Four Elements of Good Legal Writing
This essay addresses four general areas where almost all legal writers, both native and nonnative English speakers, can improve their legal writing in English. These areas actually apply to almost all writing. While legal writing does use special terms and conventions that are not used in other kinds of writing, the core of legal writing differs little from other kinds of writing. The four areas of voice, persuasiveness, organization, and editing discussed here are building blocks for writers in all areas. Reading, understanding, and following these building blocks will make you a better writer.
Voice
Every writer has their own tone, or voice as it is called. Some writers write in a slangy, breezy style, some in a pompous, wordy, academic style, and others in a style mimicking how people may have written hundreds of years ago. At ELS we believe none of these styles appropriate for legal writing. Slangy breezy writing may be appropriate for magazines and other popular publications, but not for the law, deserving respect as an institution protecting us and our society. Pompous, wordy, academic writing has two great faults, pompousness and wordiness. Using the style of writers long dead and other languages to sound learned may have been appropriate long ago, but it is not today. Writing today should reflect the highest priority of good writing - clarity. Legal writing will require that legal terms be used and conventions followed, but it does not require using Latin where English will do. Unnecessary Latin and wordiness only creates dated and unclear writing for no obvious reason - unless it is to reflect a writer who either has bad habits, is scared to leave the past behind, wishes to sound impressive, or does not understand what good writing is today. Impressiveness in good legal writing comes from good arguments and clear writing.
The voice of the writer comes from the choices the writer makes. Reading this essay, you can see the tone is neither terribly formal nor casual. The tone is clear and simple. The writer wants to communicate so you, the reader, can understand. You can see that the writer has chosen to be brief. The writer believes an essay or any other writing should be long enough to cover the subject, but not so long as to burden the reader with too many examples or too many details. Most beginning writers have no tone of their own. Slowly, as they write over the years they begin to acquire their own voice, based on what they value and what they want to sound like. Looking at this essay, you can also notice it is fairly clearly organized. Organization is important in legal writing as in all writing as it helps the reader to understand. Hopefully, you will also find this essay persuasive. While persuasiveness is not necessary for all legal writing, it can be very important. Legal writing must often persuade people or the writing will have failed. Voice also comes from what we do and what we don't do. This essay does not use big words where small ones will do, five words where three words will do, or dead or foreign languages where a living language will do.
Persuasiveness
Good legal writing often needs to be persuasive. The right words can save the innocent and convict the guilty. They can help our society to move in the right direction. How can we persuade people if they cannot understand? How can we persuade people if the writing is disorganized? How can we persuade people by scattering words from dead languages in our writing? Good writing does not set out to impress others. It sets out to persuade. A calm and rational tone is also helpful for persuasive legal writing as it provides the right impression. We expect mysterious writing in mysteries, but not in legal documents. Drama is for novels and television. Judges may not be impressed by drama. They want the facts and a rational argument. Concrete examples and facts are often more persuasive than generalities. They keep the writing grounded in a world we can see and understand.
If a lawyer is writing a brief about why the law requires imposing gun use restrictions on people for the public good, simply stating that guns are dangerous is not very effective. Stating that approximately 30,000 American died from guns in 2001 is a much more powerful statement. Writing that guns are dangerous does not have the same impact. People are persuaded by such clear and simple facts if they are appropriately presented. Using the active and passive voices can also be persuasive. A lawyer arguing for John Doe, a defendant who had killed Jim Smith, would be very careful to say Jim Smith was killed. This passive voice weakens the argument that John Doe killed Jim Smith. The prosecuting attorney, however, would state that John Doe killed Jim Smith as it strengthens the argument for prosecuting him. Good legal writing is careful with the active and passive voices as all good writing is.
Organization
Organization is also important. Good organization makes writing easier to understand and more persuasive. There is no perfect formula for organization, but the four basic rules here are helpful.
a. Use headings
Don't the headings here make this easier to read?
b. Divide your writing into logical sections according to the contents
Don't the clear divisions between sections here make this clearer?
c. Keep everything as simple as you can
If you want people to understand your ideas, do you want to confuse them?
d. Limit the number of arguments in your writing
Too many arguments will confuse people. If you have many things to say, use footnotes.
Editing
Editing is essential for good writing. When we write something we see it in two ways: One is what we have actually written and the other as what we think we have written. We need editors who do not know what we were thinking when we wrote. Good editors know only what they read and can advise us as to how we can strengthen our writing. An editor has a fresh perspective to tell us what wordiness needs to be cut away and what sections are unclear and need to be rewritten. The editor can also see what unnecessary ancient and foreign writing should be changed into clear modern English, vague general statements deleted, specific examples improved, and organization changed. There are very few writers who can edit their own writing as well as a good editor can. A good editor can help each and every writer to greatly improve.
Conclusion
This essay has not addressed the topic of content. Without content there is no reason to write or read. Yet, poor writing will weaken even the best content. Writers with good content who follow the necessary legal terms and use the necessary legal conventions can greatly improve their writing by remembering the four components discussed in this essay and the concrete examples. Clear rational voices and organization enable readers to better understand while persuasiveness helps writers to convince the reader. Finally, editing helps to strengthen the writing though a fresh perspective enabling the editor to advise the writer. Remember these four components for producing good legal writing and make your writing better understood.
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