling authorities, including or avoiding footnotes, and finessing transitions. Guberman shares his style "Must Haves", a bounty of edits at the word and sentence level that add punch and interest, and that make opinions more vivid, varied, confident, and enjoyable. He also outlines his style "Nice to Haves", metaphors, similes, examples, analogies, allusions, and rhetorical figures. Finally, he addresses the thorny problem of dissents, extracting the best practices for dissents based on facts, doctrine, or policy. The appendix provides a helpful checklist of practice pointers along with biographies of the 34 featured judges.




The Handbook for the New Legal Writer


Book Description

The Handbook for the New Legal Writer teaches the concepts and skills covered in the first-year legal writing and research course in a way that meets the needs of today’s law students. The coursebook’s focus is on showing, not telling, students how to write effective legal documents using numerous examples and step-by-step instruction. The authors provide practical lessons on the basic writing and research tasks attorneys perform daily and include annotated samples written by judges, practitioners, and the authors. The text covers objective writing, persuasive writing, legal research, and citation using a “handbook” format, allowing easy access to key information. It also provides the option of using the book as a reference tool later in law practice. New to the Second Edition: Updated and expanded approaches to writing Questions Presented Expanded instruction on how to write shorter and less formal legal memos to reflect an increasingly modern approach Dozens of new examples from recently decided cases and additional examples of commonly prepared legal documents, including objective memos, emails, letters, and motions A new, short chapter on the IRAC organizational structure, guiding students on how to write law school exam answers and bar exam essays Updated guidance on writing style and grammar to reflect an increasingly modern approach in legal writing. For example, most Supreme Court justices now use contractions regularly and use "since" interchangeably with "because" even though the vast majority of legal writing textbooks advise otherwise. Professors and students will benefit from: Comprehensive coverage of all first-year legal writing topics (predictive and persuasive writing, grammar and writing style, professional correspondence, judicial writing, oral argument, research, and citation)—allowing students to use one book for all two (or three) semesters Concise and readable style that makes the book a “breath of fresh air” from other assigned law school reading Easy-to-grasp concept of “anchors” that move new law students from effective case reading and briefing to effective legal writing A multitude of annotated examples to show students how to put their legal writing skills into practice and to illustrate how to write commonly assigned documents, including objective memos, emails, letters, judicial opinions, persuasive motions, and appellate briefs




So Ordered


Book Description

This textbook offers concise guidance on how to become a successful judicial writer using common judicial documents, including bench memos, trial court orders, jury instructions, appellate opinions, dissents, and concurrences. So Ordered explains how to conceive, express, and revise each of the principal parts of these documents, from the case caption and introduction to the legal analysis and conclusion. Handpicked, annotated examples from the nation’s best judicial writers will inspire students to develop successful legal writing strategies and craft well-polished documents. A straightforward, accessible textbook that shows—rather than tells—students how to approach their writing assignments with care, So Ordered instills valuable lessons on lawyering that students can draw on throughout their careers.




Legal Writing in Plain English


Book Description

“This easy-to-follow guide is useful both as a general course of instruction and as a targeted aid in solving particular legal writing problems.” —Harvard Law Review Clear, concise, down-to-earth, and powerful—all too often, legal writing embodies none of these qualities. Its reputation for obscurity and needless legalese is widespread. For more than twenty years, Bryan A. Garner’s Legal Writing in Plain English has helped address this problem by providing lawyers, judges, paralegals, law students, and legal scholars with sound advice and practical tools for improving their written work. The leading guide to clear writing in the field, this indispensable volume encourages legal writers to challenge conventions and offers valuable insights into the writing process that will appeal to other professionals: how to organize ideas, create and refine prose, and improve editing skills. Accessible and witty, Legal Writing in Plain English draws on real-life writing samples that Garner has gathered through decades of teaching. Trenchant advice covers all types of legal materials, from analytical and persuasive writing to legal drafting, and the book’s principles are reinforced by sets of basic, intermediate, and advanced exercises in each section. In this new edition, Garner preserves the successful structure of the original while adjusting the content to make it even more classroom-friendly. He includes case examples from the past decade and addresses the widespread use of legal documents in electronic formats. His book remains the standard guide for producing the jargon-free language that clients demand and courts reward. “Those who are willing to approach the book systematically and to complete the exercises will see dramatic improvements in their writing.” —Law Library Journal