Description
Meant to be a supplement to a legal research and writing text or a handbook for students working independently, this guide focuses on common problems in legal writing and how to solve them. It uses two fictional case files (one common law and the other statutory) and focuses on practice-based legal writing assignments law students will encounter in their first year. It outlines the research and writing process, identifies weaknesses and areas of struggle for new legal writers, and provides guidance on how to avoid those pitfalls. Chapters are organized by specific issues typically encountered by new writers, such as managing the research process; transitioning from prewriting to writing; synthesizing, writing, and explaining the legal rules in the analysis; application; organizing the analysis; and polishing writing. The book includes legal writing samples to work through problems. Annotation ©2019 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
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The Legal Writing Companion is a practical, helpful guide for the new legal writer, designed to address common problems and demonstrate how and why to make effective choices to solve them. The second edition offers additional examples based on a complex federal statutory issue to supplement the first edition's common law examples. The book continues to receive high praise from student users, and the second edition features a student-written introduction. Organized by eight common "problem" areas, the book uses two fictional case files to work through a series of problems and includes samples of both strong and weak writing choices. Chapters 1-3 identify and discuss common challenges during the prewriting stage, including the transition to writing a full first draft. Chapters 4-6 focus on organizing legal analysis, writing and explaining legal rules, and applying law to facts. In the second edition, these chapters include an expanded discussion of the process of rewriting and revising a draft. Chapter 7 discusses problems and solutions related to the smaller components of legal writing, and Chapter 8 troubleshoots common polishing errors, from overuse of legalese to common citation problems. There are also four complete/annotated memos in the Appendices to pull together the themes presented in the text and show multiple models of successful finished products.
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