Legal Letters

This book is an advanced legal writing text designed toimprove the writing skills of lawyers, paralegals and lawstudents by giving them a readable and accessible book withlots of practical writing advice. It is further written tomotivate lawyers, paralegals and law students to take legalwriting seriously as a distinct and important discipline,worthy of concentrated and consistent study.

This how-to writing guide helps lawyers and law students master the full array of legal writing tasks and become adept and agile writers. While chapters focus on specific legal writing tasks, they also teach sophisticated writing techniques and how to use them effectively in a legal context. Chapters cover statutes, jury instructions, contracts, issues, objective and persuasive statements of fact, discussion sections and arguments, pleadings, documents for motion practice, interrogatories, correspondence (including electronic forms), opinion letters, wills and trusts, and research papers.

An advanced text, this book assumes that most practitioners and students lack the time to read lengthy discussions of all the subtleties of legal method. Effective Lawyering concisely describes useful, yet often neglected, writing techniques. The book has pithy discussions of: (1) ways to avoid recurring, yet frequently overlooked, writing problems; (2) sensible approaches to writing common legal documents (trial court and appellate briefs, memoranda, letter writing, and academic writing); and (3) methods for preparing an oral argument. In addition, it provides the reader with a series of checklists to turn to when undertaking a writing project or preparing for oral argument.

Chapters cover sentence structure, word choice,punctuation, organization, and formatting.Helpful examples of both good and bad writing that shows students how to put the advice into practice.Many examples that deal with ethical issues.

Just Writing enables students to master a skill that will contribute to their success in both law school and practice.

Highly regarded and classroom-proven, the Legal Method and Writing takes a comprehensive approach to legal writing that bridges law school and law office. Exercises and real-life examples--many taken from actual cases--provide stepping-off points from which to practice legal thinking and communication. Calleros seamlessly weaves multicultural themes into many of the problems and examples to add context and enrich student understanding of legal issues. Features: Updated, enhanced, and clarified throughout Expanded discussion of statutory interpretation, with new and updated sources Description of tribal court systems (as well as state and federal courts systems) added, supplementing existing discussion of tribal governments and legal method New examples of statements of rules, in objective memos and arguments for briefs, including samples illustrating (1) the difference between rules with mandatory elements and those with factors that the court will consider or balance, and (2) explaining or proving a rule by establishing noncontroversial matters with "light analysis" and more complicated or disputed matters with in-depth analysis. Addition of an advanced outlining exercise, as well as an illustration of flow-charting. Citation coverage updated to reflect the new Bluebook and ALWD editions

A favorite among successful students, and often recommended by professors, the unique Examples & Explanations series gives you extremely clear introductions to concepts followed by realistic examples that mirror those presented in the classroom throughout the semester. Use at the beginning and midway through the semester to deepen your understanding through clear explanations, corresponding hypothetical fact patterns, and analysis. Then use to study for finals by reviewing the hypotheticals as well as the structure and reasoning behind the accompanying analysis. Designed to complement your casebook, the trusted Examples & Explanations titles get right to the point in a conversational, often humorous style that helps you learn the material each step of the way and prepare for the exam at the end of the course. The unique, time-tested Examples & Explanations series is invaluable to teach yourself the subject from the first day of class until your last review before the final. Each guide: helps you learn new material by working through chapters that explain each topic in simple language challenges your understanding with hypotheticals similar to those presented in class provides valuable opportunity to study for the final by reviewing the hypotheticals as well as the structure and reasoning behind the corresponding analysis quickly gets to the point in conversational style laced with humor remains a favorite among law school students is often recommended by professors who encourage the use of study guides works with ALL the major casebooks, suits any class on a given topic provides an alternative perspective to help you understand your casebook and in-class lectures

Legal Writing in a Nutshell is the lawyer's handbook for writing more plainly, precisely, efficiently, and effectively. Provides keys to organizing legal memoranda and briefs; to crafting clear and concise sentences; to using legal language accurately; to proper use of grammar and punctuation; and to writing persuasively using classical rhetorical techniques. Describes a method for analyzing an individual writing style and improving it, including a sample analysis. Includes new material on Plain English and new samples of legal memoranda and briefs to illustrate effective writing techniques.

Emphasizes the fundamental structure and methods of legal drafting. It is designed to help the novice legal drafter identify those elemental rules and techniques and show how they are used to prepare effective legal writing in different formats, most of which share common elements and structures. The book begins with a discussion of legal analysis, followed by a discussion of general drafting principles and rules, and then proceeds to apply these concepts in the following chapters to specific forms of legal writing including: client letters, demand letters, research memoranda, motions and supporting documents, appellate briefs, contracts and instruments, and legislation.

This book is designed to supplement a Legal Writing course, Ethics course, or Clinical course. The Second Edition of Legal Writing: Ethical and Professional Considerations tracks the types of documents typically produced in a first-year legal writing course. The book identifies ethical rules and professional concerns which pertain to the particular type of document and introduces cases illustrating how the rules should influence lawyers' behavior when preparing and submitting documents. It also contains notes designed to reinforce students' understanding of how the rules should impact them as they communicate professionally in writing. Contents include: Chapter 1: Attorney Regulation: Sources of Ethical and Professional Considerations Chapter 2: Engaging the Client?Conflicts Chapter 3: E-Mail Communications Chapter 4: Predictive Memoranda Chapter 5: Client Letters Chapter 6: Demand Letters Chapter 7: Complaints Chapter 8: Appellate Briefs Chapter 9: Drafted Documents The Teacher's Manual for the Second Edition includes a variety of materials, including PowerPoint slides with teaching notes, quizzes, exercises, and instructional material to guide classroom discussions.

Writing for Law Practice organizes documents into three sections that correspond to the three major modes of written communication in the law: litigating, informing and persuading, and rule-making, each with its own signature writing skills. The organization of this text is both realistic and helpful to student and teacher. Part One focuses on pleadings and motions, where concept is primary and expression secondary. Part Two covers letters, memos, trial and appellate briefs, and judicial opinions, which require clarity and perseverance as well as creativity. Part Three covers contracts, legislation, and wills, where conceptualization is inextricable from clear and precise expression.

First published in 2003, Writing for the Legal Audience guides lawyers, paralegals, and law students through sensible, practical advice for writing to a dozen legal audiences, from supervisors to appellate judges and from clients to opposing counsel. Each chapter focuses on a different audience for legal writing and presents three concrete recommendations for satisfying that audience. The recommendations are amply supported with explanations, references to the leading experts, and numerous before-and-after examples.

The second edition is thoroughly revised, with new tips, new examples, and up-to-date advice for producing clear, readable, effective legal writing. In addition, Schiess has added a new chapter, ''Writing for the Screen Reader,'' that offers advice for preparing legal documents aimed at readers who will encounter the text electronically on a computer, tablet, or handheld device.