This baffles me, given how
important good legal writing is to client work product.
Not exact matches
More importantly, Reeve made an
important step in skills training: he introduced formal moot courts as a part of the Litchfield curriculum, though on an optional basis.53 Initially, the students themselves conducted the moots, though by 1803, when James Gould was teaching at Litchfield, he presided over the arguments.54 The rules Gould imposed for the moots required not only oral argument, but also
written argument, because the litigants had to produce writs and pleadings as
well.55 Although a far cry from modern
legal writing programs, these moot courts at least endeavored to provide some practical training in the production of persuasive
writing.56
But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there is one most
important attribute of
good legal writing: clarity.
To some extent, then, «clarity» probably isn't a fair answer to the question, «What do you think is the most
important attribute of
good legal writing?»
That kind of an answer, I believe, shows a
good sense of what law firms want law schools to do and the
important role that a
good legal writing program can play in a law school.
So, while there is no question that what you
write will play a huge role of the success of your
legal web marketing, how
well you are able to get your content in front of the right audiences is almost just as
important.
Jim's article, «Teaching Lawyers to Revise for the Real World: A Role for Reader Protocols,» 7 offered an
important contribution, not only because it focused specifically on how judges read and understand briefs, but also because it implicitly nudged us away from teaching platitudes about
good legal writing and more toward looking at how real readers respond to the principles of
writing that we commonly teach.
Accord Kosse & ButleRitchie, supra note 10, at 84 — 85 (reporting that lawyers, judges, and law professors most frequently listed concision, clarity, and organization as the most
important qualities of
good legal writing).
The journal, for which we hoped wide readership within the
legal writing community, seemed a
good place to publish her results.11 Jill's efforts not only gave us a synoptic view of what we were all doing, but also pointed to the
important work that remained to be done.
In a series of interviews with
legal writing expert Bryan Garner, Supreme Court Justices affirmed the importance of briefs to the appellate process and the need for lawyers to
write clearly.7 In a recent study, Judge Richard Posner found that judges view
writing as equally if not more
important than oral advocacy.8 Continuing
legal education programs offered by state bar associations frequently address the need for effective
legal writing.9 No one disputes that lawyers should
write well.10
My general advice is that LRW is the most
important course in law school, that a vast amount of
legal practice in any field involves
writing, that the ability to translate and explain clearly to clients and others is a major part of their jobs, and that if they can internalize the form of a
good legal memo, they can apply that skill more easily and successfully on law school exams.
If you want to be influential, you have to address
important legal subjects that courts are grappling with,
write clearly and concisely, effectively communicate that you fully understand the
legal landscape of where the doctrine currently is, and then provide a balanced, nuanced, and
well - supported argument for why your proposed step forward is the right move to make.
The fourth volume reprints
important articles on the development and range of upper - level
legal writing seminars as
well as..
Well -
written resume samples for Probate Paralegals highlight duties such as collecting information, assisting clients with document completion, preparing
legal documents, drafting business plans, and recording
important dates in a calendar.
Good writing skills are also
important as
legal secretaries create most of the correspondence in a law office.