By Joachim B. Steinberg
From just about the second that we begin legislation college, we get recommendation on the right way to be higher writers. Most of it’s from legal professionals (or ex-lawyers). That’s fantastic to begin. Legal writing is a style and has distinctive concerns that you must grasp, if solely as a result of courts demand it, like The Bluebook.
However if you wish to get even higher at authorized writing, keep in mind that good prose is nice prose. There’s a cause why one frequent piece of recommendation to legal professionals is to cease attempting to sound like a lawyer. And legal professionals—even litigators—do loads of writing that isn’t for courts. We write for our colleagues, opposing counsel and busy shoppers.
In these contexts, stilted authorized writing is even worse. The paradoxical answer on the right way to enhance your authorized writing is to take a step again and deal with being a greater author, not merely a greater authorized author.
With that in thoughts, listed below are just a few of my favourite works on writing which, although not written for legal professionals, most legal professionals would discover useful.
1. George Orwell, Politics and the English Language
The identical staleness and vagueness that bedeviled George Orwell in political writing additionally ruins authorized writing. Orwell’s recommendation, significantly on phrase selection, stays top-of-the-line methods to consider the right way to write.
2. Christopher Lasch, Plain Model: A Information to Written English
An unforgiving, humorous and well-reasoned strategy to writing, with acute takes on sentence-level construction. Christopher Lasch additionally features a part, “Traits of Unhealthy Writing,” which by itself would make his work a very good useful resource. That part is especially useful for anybody who, like me, received pissed off with the legislation college pedagogy the place one thing by former U.S. Supreme Courtroom Justice Robert Jackson can be put in entrance of you, and also you’d be instructed to “write extra like that.”
3. James Baldwin, If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Inform Me, What Is?
I do know I simply made enjoyable of the educating fashion through which somebody suggests that you simply attempt to copy the greats with out another course. However in case you can’t study one thing from the best American essayist, I don’t know what to inform you. Take an particularly arduous have a look at how clearly James Baldwin frames the argument on this essay, regardless of the interdisciplinary breadth of his topic.
4. Virginia Woolf, A Letter to a Younger Poet
Virginia Woolf has two items of recommendation that each one legal professionals ought to take heed to. First, you must write rather a lot, even on work that can by no means be printed (or filed). Like all talent, you must get reps in to get higher at it. Even higher: Spend a while reflecting on what you’ve written. Look again at previous briefs and letters. It may be humbling, nevertheless it’s price it. Second, “it’s unattainable to learn an excessive amount of.” If you wish to be a greater author, learn as a lot and as extensively as you may. Spend the time to consider what you discovered efficient or ineffective.
5. Stephen Jay Gould, Why No One Hits .400 Anymore
One of many key jobs you’ve as a authorized author is to convey advanced concepts to audiences who know much less concerning the matter than you. This essay is without doubt one of the greatest examples of that I’ve ever discovered.
6. Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Woman’s Fast and Soiled Ideas for Higher Writing
There are lots of books on grammar, however for legal professionals with not a lot time and a powerful urge to know why guidelines exist, this is without doubt one of the greatest sources on the market. It explains the foundations, the rationale and the historical past behind them—and when you may think about breaking them.
I’m certain I’ve unnoticed some nice works. However the level stays the identical: If you wish to be a greater authorized author, be a greater author. Studying from writers who would by no means even consider utilizing the phrases “pursuant” or “heretofore” not solely makes you a extra convincing advocate however helps you unlearn a few of the unhealthy habits legal professionals have handed on to you.
Based mostly in San Francisco and New York, Crowell & Moring counsel Joachim B. Steinberg helps shoppers on business, know-how and mental property litigation from coast to coast. Steinberg has expertise throughout a number of industries, together with software program, aeronautics, video video games and startups. He additionally has expertise throughout fields of legislation, together with trademark, copyright, commerce secrets and techniques, antitrust and privateness.
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