Legal Writing in Context

Legal Writing in Context PDF

Author: Sonya G. Bonneau

Publisher:

Published: 2024

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781531021207

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Readers of this textbook will learn to think deductively and analogically, to distill the holdings of multiple cases into a coherent legal rule, and to craft a compelling narrative, among other skills. All the nuts and bolts of effective lawyering are here. But this new edition also helps students understand how context (historical, societal, and personal) can play a role in legal analysis and gives students tools for how to find and use that context. Professors Susan McMahon and Sonya Bonneau have mined the writings of legal academics, lawyers, judges, psychologists, and philosophers to produce a text for legal writing courses that teaches students practical writing skills, uses theory to explain why those skills are effective, and primes students to understand the influence of context on legal thinking.

The Mindful Legal Writer

The Mindful Legal Writer PDF

Author: Heidi K. Brown

Publisher: Aspen Publishing

Published: 2016-09-16

Total Pages: 672

ISBN-13: 1454836172

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Combining two groundbreaking texts for predictive and persuasive writing in one volume, The Mindful Legal Writer: Mastering Predictive and Persuasive Writing, raises awareness of important elements in the legal writing process—such as pacing, purpose, context, analysis, logic, and clarity. Progressing from a mastery of the basics to a professional level of legal communication in client representation and advocacy, Heidi K. Brown’s classroom-tested pedagogy illustrates the pivotal role of written communication for lawyers.

Legal Writing

Legal Writing PDF

Author: Robert Edwin Bacharach

Publisher: American Bar Association

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781641056595

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"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

Legal Writing in the Disciplines

Legal Writing in the Disciplines PDF

Author: Teri A. McMurtry-Chubb

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781594609596

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McMurtry-Chubb received the 2021 Thomas F. Blackwell Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Legal Writing. The award is is presented annually to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to improve the field of Legal Writing. One of the most common questions that prospective law students ask is "What is the best major to prepare me to study law?" The most common answer given by college advisors is "Any major." The perception of law school as a "free for all" accessible to students of any major sets students up for the confusion they experience in learning the law and legal skills. When students begin their legal education, they are taken out of their undergraduate and graduate disciplines and placed into the legal discipline without context for how their disciplinary education relates to their legal education. This leads to many of the frustrations that new law students have with law school, especially in their legal writing classes. Legal Writing in the Disciplines re-conceptualizes law in its disciplinary context. The text is designed to effectively communicate legal analysis and writing skills to pre-law and new law students using the language of their undergraduate and graduate majors. Legal writing is disciplinary writing, not just another form of technical writing. Law school is a disciplinary community. Integration into any disciplinary community occurs through the processes of reading and writing. The first chapter of the text details all aspects of the processes used to create practical legal writing (case briefs, notes, outlines and MindMaps, legal memos, legal briefs, exam outlines and exam answers). The five remaining chapters are divided into five broad disciplinary categories: Science, Social Science, Arts, Humanities and Business. Each chapter contains discipline-specific instruction on creating the different types of legal writing. The chapter sections lead the reader through the resolution of a legal problem through legal writing and provide answers for self-check with discipline-specific explanations on an interactive CD-ROM. The CD-ROM allows students to load PDFs (the materials, exercises, model answers, and case files to which the text refers) onto an iPad or other tablet for flexibility and ease of use in practicing legal writing skills. Additionally, the materials, exercises, and model answers are annotated in color with discipline-specific explanations to guide students as they assimilate new legal writing skills. A teacher's manual accompanies the text and features semester and quarter course planning options, learning outcomes and performance criteria for each week, lecture notes for each week, in-class exercises and supporting materials, and assessment rubrics for all assignments and skills. The rubrics are keyed to the weekly learning outcomes and performance criteria. An interactive CD-ROM with case files for a legal memo, legal brief, and other instructional materials is included.

Clear and Effective Legal Writing

Clear and Effective Legal Writing PDF

Author: Veda Charrow

Publisher: Aspen Publishing

Published: 2014-10-30

Total Pages: 509

ISBN-13: 1454837853

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In its Fourth Edition, Clear and Effective Legal Writing continues to give students a classic introduction to legal analysis and legal writing. Concise and accessible, the text focuses on memo and brief writing while reinforcing key writing skills. This proven teaching tool provides the student with excellent examples and numerous skill-honing exercises. Offering comprehensive coverage from case synthesis and case briefing to preparing Supreme Court briefs, this text: starts with an overview of legal analysis, and then walks students through the writing process: understanding context, organizing effectively, writing clearly and effectively, and reviewing and editing describes differences between legal language and ordinary discourse, and the linguistic theory underlying the origins of legal language seamlessly combines legal reasoning with legal writing and helps the student understand the relationship between the two provides straightforward rules for writing effective legal documents, with scores of examples of the good, the bad, and the humorous includes numerous exercises throughout the book to help students reinforce their skills dissects and annotates actual trial court memoranda and Supreme Court briefs highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each example provides an insightful interview with the Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States on what the Court expects to see in brief and the assistance that his office provides to all litigants appearing before the Court shows how to transform a memorandum into an advocacy document provides guidance for writing well in an appendix with overview of English sentence structure New to the Fourth Edition: updated examples throughout an updated legal process portion taking into account changes in law and updating examples a new set of Supreme Court briefs with annotations additional material addressing how the Internet is affecting court filings and formatting

