Effective Writing

John Phelps Warnock

Description

Effective Writing: A Handbook with Stories for Lawyers offers specific advice on how to write effectively the many kinds of writing lawyers do in actual practice.. It considers what makes writing effective in letters of various kinds, forms, bills, the many kinds of writing done through the trial, writing for an appeal, contracts, and writing for wills and trusts.

Informations

• Publié par: Parlor Press, LLC
• Date de parution: 05 mars 2003
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780972477260
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

I’ve had complaints about bills for conferences that involved a lot of lawyers. I’ve never had a complaint about writing. —A trial lawyer Judge to lawyer E ffective who had number paragraphs with Roman numerals: There’s no harm “If you think Roman in asking: “Has the numerals are so great, court had time to W riting send your clients review the papers?” their bills in Roman If the answer is yes, numerals!” do not recite what the judge has read.

A Handbook with Stories for Lawyers

A veteran judge from Arkansas once asked a group of judges at a writing seminar if they would say: “Dear, that is the best apple pie you’ve ever made. May I have another piece of said pie?

John Phelps Warnock, J.D., M.A. (Oxon) with Harold C. Warnock, LL.B.

Effective Writing A Handbook with Stories for Lawyers

E ffective W riting A Handbook with Stories for Lawyers

John Phelps Warnock, J.D, M.A. (Oxon) with Harold C. Warnock, LL.B.

Parlor Press West Lafayette, Indiana www.parlorpress.com

Parlor Press LLC, West Lafayette, Indiana 47906

© 2003 by Parlor Press All rigts reserved. Printed in te United States of America

S A N: 2 5 4 - 8 8 7 9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2003101596

Effective Writing: A Handbook wit Stories for Lawyers  by Jon Pelps Warnock, wit Harold C. Warnock Includes index. Contents: Introduction – Writing troug te day – Writing troug te trial – Writing troug te appeal – Writing for te future : contracts and wills and trusts – Rewrite for effectiveness – Cecklist inventory – Index of topics 1. Warnock, Jon Pelps 1941— . 2. Warnock, Harold C. 1912 — 1997. 3. Legal composition. 4. Law—United States—language. 5. Law—United States—metodology. 6. Retoric. I. Title

ISBN 0-9724772-7-6 (Paper) ISBN 0-9724772-4-1 (Clot) ISBN 0-9724772-6-8 (Adobe Acrobat eBook)

Parlor Press, LLC is an independent publiser of scolarly and trade titles in print and multimedia formats. his book is also available in clot and paper, as well as in Nigt Kitcen (TK3) formats, from Parlor Press on te WWW at ttp://www.parlorpress.com. For submission information or to find out about Parlor Press publications, write to Par- lor Press, 816 Robinson St., West Lafayette, Indiana, 47906, or e-mail [e-mail].

Dedication

Hal Warnock, 1912-1997 Honest Lawyer One Flight Up

Effective Writing

General Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xv

1 Introduction 1

The Authors 1 Statement of the Case: “Effective Legal Writing” Should be Distinguished from “Good Legal Writing” 2 Prepare to Write Effectively: Habits of Mind and Practice 6 Writing and Effective Billing 17

2 Writing through the Day 21

Facts 22 Forms 28 Letters 35 SpeciIc Kinds ofLetters 44

3 Writing through the Trial 51

Writing toward the Trial 52 Writing toward the Settlement 59 Writing to Ask the Judge for an Order: Motions 64 Writing at the End of Trial 73 Writing to Keep Clients SatisIed 76

vii

4 Writing through the Appeal 78

Making the Record 78 The Effective Notice of Appeal 79 Designating the Record 81 The Brief 81 The Appellee’s Brief 94 The Reply Brief 95

Contents

5 Writing for the Future: Contracts and Wills and Trusts 96

The Memorandum of Contract 96 Wills and Trusts 115

6  Rewrite for Effectiveness 121

Rewrite to Develop Thinking 123 Rewrite Drafts for Readers 131

Checklist Inventory 176 Index of Topics 179

viii

Effective Writing

Detailed Table of Contents Acknowledgments xv Statement of the Case 2 1 Introduction1 I t i # The Authors 1 Prepare to Write Effectively: Habits of Mind and Practice 6  Checklist: Habits of Mind and Practice 6 Notice Effective Writing 7 Get Help from Others on Your Writing 7 Recognize That Writing Is a Powerful Tool for Thinking 8 Understand the Importance of Planning 9 Understand That Revision Is Crucial to Effective Writing 11 Use the Available Technologies—and Recognize their Limitations 12 Dictating Machines  12 Word Processors  13 Fax Machines and Email  14 Electronic Databases  14 Document Assembly and Expert Systems  15 Writing and Effective Billing 17 The Practice of Fact 22 2 Writingthrough the Day21 r gh the Day # Facts 22 How to Develop Facts23 How to Give Telling Accounts of Facts 24 Let the Facts Speak for Themselves  26 Do Not Offer the Opponent’s Version  26

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