Whether or not you\u2019re a confident writer, legal writing is an important skill for any lawyer, in any practice area. From court documents like motions, discovery documents, briefs, and memoranda, to in-office communication like letters, client emails, internal memos, and more\u2014there\u2019s a whole lot of writing.<\/p>\n
Lawyers also need to ensure their writing style, tone, and voice in legal documents and communication are appropriate for a wide range of audiences such as courts, judges, and clients.<\/p>\n
Documents filed at court, including briefs and memoranda, involve researching facts and cases, analysing situations, presenting information, and making an argument. To be a skilled legal writer, lawyers need to be authoritative, credible, and persuasive in their writing. The following legal writing tips will help you improve your writing.<\/p>\n
Legal writing involves crafting documents related to legal affairs, including briefs, contracts, memorandums, and motions. Its primary aim is persuasion, adapting tone and style according to the audience, whether for a judge with specialised legal language or a client with clear, understandable prose.<\/p>\n
Whether you consider yourself a writer or not, legal writing is a necessary and important skill required for all legal professionals. From paralegals to lawyers to secretaries, legal writing is applicable to every legal professional.<\/p>\n
What is the first and arguably most important legal writing tip? Understand the purpose of your writing.<\/p>\n
Ask yourself: Why are you writing this? What are you hoping to accomplish? What is the outcome you wish to achieve?<\/p>\n
Writing a contract may serve to inform, while court documentation may serve to persuade, and client intake documentation may serve to evaluate. The structure, tone, and voice of the document will change depending on the purpose of your legal writing. Understanding that purpose will help you write better.<\/p>\n
Knowing who you\u2019re writing for will help shape the structure and tone of your piece. A judge, another solicitor (including an opposing solicitor), or client will have different experiences and expectations that inform how they read your work.<\/p>\n
When it comes to your audience, keep the following in mind: their role and relationship to you, age, income, economic status, level of education, values, and how much they already know about what you\u2019re writing about. This will help you determine the tone, style, and level of detail to include in your writing.<\/p>\n
Good legal writing requires\u00a0researching<\/a>\u00a0and incorporating relevant legal precedents into your documents. Before you start writing, thoroughly read any material provided to better understand the legal issues.<\/p>\n Every case and document is different, but keeping some\u00a0basic rules for legal research<\/a> in mind will set you up for success.<\/p>\n Depending on the piece you\u2019re writing, you may also find secondary sources such as\u00a0legal dictionaries<\/a>, law reports, and academic journals helpful in your research. For example, you\u2019ll need both the primary and secondary sources to establish\u00a0mandatory and persuasive authority<\/a>.<\/p>\n One of the most helpful legal writing tips to improve your legal writing skills is organising your research into an outline. Starting with an outline will help keep your writing organised and focused.<\/p>\n A good outline starts by detailing the topic, putting the most important information at the top. Then, flush out the main points with the supporting details while making sure the transitions between points make sense.<\/p>\n Legal writing becomes much easier and less intimidating once you have an outline to help organise your ideas and guide your writing process.<\/p>\n Even with a detailed outline, getting started can be difficult. Writer\u2019s block is a real thing that even the most seasoned legal writers suffer from. But don\u2019t worry about getting it perfect on the first try\u2014that\u2019s what\u00a0editing and proofing<\/a>\u00a0are for.<\/p>\n On your first draft, focus on capturing the right information. Make sure the information is complete and sufficient, and the content flows nicely from one section to the next. Give yourself as many drafts as you need before your deadline. Also, give your writing some room to breathe by taking a break and coming back to it with fresh eyes.<\/p>\n Always remember that you can clean your writing up in the editing stage\u2014you don\u2019t have to get the formatting perfect on your first try.<\/p>\n The best way to structure any piece is by writing from the top down. Start by showing the reader what you\u2019re writing about and why, then provide the arguments to support your case.