Clear and Effective Legal Writing

Clear and Effective Legal Writing PDF

Author: Veda Charrow

Publisher: Aspen Publishers

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13:

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With examples drawn from legal writing and student papers, this guide walks students through the writing process and helps them refine their skills in exercises throughout the book. The Second Edition features a reorganized Part I, including three new chapters that help students gain proficiency in reading and analyzing legal materials so they can write more effectively. Part II includes a systematic approach to legal writing; understanding your context; getting organized; writing clearly; writing effectively; and reviewing and editing. Part III covers the process of writing a legal memorandum and an appellate court brief. This Second Edition includes two examples of memoranda, An interoffice memo and a memo of points and authority; a streamlined appendix that provides an overview of English sentence structure; and many enhanced writing exercises.

Legal Writing

Legal Writing PDF

Author: Jane N. Richmond

Publisher:

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13:

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'Legal Writing: Form and Function' contains more than 90 sets of exercises on topics ranging from the basics, such as choosing correct pronouns in a series, to the subtleties of gauging the tone of a brief. All examples in the book are drafted by practicing attorneys, and the materials come from writings related to practice such as memoranda, briefs, and letters. Throughout the book, the author helps students and attorneys identify gaps in their writing background, develop the skills to fill them, and write effectively with confidence.

Legal Writing for Legal Readers

Legal Writing for Legal Readers PDF

Author: Mary Beth Beazley

Publisher: Aspen Publishing

Published: 2022-10-27

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 1543804837

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Applying the perspective of the reader to the craft of writing, Legal Writing for Legal Readers: Predictive Writing for First-Year Students teaches the differences between strong and weak legal writing by letting students read examples of both. Students discover how productive it can be to read a well-articulated argument, as compared to one that is illogical. We aren’t always able to identify our own faults as writers—but as readers, we can see clearly the merits of both the argument and its presentation. The authors’ sidebars and annotations highlight why one writer fails while another succeeds. Students realize the significance of their own behavior as readers and how that behavior should dictate their writing decisions. As readers, students learn to recognize the specific elements of analysis and structure that make legal writing effective. As writers, they will make better and more informed choices, when they think about it from a reader’s perspective. New to the Second Edition: Revised to focus exclusively on predictive analytical writing that most law schools teach during the first semester of the first year Expanded inclusion of annotations and marginal notes that answer anticipated student questions Professors and students will benefit from: Extensive variety of samples and examples, both good and bad, selected to illustrate legal writing concepts for students Broad coverage that includes memos and briefs, as well as complaints, correspondence, and criminal motions Sidebar comments and marginal notes that answer anticipated student questions and define important legal and writing-related terms that may distract students as they learn new concepts Annotations that incorporate cognitive and behavioral theories to explain why some approaches work better than others Exercises that test students’ understanding of important concepts while they learn Teaching materials include: Additional exercises for use with most chapters Additional samples of longer documents Document to further illustrate important concepts for both teachers and students

Culture to Culture

Culture to Culture PDF

Author: Jill J. Ramsfield

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780890891186

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"Indispensable to international students studying U.S. law, Culture to Culture explains the U.S. legal system's rhetorical preferences, linguistic specializations, and current conventions. Readers will be able to learn comfortably and quickly what U.S. audiences expect. The book provides students with U.S. legal tools for reading texts, analyzing problems, researching sources, organizing analytical patterns, and writing in acceptable legal styles. Covering a broad range of topics and questions, it introduces current conventions through a variety of legal texts, including letters, memos, transactional documents, briefs, exams, and scholarly papers. Culture to Culture will prepare international lawyers to be researchers and writers in both U.S. law schools and U.S. legal practices, or to return to their own countries with an analytical perspective on how U.S. lawyers research, analyze, negotiate, and write."--BOOK JACKET.

Essential Legal English in Context

Essential Legal English in Context PDF

Author: Karen M. Ross

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2019-04-04

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 1479831670

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An essential handbook for international lawyers and students Focusing on vocabulary, Essential Legal English in Context introduces the US legal system and its terminology. Designed especially for foreign-trained lawyers and students whose first language is not English, the book is a must-read for those who want to expand their US legal vocabulary and basic understanding of US government. Ross uses a unique approach by selecting legal terms that arise solely within the context of the levels and branches of US government, including terminology related to current political issues such as partisanship. Inspired by her students’ questions over her years of teaching, she includes a vast collection of legal vocabulary, concepts, idioms, and phrasal verbs and unpacks concepts embedded in US case law, such as how the US constitutional separation of powers may affect a court’s interpretation of the law. The handbook differentiates basic terms in civil and criminal cases and compares terms that may seem similar because of close spellings but in fact have different meanings. For instance, what is the distinction between “taking the stand” and “taking a stand?” What is the difference between “treaties” and “treatises”? Featuring illustrations and hands-on exercises, Essential Legal English in Context is a valuable self-study resource for those who want to improve their legal English terminology before entering a US law school, studying US law or government, or working as a seconded attorney to a US law firm. Instructors can use the handbook in an introductory US legal English course.