In many others, writing is the medium in which a lawyer must express his analysis of a topic and try to persuade others on behalf of his clients. Any legal document must be concise, clear, and conform to the objective standards that have evolved in the legal profession. Perhaps there is no course in law school that is more important than legal writing. The reason is that legal writing is the central medium through which a lawyer communicates his work.
The brightest legal mind will struggle in the legal profession if their writing skills are not on par with their ability to effectively read, research, analyze, and reason about the law and the facts of the case. Around the clock, they write for a living, drafting memos, writings, contracts, letters, and emails. Writing is fundamental to the legal profession. Good writing helps us understand agreements, arguments, concepts, and rules.
Good writing entertains, informs, and convinces. Good writing affects the administration of justice. On the contrary, bad writing bores, complicates, confuses and deceives and goes unnoticed.
The agreement and the words a lawyer chooses
will make the difference between a client winning or losing, will determine how to interpret a contract, and will determine if someone has followed or broken the law.As a law student, it will be a daily task to inform the supervising attorney about the investigation carried out that day, prepare the first draft of a lawsuit before the Small Claims Court, submit a summary of a file, or write a blog for the firm's website about a recent case. If you have a career in law or are a lawyer, you'll likely need writing skills to be able to write reports, emails, and letters to both clients and colleagues.
Lawyers
who can write clearly and concisely can avoid confusion and ensure that their clients and colleagues understand their arguments. You have to read a lot; observe what good writers do; maybe keep a notebook with words, phrases, and techniques; want to edit; and practice, practice (that is, write a lot).Lawyers who can write quickly and accurately can draft legal documents and correspondence more efficiently, leaving them more time for other tasks. There are many factors that cause lawyers to write clumsily, including a limited knowledge of how to write in plain English and the belief that readers prefer dense writing to writing that is simple, interesting, and easy to understand.
