Objective

After completing this chapter, you should be able to:

• Explain the importance of writing skills
• Describe what a legal writing process is and its importance in legal writing
• Engage in the three stages of the legal writing process
• Demonstrate the importance and use of an expanded outline in the legal writing process

Introduction

• Legal writing
  • The research and analysis are assembled in a written form designed to concisely record and communicate the answer to a legal question or questions
  • The bulk of legal communication is written
  • A great deal of time is spent in research and in communicating the findings of that research in the form of legal memoranda and legal instruments

Importance of Writing Skills

• Why Writing Skills Are Important
  • Greater productivity
  • Better quality of product
  • Clear communication

Goal of Legal Writing

• Primary Goal of Legal Writing
  • Clearly, concisely, and completely convey legal information that:
    • Fully addresses the topic in as few words as possible
    • Allows the reader to gain a clear understanding of the information in as little time as possible

• Legal Writing Process
  • Systematic approach to legal writing
    • Highly organized and structured
    • A process saves time
    • Helps you capture ideas as they come to you
    • Helps overcome difficult areas
  • You may adapt it to fit your needs, but you should always have a process

Legal Writing Process: Prewriting

• Prewriting Stage: the assignment is organized, researched and analyzed
  • Assignment: Questions to Consider
    • Is the assignment clearly understood?
    • What type of legal writing (document) is required?
    • Who is the audience?
  • Constraints
    • Time
    • Length
    • Format/Organization

Organization: use an outline

Legal Writing Process Outline

• Outlines
  • Skeletal structure and framework for legal writing
  • Creation
    • Use the format that works for you
    • Use indentations to separate topics from subtopics
    • Alter your outline based upon the type of writing
    • Be flexible, and don't be afraid to reorganize it
    • When in doubt, follow I R A C

Legal Writing Process: Writing

• Writing Stage: the actual draft
  • Prepare the writing location
  • Write during the time of day when you do your best work
  • Limit interruptions
  • Begin writing; do not procrastinate
  • Begin with a part you feel most confident about
  • Do not try to make the first draft the final draft
  • Do not begin to write until you are prepared
  • If you become stuck, move to another part of the assignment
  • Establish a timetable

Legal Writing Process: Postwriting

• Postwriting Stage
  • Revising
    • Is the writing well organized?
    • Is it written so that the audience will understand?
    • Is the writing clear, concise, and complete?
    • Are legal authorities correctly cited?
  • Editing
    • Focuses on technical writing issues: punctuation, spelling, grammar, phrasing, typographical errors, and citation errors.
• General Research Suggestions
• Legal Research and the Prewriting Stage
  • Prepare an expanded outline when researching
  • Identify the issue first
  • Research issues one at a time
  • Become familiar with the area of law
  • Locate the enacted law that governs the question
  • Locate the case law that may apply
  • Make sure that the research is current
  • If you reach a dead end, reanalyze the issue

Questions:

1) Based on the above information,we need to answer below questions

a) What is a legal memo and who is the audience?

b) What is a legal brief and who is the audience?

2) After reading the article "10 Tips for Better Legal Writing"(hyperlinked) by Bryan A. Garner, answer the question below:

What 3 tips do you believe are the most important (to you) and how they can help you with your legal writing? Make sure to focus on LEGAL writing as opposed to writing in a general sense which was covered last week.

Incorporate at least one credible source