Reviews (1)

An Immense Help to Any Lawyer and Law Student!
Oates, Enquist, and Kunsch have published the third edition of The Legal Writing Handbook, one of the most comprehensive legal writing books available today. This book speaks powerfully about the entire legal writing process. There is a definite art and science to crafting legal documents and this book provides the detailed instruction necessary for legal professionals and law students to produce truly outstanding work.Read more

Subjects:  1. Law    2. Legal Reference / Law Profession    3. Legal Writing    4. Legal composition    5. Legal research    6. Research    7. United States    8. Legal skills & practice    9. Writing & editing guides   

Reviews (4)

I recommed it to my students
I am a law professor and this is the one book about legal writing I recommend to my students. However, please note that this book is not a textbook.There are better textbooks to teach [and learn] analytical thinking, persuasive writing and legal research.What this book provides is a great quick reference guide to some of the most common problems in writing in general and legal writing in particular.The book is well organized and concise.The material is organized around short rules and for every rule there are good examples of poor writing and suggestions on how to improve it.

Accurate but dry.
Go ahead and use this book as a reference. Skim it once in a while to refresh your memory about correct legal style. But don't sit down and read it straight through, as I did. I found it slow going and dry.

Not bad, but nothing new
This book is one of many on legal writing.The information usually stays the same even though the titles change.It would be a good start for an attorney with little background in writing.But if you've read other books on legal writing, pass this one by. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business Communication - General    2. Composition and exercises    3. English language    4. Law    5. Legal Writing    6. Legal composition    7. Reference    8. Technical Writing    9. Language Arts & Disciplines / Composition & Creative Writing    10. Legal skills & practice    11. Writing & editing guides   

Reviews (14)

Not just for lawyers
I am a physician who tested out of all college English to focus on science. Writing chart notes, scientific articles, or even parts of textbooks does not prepare one for the type of writing one must do when performing legal work.
Shockingly good
In short, this is the first and only style guide that I have ever been excited to continue reading and share with others.It has really improvedmy writing.

For those who wish to reach beyond the stars.
First introduced to Bryan A. Garner at one of his brief writing seminar, several years ago, I have since been a loyal reader of his works.
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Subjects:  1. Business Law    2. Editing & Proofreading    3. Language    4. Language Arts & Disciplines    5. Law    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. Legal Writing    8. Legal composition    9. Methodology    10. United States    11. Foundations of law    12. Law / Legal Writing    13. Legal skills & practice    14. Literature/English | Writing | Business, Legal, & Technical Writing    15. Writing skills   

Reviews (2)

The BEST guide to legal writing
I have always been a strong writer. Once I started law school, though, I learned that what once passed for "strong writing" as an undergrad and out in the real world had no relationship to what constitutes "strong writing" in the legal world. After I got my first (devastating) grade on a legal writing assignment, I turned to the law librarian for recommendations. This was it. It saved my life... or at least my GPA. This is now the only writing resource I use, and only wish I had read it before my first attempt at a legal memo!

Legal Writing by Design : A Guide to Great Briefs and Memos
THis is the best writing book I've seen for use by law students and practicing lawyers.It provides a superb, step by step process for constructing well written legal analysis.Moreover, the writing style is entertaining - something you don't often see in a writing text. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Briefs    2. Language    3. Law    4. Legal Writing    5. Legal composition    6. United States   

Editorial Review

In the case of Read more

Reviews (9)

Short And Sweet, But Not The Best
Stark takes on the whole legal writing proces in a breezy style.Stark was a litigator once, and it shows.But that was years ago, and I think you can tell.In contrast, I liked Bryan Garner's "The Winning Brief" a lot more, in part because Garner gives real-world examples of what to do and what not to do.Stark tells more than shows. As a litigator myself, I find it more useful if an author shows me an example of what not to do and how to correct it.I gave it three stars.
Great book, very informative.
I am pleasantly surprised by the readability of this useful book.The book kept my attention, and it was very helpful and informative.

Simple rules to live by
This book is a great tool for the over-verbose legalese writer, as well as the novice who needs to know how to LOOK as if they know what they're doing.It knocks legal writing down to the basics (face it - if you haven't got a valid case, no amount of purple prose is going to save it.)It also clearly defines the parameters of specialized legal writing (pleadings, writs, etc.) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Composition & Creative Writing - Nonfiction    3. English Composition    4. Law    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Legal Research    7. Legal Writing    8. Legal composition    9. Reference    10. Writing Skills    11. Reference / Writing Skills   

Subjects:  1. Composition & Creative Writing - General    2. General    3. Language    4. Language Arts & Disciplines    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Legal Writing    7. Legal composition    8. Legal opinions    9. Problems, exercises, etc    10. United States    11. Creative writing guides    12. Jurisprudence & General Issues    13. Language Arts & Disciplines / Composition & Creative Writing    14. Legal skills & practice    15. Writing & editing guides   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business/Economics    3. Citation of legal authorities    4. Forensic Science    5. General    6. Legal Profession    7. Legal Reference / Law Profession    8. Legal Writing    9. Reference    10. United States    11. Business & Economics / General    12. Law reports    13. Legal skills & practice    14. USA   

