LibGuides: Legal Writing Guide: Writing for Practice

Introduction to Writing for Practice

There are a myriad of practice-related writing texts.This page is divided into three sections:

general texts on legal writing
writing for litigation, and
transactional drafting

Writing for Law Practice

There are any number of books devoted to translating law school legal writing skills into the actual practice of law, these are but a few. Each has a little different spin. These books are listed in alphabetical order.

The Lawyer's Essential Guide to Writing by Marie P. Buckley; Ilissa K. Povich
Call Number: KF 250 .B83 Law Permanent Reserve
ISBN: 1616329653
Publication Date: 2012-04-16
This book provides a systematic approach to all forms of written communication, from memoranda and briefs to e-mail and blogs. The book sets forth three principles for powerful writing and shows how to apply those principles to develop a clean and confident style.
The Lawyer's Guide to Writing Well by Tom Goldstein; Jethro K. Lieberman
Call Number: KF 250 .G65 Law Main Stacks
ISBN: 9780520288430
Publication Date: 2016-01-08
The Legal Writer: 40 Rules for the Art of Legal Writing by Mark P. Painter
Call Number: KF 250 .P35 Law Main Stacks
ISBN: 0972191674
Publication Date: 2003-01-01
The author, a noted jurist and adjunct professor of law offers 40 rules (somewhere between suggestions and laws) to improve legal writing.
Legal Writing for the Rewired Brain: Persuading Readers in a Paperless World by Robert Dubose
Call Number: KF 250 .D83 Law Main Stacks
ISBN: 1576254135
Publication Date: 2010-06-30
The author begins by establishing that the influx of online technology is re-wiring our brains for learning and reading. The bulk of the book is devoted to ten tips for witing to the rewired brain.
Putting Skills into Practice: Legal Problem Solving and Writing for New Lawyers by Randy E. Barnett; Daniel L. Barnett
Call Number: KF 250 .B375 Law Main Stacks
ISBN: 1454818212
Publication Date: 2014-05-23
New lawyers often struggle to complete the projects they are assigned, often because they do not understand how to apply the skills and knowledge they acquired in law school. This step-by-step guide leads advanced legal writing students and new associates through the process of completing typical assignments. It begins with the essential legal process question of determining the law that applies to the issue at hand and then guides readers through sophisticated questions of how to handle unclear analysis in different types of legal documents.

Thinking Like a Writer: A Lawyer's Guide to Effective Writing and Editing (Fourth Edition)
This online Practising Law Institute treatise provides practical advice to help lawyers strengthen their writing skills by “thinking like a writer” as effectively as they already think like a lawyer. The book highlights guiding principles for writing clearly about complicated material and establishing credibility with demanding readers, and then turns those principles into specific techniques that apply to many types of documents and audiences. This treatise is available to current members of the Loyola Law School community through the Law Library's subscription to PLI Plus.

Writing for the Legal Audience by Wayne Schiess
Call Number: KF 250.S35 2014 Law Main Stacks
ISBN: 9781611633917
Publication Date: 2014-01-10
Writing to win : the Legal Writer : [the complete guide to writing strategies that will make your case-- and win it] by Steven D. Stark
Call Number: KF 250 .S8 Law Permanent Reserve
ISBN: 9780307888716
Publication Date: 2012-04-24
Forceful writing is one of the most potent weapons of legal advocacy. The author, a former lecturer on law at Harvard Law School applies the universal principles of powerful, vigorous prose to the job of making a legal case--and winning it. The book focuses on the writing of lawyers, not judges, and includes dozens of examples of effective (and ineffective) real-life legal writing--as well as compelling models drawn from advertising, journalism, and fiction.

Writing for Litigation

These books are listed in alphabetical order and are available in Law Main Stacks unless otherwise indicated.

Guidelines for Drafting and Editing Legislation by Bryan A. Garner; Harriet Lansing (Foreword by); Uniform Law Commission (Other)
Call Number: JK 1106.G37 2016
ISBN: 9780997977004
Publication Date: 2016-03-01
Judicial Opinion Writing Handbook by Joyce J. George
Call Number: KF 250 .G46
ISBN: 0837732344
Publication Date: 2007-03-01
Modern Legal Drafting: A Guide to Using Clearer Language by Peter Butt
Call Number: K 94 .B88
ISBN: 1107607671
Publication Date: 2013-03-28
Opinion Writing by Ruggero J. Aldisert
Call Number: KF 250 .A35
ISBN: 1611631238
Publication Date: 2012-08-20
Point Made: How to Write Like the Nation's Top Advocates by Ross Guberman
Call Number: KF 251 .G83
ISBN: 0199943850
Publication Date: 2014-04-04
Also available online as Ebook (link to Ebook is in the catalog record, linked above).
Strategic Legal Writing by Donald N. Zillman; Evan J. Roth
Call Number: KF 250 .Z55
ISBN: 052187873X
Publication Date: 2008-01-07
Writing for Litigation by Kamela Bridges; Wayne Schiess
Call Number: KF 250 .B75
ISBN: 1454802731
Publication Date: 2011-04-28

Transactional Drafting

These books are listed in alphabetical order and are available in Law Main Stacks unless otherwise indicated.

Alvarez and Tremblay's Introduction to Transactional Lawyering Practice by Alicia Alvarez; Paul R. Tremblay
Call Number: KF300 .A7562 2013
ISBN: 0314254501
Publication Date: 2013-06-10
Basic Contract Drafting Assignments by Sue Payne
Call Number: KF807.P39 2011
ISBN: 9780735589254
Publication Date: 2010-11-24
Contract Drafting by Lenné Eidson Espenschied
Call Number: KF 807 .E84
ISBN: 9781634250689
Publication Date: 2016-05-01
Shelved in the Law Library's Practical Skills collection, near the 3rd floor Reference Desk.
Drafting Contracts by Tina L. Stark
Call Number: KF807 .S73 2014
ISBN: 0735594775
Publication Date: 2013-11-26
The Elements of Contract Drafting, 4th by George W. Kuney
Call Number: KF801.A7 K86 2014 Law Main Stacks
ISBN: 1628101938
Publication Date: 2014-08-22
Legal Drafting in a Nutshell by George Kuney; Donna Looper
Call Number: West Academic Study Aids Subscription
ISBN: 9781684675289
Publication Date: 2020-12-21
A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting, 5th Ed by Kenneth A. Adams
Call Number: KF 807 .A33 2023
ISBN: 9781639052516
Publication Date: 2023
Preparing Legal Documents for a Lay Audience by Wayne C. Schiess
Call Number: KF 250.S349
ISBN: 9781590319642
Publication Date: 2008-08-07
Transactional Lawyering by Julie A. Ryan
Call Number: KF 889.85 R93 2019
ISBN: 9781531004743
Publication Date: 2019-07-12
Shelved in the Law Library's Practical Skills collection, near the 3rd floor Reference Desk.
Working with Contracts by Charles M. Fox
Call Number: KF 801 .Z9 F69 2008
ISBN: 9781402410604
Publication Date: 2008-05-01

Subject Guide

Patricia Scott

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