The Lawyer's Guide to Writing Well

This eminently practical volume demystifies legal writing, outlines the causes and consequences of bad writing, and prescribes straightforward, easy-to-apply remedies that will make your writing readable. Complete with usage notes that address lawyers' most common errors, this well-organized book is both an invaluable tool for practicing lawyers and a sensible grounding for law students. This much-revised second edition contains a set of editing exercises (and a suggested revision key with explanations) to test your skill. This book is a definitive guide to becoming a better writer - and a better lawyer.

Preface Part I. Why Lawyers Write Poorly 1. Does Bad Writing Really Matter? 2. Don't Make It Like It Was Part 2. The Process of Writing 3. Ten Steps to Writing 4. Of Dawdlers and Scrawlers, Pacers, and Plungers: Getting Started and Overcoming Blocks 5. The Mechanics of Getting It Down: From Quill Pens to Computers 6. Lessons from a Writing Audit 7. Lawyers as Publishers: Words Are Their Product Part 3. Managing Your Prose 8. Writing the Lead 9. Form, Structure, and Organization 10. Wrong Words, Long Sentences, and Other Mister Meaners 11. Revising Your Prose 12. Making Your Writing Memorable Notes Usage Notes An Editing Checklist Editing Exercises Suggested Revisions to Editing Exercises Reference Works Acknowledgments About the Authors Index