The Art of Legal Writing

(A group workshop for new lawyers)

The Art of Legal Writing is a two-and-a-half-hour workshop for newer lawyers, presented by Marie Buckley. This workshop focuses on the power of the written word to challenge and change us. We will review examples of powerful writing from literature and law, in a tour that runs from Charlotte’s Web to Brown v. Board of Education, then see how lawyers squander the power of the written word in cumbersome legal writing. Most important, we will cover the style, structure and substance of effective legal writing, focusing on plain English and the need for a brief but thorough fact-based presentation.

During the second hour, we will edit a legal memorandum. We will edit for plain English but will focus on structural and substantive issues, such as Has this writer taken a stand? Did the paper win me over in the first page and a half? In the first paragraph? What does the writer want me to do next? This editing exercise teaches concrete skills for rigorous self-editing.

The presentation concludes with a question and answer session.