The Handbook for the New Legal Writer

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The Handbook for the New Legal Writer teaches the concepts and skills covered in the first-year legal writing and research course in a way that meets the needs of today's law students. The coursebook's focus is on showing, not telling, students how to write effective legal documents using numerous examples and step-by-step instruction. The authors provide practical lessons on the basic writing and research tasks attorneys perform daily and include annotated samples written by judges, practitioners, and the authors. The text covers objective writing, persuasive writing, legal research, and citation using a "handbook" format, allowing easy access to key information. It also provides the option of using the book as a reference tool later in law practice.

New to the Second Edition:

• • Updated and expanded approaches to writing Questions Presented
  • Expanded instruction on how to write shorter and less formal legal memos to reflect an increasingly modern approach
  • Dozens of new examples from recently decided cases and additional examples of commonly prepared legal documents, including objective memos, emails, letters, and motions
  • A new, short chapter on the IRAC organizational structure, guiding students on how to write law school exam answers and bar exam essays
  • Updated guidance on writing style and grammar to reflect an increasingly modern approach in legal writing. For example, most Supreme Court justices now use contractions regularly and use "since" interchangeably with "because" even though the vast majority of legal writing textbooks advise otherwise.

Professors and students will benefit from:

• Comprehensive coverage of all first-year legal writing topics (predictive and persuasive writing, grammar and writing style, professional correspondence, judicial writing, oral argument, research, and citation)--allowing students to use one book for all two (or three) semesters
• Concise and readable style that makes the book a "breath of fresh air" from other assigned law school reading
• Easy-to-grasp concept of "anchors" that move new law students from effective case reading and briefing to effective legal writing
• A multitude of annotated examples to show students how to put their legal writing skills into practice and to illustrate how to write commonly assigned documents, including objective memos, emails, letters, judicial opinions, persuasive motions, and appellate briefs