<\/p>\n Pick your best or most persuasive arguments to focus your writing on, then filter additional, supporting arguments thereafter. Use headings to break up sections and transition from one argument to the next, and start new sections with summary sentences. Where appropriate, it also may be helpful to use lists and bullets to make your writing scannable for the reader.<\/p>\n When writing any type of legal document, state your point directly and clearly within the first few sentences to help guide the reader along. Assume the reader has very little time or patience, that they hate to read, and that they\u2019re only going to read the first 200 words. What you say in those 200 words will help them decide to continue reading.<\/p>\n A few other\u00a0legal writing tips<\/a>\u00a0to keep in mind:<\/p>\n Using jargon, including legal terms, is only appropriate in some contexts. For example, using too much \u201clegalese\u201d with a client who is not well-versed in specific legal matters may end up confusing them and muddling the conversation with unnecessary questions.<\/p>\n While in court documents, it\u2019s completely appropriate (and sometimes even necessary) to use the correct jargon and terminology, since another solicitor, judge, or magistrate will be your reader.<\/p>\n When appropriate, strive to use\u00a0plain language<\/a>\u00a0in your legal writing while showing that you understand jargon and can present it in easy-to-understand ways for the reader.<\/p>\n The legal writing process doesn\u2019t just stop when the piece is finished. One of the most common mistakes writers make is not budgeting for the editing phase\u2014a thorough editing and review process takes time.<\/p>\n It\u2019s always helpful to have somebody else edit and proofread your work, but you should be able to take care of the basics yourself. Master spelling and grammar basics\u2014lawyers who present documents with spelling and grammatical errors will be seen as less credible and lacking in attention to detail.<\/p>\n Understandably, it can be difficult to catch spelling and grammatical errors immediately. Once you\u2019ve read your document several times, you\u2019ll usually glaze over your own mistakes. Some other helpful legal writing tips for the editing process include reading your writing aloud or reading it backward to help hone your focus and spot errors you\u2019d otherwise miss.<\/p>\n No matter what medium or document you\u2019re writing, all good writers should always use spell check at a minimum. Advances in writing technology have also made legal writing much easier. For example, writing apps like\u00a0Grammarly<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Ginger<\/a> can help you catch grammar, spelling, and other language mistakes. You can also try ChatGPT prompts for lawyers<\/a> as a way to spark ideas or structure a first draft\u2014just be sure to refine outputs with your own legal expertise and careful editing.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t have an editor always available to help proofread your legal writing (which most usually don\u2019t), text-to-speech apps such as\u00a0Natural Reader<\/a>\u00a0can help read your documents out loud. This will help spot errors and awkward passages.<\/p>\n While some of these services are free, many of them will have a paid version to unlock extra features. Consider investing in some of these paid versions<\/a>\u00a0if your job requires a lot of writing\u2014it\u2019s worth it to bring your legal writing skills to the next level.<\/p>\n The most common piece of advice writers give to those looking to improve their writing skills is to read\u2014this rings true for any kind of writing. To improve your legal writing skills specifically, find good legal and business writers and read their work. This could be legal documents, but also\u00a0books<\/a>,\u00a0blogs<\/a>, and\u00a0articles<\/a>.<\/p>\n By studying and understanding how others write and structure their pieces, you\u2019ll get a feel for the general format of a legal document. You can then incorporate your unique ideas and writing style. You could also ask colleagues for examples of their work or join communities\u00a0and forums<\/a>.<\/p>\n Beyond reviewing others\u2019 work, you can further your legal writing skills by reading writing example such as:<\/p>\nTips for the legal writing process<\/h2>\n
Tip 4: Create an outline<\/h3>\n
Tip 5: Put words on the page<\/h3>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n
Tip 6: Be aware of content structure<\/h3>\n
Tips to help you write better<\/h2>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n
Tip 7: Be clear<\/h3>\n
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Tip 8: Use jargon only when appropriate<\/h3>\n
Tip 9: Edit and proofread<\/h3>\n
Tips to level up your legal writing<\/h2>\n
Tip 10: Use helpful tools and apps<\/h3>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n
Tip 11: Read other writers\u2019 work<\/h3>\n
Routinely review legal writing examples<\/h2>\n
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