Expert Legal Writing

Terri LeClercq (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

212 Seiten

1995
University of Texas Press (Verlag)
978-0-292-74688-6 (ISBN)

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For many years, Terri LeClercq's "Legal Writing" column in the Texas Bar Journal helped polish the prose of lawyers and law students, judges and clerks, paralegals, writing instructors, and legal secretaries. This book collects all the advice she has given in her columns into one authoritative guide for expert legal writing. LeClercq covers everything a legal writer needs to know, from the mechanics of grammar and punctuation to the finer points of style, organization, and clarity of meaning. With her practical, readable, and often humorous advice, those who prepare legal documents can rid their prose of mind-numbing "legalese" and write with the clarity and precision that characterize the very best legal writing.

Dr. Terri LeClercq taught advanced legal writing at the University of Texas School of Law for twenty-two years.

Foreword by Chief Justice Thomas R. Phillip
Acknowledgments
Part I. Introduction: Getting and Keeping a Competitive Edge

Introduction
1. Writing like a Lawyer
2. Writing's a Touchy Subject
3. Focus on Density
4. Attorneys and Writer's Block
5. Min(d)ing the Field: Appellate Judges Speak Out

Part II. Manipulating Legal Sentences: First Aid

6. The Long Sentence
7. Left-Handed Sentences
8. Marshmallow Constructions
9. Cases and Citations Within the Text
10. Coordination and Subordination: Defining Relationships
11. Examining Other Professional Prose
12. Emulating the Pro's Prose: Stylistic Consciousness
13. Deliberate Sentence Structure
14. Beware of Ambiguous Modifiers

Part III. Manipulating Legal Organization: Structure Is Meaning

15. Organization and the Deductive Thrust
16. Organizational Advice for Successful Drafting
17. Quick Tricks for Organization

Part IV. Manipulating Words: Bigger Isn't Better

18. Jargon: Manure, Margarine, and Moderation
19. Boilerplate: Empty Formalisms
20. Gender-Neutral Language
21. That's Not What I Meant

Part V. Punctuating for Clarity: The Poetry of Punctuation

22. Allowing Commas to Create Meaning
23. Sentence Punctuation Guide
24. "Quotation Marks?" She Queried—or, The Arbitrary Rules Surrounding Quotation Marks
25. That Sophisticated Semicolon
26. Compound Adjectives and Noun Strings

Part VI. Advice and References: So Go Be an Expert

27. Testing Your Basics
28. Grammar Rules Versus Suggestions
29. Advice to Partners About Advice
30. Reference Books for Legal Writers

Index

Erscheint lt. Verlag	1.11.1995
Einführung	Thomas R. Phillips
Verlagsort	Austin, TX
Sprache	englisch
Maße	156 x 234 mm
Gewicht	454 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Literaturwissenschaft
	Recht / Steuern ► EU / Internationales Recht
	Recht / Steuern ► Privatrecht / Bürgerliches Recht ► Berufs-/Gebührenrecht
ISBN-10	0-292-74688-1 / 0292746881
ISBN-13	978-0-292-74688-6 / 9780292746886
Zustand	Neuware