Reviews (1)

whatever
Woo Hoo, another outrageously overpriced softbound pamphlet designed to bilk hardworking law students out of a few more bucks.Well, that was my first impression especially considering my professor's announcement that "they give [him] lots of free books."Gee, wonder why!Read more

Subjects:  1. Language    2. Law    3. Legal Reference / Law Profession    4. Legal Writing    5. Legal composition    6. United States   

Reviews (1)

Practical, Helpful & Easy to Read
I've used this book for the past few months and have been pleasantly surprised by how well it is organized, and how easy it is to understand. The author writes in a clear, straightforward manner and covers all of the pertinant topics. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Law    2. Legal Reference / Law Profession    3. Legal Writing    4. Legal research    5. Research    6. United States   

Subjects:  1. General    2. Law    3. Legal Profession    4. Legal Reference / Law Profession    5. Legal Writing    6. Legal composition    7. Legal research    8. United States    9. Business & Economics / General    10. Jurisprudence & General Issues   

Reviews (3)

Sure fire guide to the legal research and writing process
This text is clearly written and breaks down the mechanics of research and writing into easily understood steps. Great for students entering law school as well as for paralegals.

Absolutely awful book
This book is poorly written and unedited. It is riddled with grammatical errors; the captions for the illustrations and samples are misleading; often the text that can't be distinguished from illustrations because of inconsistent use of fonts and dividing rules. Legal Research and Writing Handbook: A Basic Approach
Although the Legal Research and Writing Handbook is geared for paralegals, it is a valuable guide for attorneys as well. The authors guide readers through each step necessary to use a research tool. In addition, readers learn how to integrate various research methods to perform comprehensive searches of legal materials. The writing portion of the book also provides a step by step approach to drafting documents. It is an excellent resource for all legal researchers and writers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Law    2. Legal Reference / Law Profession    3. Legal Writing    4. Legal composition    5. Legal research    6. Paralegals & Paralegalism    7. Research    8. United States   

Reviews (1)

Thorough and fundamental.
This book covers the fundamentals of legal writing so thoroughly and carefully that it could well substitute for many first-year legal-writing texts. Its approach may strike experienced writers as too traditional or too basic. Still, for the novice it will provide a solid grounding in legal-writing style, legal analysis, legal memos, letter writing, and persuasive writing. Many practicing lawyers would do well to heed the teachings in this book.Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Law    3. Legal Reference / Law Profession    4. Legal Writing    5. Writing & editing guides   

Reviews (2)

Legal Guidance More Valuable Now Than Ever Before
The greatest value of this book will be derived from the guidance which the various forms which Battle provides because they will indicate precisely what information will be needed to complete them. In that sense, this book really is for "everyone" in need of such guidance. With regard to the forms themselves, it is important to keep in mind that there are three different codes of law in the United States and that some laws vary (sometimes substantially) from one state, county, or municipality to the next. Therefore, it would be prudent to obtain legal counsel to review the completed forms before they are filed. Obviously, thanks to Battle, the cost of such counsel will be substantially reduced. (The title of Chapter 2 is "Finding the Best Lawyer for You.") A significant value-added benefit is the CD-ROM on which all forms are contained. There is another, perhaps less obvious benefit: Careful completion of any of the forms enables those who do so to understand the legal context within which information is assembled. For that reason, I urge those who purchase this book to read all of the 24 chapters. Thoughtfully, Battle also provides an appendix for those seeking "Sources of Additional Information."

Will appeal to both consumers and business owners
Attorney Carl Battle's Legal Forms For Everyone will appeal to both consumers and business owners, providing a wealth of legal forms also available on an accompanying CD-Rom. From starting a business and leasing a home or office to changing names and handling bankruptcy, this is packed with checklists, forms and instructions on how to use them. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civil Procedure    2. Forms (Law)    3. Interactive & Multimedia    4. Law    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Legal Writing    7. Popular works    8. Practical Guides    9. United States   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business Law    3. Business/Economics    4. General    5. Handbooks, manuals, etc    6. Legal Profession    7. Legal Reference / Law Profession    8. Legal Writing    9. Legal assistants    10. Legal composition    11. Research    12. United States    13. Business & Economics / General    14. Legal skills & practice    15. Writing & editing guides   

Reviews (1)

