The Significance of Effective Legal Writing and Citation

1. The Significance of Effective Legal Writing and Citation mamby.com/post/the-significance-of-effective-legal-writing-and-citation Legal writing covers the analysis of case patterns, facts and presentation of legal arguments in official documents such as briefs and legal memos. One type of legal writing concerns drafting an amiable compromise agreement. The second type of legal writing concerns persuasive, in which advocates in support of a legal position to try to convince the court that the plaintiff is not entitled to recover the damages he is liable for. The third type of legal writing concerns analytical writing, in which the writer considers the issues raised by the case in order to persuade the court to the conclusion that the plaintiff is not entitled to recover the damages. Finally, the fourth type of legal writing concerns persuasive letter writing, in which the author of the legal letter attempts to persuade the reader of the merits of the legal claim so that he or she thinks it better not to award the damages. The various forms of Paralegal Work The second aspect of legal writing that is worth exploring is the various forms of paralegal work. Paralegals draft pleadings, conference reports, legal research documents, and legal compliance works. In some jurisdictions, paralegals are also required to draft administrative documents. This formality of legal writing makes it clear that paralegals have a variety of functions and that they cannot be considered as mere readers who only produce text. Lawyers who specialize in particular fields of law, such as patent law, will have a specialised formality of legal writing and there may even be some degree of difference between the output of one lawyer and that of another. The same applies to doctors, whose 1/2

2. output is also likely to vary considerably with their area of specialization. A doctor can be regarded as a patent attorney, an expert in internal medicine, an expert in pediatrics, an expert in developmental disabilities, etc. Similarly, the output of lawyers will differ considerably with regard to the area of law that they practice. Legal Writing involves Reasoning Legal writing does not only involve fact patterns but also involves reasoning and also a certain level of style. Many lawyers have been involved in writing for decades and have learned to adapt their style to suit the different needs of the different audiences that they are addressing. Facts and figures are used liberally in legal writing, though the emphasis is placed on supporting arguments and justifying positions. Legal writing also involves quoting authorities and quoting extensively from them. While all this sounds like a lot of work, in fact it is easy and can be done with a minimum of effort and attention to detail. One important factor that has to be considered carefully is the quote. A great number of legal documents have citations in them. However, many lawyers regard this as unnecessary and prefer to leave such citations out. This means that if a document is being used by another lawyer in court, the first lawyer has to refer to the second lawyer's works in his defense. This is seen as an infringement of attorney-client privilege. All the same, a great deal of emphasis must be laid on the veracity of the citation. A lawyer cannot rely solely on the word of the original author without giving adequate weight to the fact that the original author may have been quoted inaccurately in support of his arguments. Legal writing requires a great deal of skill and care to ensure that citations are correct and complete. If you are looking forward to learn legal writing then you can visit websites like lawprepare.com. 2/2