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The
Scribes Journal of Legal Writing
review of Judge Painter's
The Legal Writer: 40 Rules for the Art of Legal Writing, 3d
ed.
The Legal Writer: 40 Rules for
the Art of Legal Writing. By Mark Painter.
3d ed. Cincinnati Book Publishing, 2005. Pp. 168.
$26.95.
Now in its
third edition, this concise guide has earned acclaim from
legal-writing experts, law professors, and
practitioners. The book's goal is to help lawyers and
judges make their writing understandable—not just to lawyers, but to the general public.
As Judge Painter observes, shouldn't the real people involved
in cases be able to read what's happening to them (p. 138)?
The book
begins with a fascinating chapter titled "How We Got into
This Mess," which briefly explains how and why lawyers
have acquired such abysmal legal-writing habits. This
part provides apt examples of atrocious legal writing, some of
which produce unintended hilarity.
The book then
presents the 40 rules. Here, you'll find no long
explanations, no philosophical wanderings, no fluff —just
good, simple advice and practical recommendations for
change. Judge Painter devotes only a couple of pages to
each rule, providing easy-to-understand examples when they're
helpful.
The author's
tone is refreshingly plainspoken, as in this passage from Rule
18—"Use But and And to Begin
Sentences":
Do not be afraid
to start sentences with and or but. This signifies good writing.
The reason your grammar-school teacher told you not to
start a sentence with and was because you wrote, I have a
mother. And a
father. And a
dog. Use
but
rather than however to start a sentence, and see how much
better it reads (p. 80).
For each state, a
useful addendum lists selected citation and style
requirements; telephone and fax numbers of the highest court's
clerk; and the Internet address for the state court system.
The Legal
Writer isn't a comprehensive guide to legal usage and
style, nor does it purport to be. Instead, it's an
attractive primer that offers uniformly sound pointers for
improving your legal writing.
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