Getting real about medical error
When someone is hurt during medical treatment it is an understandable reaction to blame the doctor for the harm. However, the great majority of errors which occur in medicine are a simple consequence of conscientious doctors being fallible human beings just like the rest of us. Hospital systems are generally full of design faults which pre-dispose doctors to make mistakes. Blaming doctors for simply being human directs attention away from these design faults, reduces the chance that system improvements will be made, and makes it likely that the same error will repeat itself in the future - thus perpetuating patient harm. Human error cannot be avoided, but patient harm can, through better systems and procedures. Genuinely negligent acts do occur in medicine, but it is important that these are distinguished from the inevitable human errors of clinicians doing their best. This is a distinction which is also required in law to ensure fairness in both the prosecution of negligent doctors and the compensation of harmed patients. This book goes several steps beyond the Institute of Medicine Report ("To Err is Human") in identifying the mechanisms and nature of error within health care and in its detailed discussion of the intricacies of culpability, blame, violation, error, legal fairness, and patient safety. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Law    2. Legal Reference / Law Profession    3. Legal Writing    4. Malpractice    5. Medical Law & Legislation    6. Medical jurisprudence    7. Medical personnel    8. Ethics & moral philosophy    9. Health systems & services    10. Law / Medical Law & Legislation    11. Medical personnel--Malpractice    12. Medicolegal issues    13. Social law   

Reviews (8)

Excellent well-defined suggestions
Garner's book is helpful because: The Bible (one of them) for legal writing
I'm a former paralegal currently in law school, and one of the more difficult things about dealing with the law is making your writing sparkle... in the most succinct way possible. This book can help. With countless examples and snippets of wisdom culled from top legal minds, Bryan Garner has put together a fantastic resource. He takes the reader through the entire process of writing to the court, from brainstorming to the million (or 100, at least) ways to polish a document. An excellent handbook on legal writing.
This volume is by far the best work available on legal writing. Most of Prof. Garner's advice applies not merely to briefs but to memos, letters, and other persuasive or analytical forms. His chapters take you through every step of writing, from the earliest, painful efforts to collect your thoughts, through outlining, issue-framing, structuring an argument, and finally the specifics of sentence structure, word choice, and punctuation. Unlike many writing manuals, this book places emphasis where it is really needed: not on mechanics, but on the large structural tasks that can make or break a project. While some of Prof. Garner's formatting suggestions may not be acceptable in many jurisdictions, his more general advice -- the real reason for buying this book -- will be helpful everywhere. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Briefs    2. Business Law    3. Criminal Law    4. Criminal Law - General    5. Law    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. Legal Writing    8. Legal composition    9. Reference    10. United States    11. Law / Legal Writing    12. Law | Legal Writing, Skills & Methods    13. Legal skills & practice    14. USA    15. Writing & editing guides    16. Writing skills   

Reviews (3)

3 stars from a fence-sitter
One can obtain copies of previous editions for as little as 1 USD
A good text-book with which to teach
I teach a legal research and writing course withthis textbook at UCLA and have found it very helpful. The book is well organized, has good homeworkproblems, reasonably clear writing and fine illustrations.My students find it very helpful in their studies.Its only two flaws are that it does not use California law in its problems and has only one problem at its end totest all of the student's research skills.In a perfect world, two comprehensive research problems would be included to ensure that students have fully grasped the principles involved. While I have used the 4th edition over the last 3 years with great success, I am confident that this 5th edition (which I have read and am presently using in my class)will be equally effective.I only give it four stars because of the two flaws described above and the limited answers to homework problems given in the teacher's edition.

Great book for basic legal research
This book explains to the first year law student how to go about legal research in the library and on the internet.It has practice exercises inthe back of the book to facilitate the learning process.It is a quickread on all the main sources of legal research and general legal writing. It breaks down the elements of research into small, easy to manage partsthat don't make you feel totally overwhelmed during your first researchpaper. I think it is a great tool for the first year law student. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Information storage and retrie    2. Information storage and retrieval systems    3. Law    4. Legal Education    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Legal Writing    7. Legal research    8. Research    9. United States    10. Jurisprudence & General Issues   

Reviews (1)

Quirky, but with a lot of helpful advice.
I like this book. That said, it has some odd things about it.Read more

Subjects:  1. Careers - General    2. Humor    3. Law    4. Legal Reference / Law Profession    5. Legal Writing    6. Legal composition    7. United States    8. Business & Economics / Careers   

Subjects:  1. Essay    2. Great Britain    3. Language    4. Law    5. Legal Education    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. Legal Writing    8. Legal composition    9. Law / Study & Teaching    10. Law | Legal Writing, Skills & Methods    11. Legal skills & practice    12. Writing & editing guides   

Reviews (2)

The landlord's bible
I was very satisfied with this book. It was so comprehensive and easy to read -- even for a non-business-oriented, non-real estate-trained person like me.There are examples, thorough explanations, form examples, and perforated, blank forms. A quick do-it-yourself handbook for renting
Leases & Rental Agreements provides owners of real estate with a quick do-it-yourself handbook for renting out a property, including tear-out legal forms and tips on preparing different types of rental or lease agreements. From making disclosures on hazards to complying with laws covering security deposits and privacy, this provides all the details necessary. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Landlord and tenant    2. Law    3. Leases    4. Legal Reference / Law Profession    5. Legal Writing    6. Popular works    7. Practical Guides    8. Real Estate    9. United States