Tips for improving your legal writing

[bpagrawal]

Great lawyers must write well. But what does that mean? I could give you a list of what you should or shouldn't do as a legal writer. I think that you might find such an article useful regardless of your skill level because the best writers always strive to improve and the worst writers, well, they need a lot of guidance.



The appellate judge communicates through writing. Indeed, every official act is a written one. To act effectively, the judge must write well. Clarity, persuasiveness, organization, and plain old storytelling must find their way into the judge's opinions.
Lawyers have the same responsibility. We are professional writers. My legal career has included both an appellate practice and a writing-heavy litigation. That is, in the big cases, I typically find myself in the writing roles, which is not an accident. So I have spent a lot of time pondering the theoretics of legal writing (or at least what makes it good or bad).
Writing has a technical component that matters. You can improve your writing by learning what to do and what to avoid. That takes conscious practice. Attend the seminars; read the articles about writing; then think about what you learned when you write.

Everything you write has an audience and a purpose. Do not forget either one as you craft each and every sentence. The purpose of legal writing is usually to persuade, but think deeply and thoroughly about that purpose. For example, you write a motion to dismiss brief or opposition brief to persuade a judge to either dismiss or not dismiss a complaint.
But whether you are the plaintiff or defendant, you want to educate the judge about the law, facts, and your client should the case go forward. If the case doesn't go forward, you know that the appellate court may read your brief. If it is a high-profile case, the press might read it, the reporting of which could affect your client's business.
http://www.lawweb.in/2014/05/tips-for-improving-your-legal-writing.html