Contents
Part 1: What’s wrong with traditional legal writing?
1. Why is traditional legal writing a bad thing?
Introduction
It wastes time
It wastes money
It reduces lawyers’ earnings
It delays clients’ business
It is imprecise
It causes mistakes
It doesn’t do what you intend
It alienates the public
It alienates many judges
It sounds archaic
It shuts people out of their own business
It undermines the rule of law
It’s sometimes unlawful
It can be considered unprofessional
It sounds inhuman
It bores everyone
Part 2: What is good writing?
2. The legal writer’s aims
3. Who says what’s right?
4. What is “plain language”?
What it is
What it isn’t
A practical shortcut
5. Lawyers’ concerns about plain language
6. The need for thought
Part 3: How to make legal writing more effective
7. Three rules of thumb
8. How to start
9. Be human
Tone
Gender-neutral writing
Abstraction
10. Organising your document
The need for organization
Where to put the important information
11. Format
White space
Typeface
Lists
Algebraic formulae
Graphics
Flowcharts
Steps
12. Punctuation
13. RepetitionWhether to use it
Ambiguity caused by poor punctuation
Capital letters
Punctuation after paragraph numbers
Commas
Semi-colons
Apostrophes
Hyphens
Length
Organization
Active or passive voice
Positive or negative thoughts
Split infinitives
18. Choosing words
Trimming what isn’t necessary
Archaic & other unfamiliar expressions
Complex words
Fashionable expressions & clichés
Pronouns
Prepositions
Conjunctions
Over- and under-emphasis
19. Persuasion
20. Editing
21. Computer aids
22. Testing
23. Vagueness
24. Ambiguity
25. Miscuing
26. The loss of nontextual data
27. Misleading expectations
28. The boundaries of literacy and intelligence
29. Translating and interpreting
30. A brief look at the rules
Appendices
A. A legal writing workshop
B. Analysis of examples
C. Precedents
Links to the text
Why is traditional legal writing a bad thing? The legal writer’s aims Who says what's right? What is plain language? How to start Vagueness Appendix B, analysis of examples Appendix C, precedents
The beginning of chapter 1, extended (from p.5 to p.15) 5.4.21
Part of chapter 2, added 6.4.21
The beginning of chapter 3, added 7.4.21
The beginning of chapter 4, added 8.4.21
Chapter 8
Chapter 23
Example B, guarantee clause, added 23.7.23
Precedent 4, specimen trust memo, added 23.7.23