This eminently practical volume demystifies legal writing, outlines the causes and consequences of bad writing, and prescribes straightforward, easy-to-apply remedies that will make your writing readable. Complete with usage notes that address lawyers' most common errors, this well-organized book is both an invaluable tool for practicing lawyers and a sensible grounding for law students. This much-revised second edition contains a set of editing exercises (and a suggested revision key with explanations) to test your skill. This book is a definitive guide to becoming a better writer--and a better lawyer.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Surprisingly Good:
How good is this book? Well, I've put it on my shelf right between Bryan Garner's masterwork The Winning Brief and Steven Stark's famous and succinct Writing To Win. Like both of those books, Professors Goldstein and Liberman present a systemic approach to legal writing. They are brave enough to offer real-life legal writing duds as well as writing gems from practicing lawyers as well as judges. Only professors could do that. If a lawyer tried it, it would be professional harikari. Their advice is more... more info
Essential for Any Lawyer:
Even though this book is 17 years old, it remains in the first rank. More extensive than Steven Stark's, more engaging than Garner's, Goldstein and Lieberman's book is my first choice for any lawyer seeking to become a competent writer. Part III, the longest part of the book is entitled, "Making Your Prose Serviceable," the part one must read. But particularly worthy is the Part following, "Making Your Prose Memorable." Even though few of us will ever attain that goal, it's worth trying. I can't think of... more info
More than good writing advice.:
Are lawyers professional writers? Could a law office benefit by adopting some methods of a book publisher or newspaper office?
Yes and yes, according to the authors of this excellent book.
The writing advice is superb, from commas to sentence length and from transitions to editing methods. But the best parts of the book are the suggestions for managing a law office so that it will produce consistent, top-notch written work. The authors recommend using proofreaders, training junior lawyers in editing,... more info
my favorite book of all times:
i first purchased this "intriguing" book when living in chicago where i worked as "foreign patent specialist" and "senior tech writer/editor". When we moved to Las Vegas, after my retirement, I panicked when I realized that I've lost this book. Just open any page and savor the words in this book. Bravo to the authors. I wish I could shake their hands for a well-written and intriguing book.
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