Overview

For ten years, Terri LeClercq's ""Legal Writing"" column in the Texas Bar Journal has helped polish the prose of lawyers and law students, judges and clerks, paralegals, writing instructors, and legal secretaries. This book collects all the advice she has given in her columns into one authoritative guide for expert legal writing. LeClercq covers everything a legal writer needs to know, from the mechanics of grammar and punctuation to the finer points of style, organization, and clarity of meaning. With her practical, readable, and often humorous advice, those who prepare legal documents can rid their prose of mind-numbing ""legalese"" and write with the clarity and precision that characterize the very best legal writing.

Full Product Details

Author:   Terri LeClercq ,  Thomas R. Phillips
Publisher:   University of Texas Press
Imprint:   University of Texas Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9780292746886

ISBN 10:   0292746881
Pages:   212
Publication Date:   01 November 1995
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Foreword by Chief Justice Thomas R. Phillip Acknowledgments Part I. Introduction: Getting and Keeping a Competitive Edge Introduction 1. Writing like a Lawyer 2. Writing's a Touchy Subject 3. Focus on Density 4. Attorneys and Writer's Block 5. Min(d)ing the Field: Appellate Judges Speak Out Part II. Manipulating Legal Sentences: First Aid 6. The Long Sentence 7. Left-Handed Sentences 8. Marshmallow Constructions 9. Cases and Citations Within the Text 10. Coordination and Subordination: Defining Relationships 11. Examining Other Professional Prose 12. Emulating the Pro's Prose: Stylistic Consciousness 13. Deliberate Sentence Structure 14. Beware of Ambiguous Modifiers Part III. Manipulating Legal Organization: Structure Is Meaning 15. Organization and the Deductive Thrust 16. Organizational Advice for Successful Drafting 17. Quick Tricks for Organization Part IV. Manipulating Words: Bigger Isn't Better 18. Jargon: Manure, Margarine, and Moderation 19. Boilerplate: Empty Formalisms 20. Gender-Neutral Language 21. That's Not What I Meant Part V. Punctuating for Clarity: The Poetry of Punctuation 22. Allowing Commas to Create Meaning 23. Sentence Punctuation Guide 24. Quotation Marks? She Queried-or, The Arbitrary Rules Surrounding Quotation Marks 25. That Sophisticated Semicolon 26. Compound Adjectives and Noun Strings Part VI. Advice and References: So Go Be an Expert 27. Testing Your Basics 28. Grammar Rules Versus Suggestions 29. Advice to Partners About Advice 30. Reference Books for Legal Writers Index

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Author Information

Dr. Terri LeClercq taught advanced legal writing at the University of Texas School of Law for twenty-two years.

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