January 17, 2008: Mark Cooney has a terrific piece on legal writing in the December 2007 issue of the ABA's Student Lawyer. He writes: :"Here’s my message to all law students learning the craft of legal writing: To be the most effective legal writer you can be, start doing the opposite of what you think will impress legal professionals—and the sooner the better." His list of things to do, which I don't think I could improve upon:
To sound smart, make it simple.
To impress readers, use ordinary words.
To prove you're a hard worker, make it shorter.
To argue most persuasively, don't argue.
Don't save conclusions for the conclusion.
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