Improving legal writing Forum

[timmyd]

My goal is simple-to be an extraordinary legal writer. I have a district clerkship coming up, and I want to be the best damn writer my judge has seen. I think I have a natural ability when it comes to writing, but its a skill I can obviously improve on and continue to hone. Any books or exercises anyone would recommend? I think I am going to buy a few books by Brian Garner and read them before my term begins in a few weeks.

[thesealocust]

It's basic, but Strunk & White - Elements of Style is a solid choice, and a very short read.

[Johann]

read a lot of opinions

[emciosn]

read a lot of opinions

This is actually really good advice. Judicial opinion writing is a distinct area of legal writing that comes with its own set of challenges. I clerked for a couple years and I think opinion writing is the most difficult form of legal writing. It requires an immense amount of thought and precision. Reading "a lot of opinions" is a good way to start to train your brain to to think like a judge. You could produce beautifully written prose, but if you have a tendency to be sloppy with details and facts (many/most young lawyers are to some extent), your judge will hate your writing. So good opinion writing is not so much about style (although being stylistically strong is important), it is about being clear, concise, precise and complete. Select your words carefully, know which facts to include or not include, and the list goes on. This comes from a deep understanding of the issues and the proper mental approach to writing. The mental part comes with time and experience and is more important than memorizing every style rule out there. Reading opinions is a good place to start--as you're doing so try to understand the issues and put your self in the judge's shoes in terms of thought process.

Another important point is that not every judge has the same writing style. Reading some of your future judge's opinions will certainly give you some insight into what he/she likes. There are some things that may "correct" from a technical stylistic standpoint that your judge just flat out doesn't like or care about. A Judge Posner opinion (a classic example of a judge with a more conversational style) looks wildly different than an opinion from a judge with a more formal approach. The "best damn writer" those judges have ever seen would also write a little differently. Chicago Law Review did an issue on judicial opinion writing some time back and much of the commentary is still relevant. It is volume 62, pages 1363 to 1519. You can get the titles/citations to print here:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/i272216

Especially interesting are the three articles, two by Judge Wald and one by Judge Posner, that morphed into a discourse on proper judicial opinion writing style (starting on pages 1371, 1421 and 1451). Judge Wald gets a little upset, so that's kind of entertaining too. There are plenty of other articles and commentary on judicial opinion writing out there as well. I suggest spending some time on google and reading what pops up.

In sum, "read a lot of opinions." Especially opinions authored by your future judge. Try to understand what your judge likes stylistically but also try to understand the mental side. Training your mind to think in at the level of detail and precision that is required for good judicial opinion writing will be of great benefit for the balance of your legal career.

Just my $.02--hope it helps.

[First Offense]

It's basic, but Strunk & White - Elements of Style is a solid choice, and a very short read.

FWIW - I spoke to three different partners at my summer firm about how to improve my legal writing, and each one of them recommended Strunk & White.

[timmyd]

Excellent advice. Thanks, all. I know there is a way to do this, but how do you find opinions specifically written by your judge? Things like summary judgment orders and 12(b)(6) rulings. I remember doing it before the interview, but it's a bit more involved than simply searching his name or whatnot. Probably a stupid question, but this isn't SDNY or the like.

[thsmthcrmnl]

"Read lots of opinions" is, I think, incomplete advice. Reading lots of your judge's opinions will teach you what your judge likes. That's important. And reading opinions might teach you how to structure opinions. But it won't teach you to be a better writer unless you read only good opinions, or you read good and bad opinions and figure out which ones are which and why.

I would focus too on any good exposition—things like the New Yorker. And then I would practice with a book such as Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, which I think is more helpful (if less inspiring) than Strunk & White. Then I would read Garner on Language & Writing. And then I would keep Garner's usage dictionaries, The Redbook, and Butterick within easy reach.

Good luck. The Westlaw command is JU(Judgelastname).