What I wish I had known about legal writing--part 4
4. I wish I had known about the best sources on good legal writing.
I did not own a book on legal writing until I quit practicing law and began teaching legal writing. How could that be? If I had studied journalism, I would’ve known about and acquired books on writing style. Likewise if I had studied English composition. But I finished law school and entered a writing profession without a single source on legal writing in my library. Sure, I read The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. I read On Writing Well by William Zinsser. But I read no books on legal writing.
Given what was available when I graduated from law school in 1989, I wish I’d had these sources:
Ultimately, I simply wish I had taken the skill of legal writing more seriously. Students, you're forewarned.
________
Wayne Schiess, author of Preparing Legal Documents Nonlawyers Can Read and Understand
I did not own a book on legal writing until I quit practicing law and began teaching legal writing. How could that be? If I had studied journalism, I would’ve known about and acquired books on writing style. Likewise if I had studied English composition. But I finished law school and entered a writing profession without a single source on legal writing in my library. Sure, I read The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. I read On Writing Well by William Zinsser. But I read no books on legal writing.
Given what was available when I graduated from law school in 1989, I wish I’d had these sources:
- The Texas Law Review Manual on Usage and Style
- A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage by Bryan A. Garner (now in its second edition)
- How To Write Plain English: A Book For Lawyers And Consumers, by Rudolf Flesch
Ultimately, I simply wish I had taken the skill of legal writing more seriously. Students, you're forewarned.
________
Wayne Schiess, author of Preparing Legal Documents Nonlawyers Can Read and Understand
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