Legal writing is an important professional skill that attorneys use frequently to advocate for clients, argue positions, and draft documents like briefs, contracts, and memoranda. While you probably didn’t attend law school to focus on writing, you likely spend a significant portion of your day creating, reviewing, and editing legal materials.
To write effectively, it’s essential to develop disciplined, precise communication habits. In this article, we’ll explore some best practices that can help you improve the quality and effectiveness of your legal writing.
What is legal writing?
Legal writing encompasses a wide range of responsibilities, from preparing court filings to developing case analysis, negotiating agreements, and completing client intake paperwork.
The purpose of most legal writing is to inform and persuade. A proficient legal writer should be able to shift from the technical language often required for formal documents and the clear, informative tone needed when communicating with clients.
Legal research and writing skills are necessary for nearly all members of the legal profession. This includes lawyers, secretaries, paralegals, judges, legal assistants, and even courtroom staff.
Types of legal writing
Legal writing takes different forms depending on the audience, purpose, and stage of a matter.
Common types of legal writing include:
Persuasive writing: Briefs, motions, and memoranda crafted to support a specific position and influence a judge, arbitrator, or opposing counsel
Predictive writing: Memos and opinion letters that assess legal issues and forecast potential case outcomes
Transactional writing: Contracts, agreements, and other legal instruments that establish terms, allocate risk, and define rights and obligations
Client communication: Letters, emails, and case updates that translate legal developments into clear, accessible explanations for clients
Why is high-quality legal writing important?
Good legal writing skills demonstrate to your clients and colleagues that you are a professional, credible, and knowledgeable source. Whether you’re drafting an important contract or simply writing a marketing email for your firm, your writing represents you, your practice, and your brand.
A poorly written legal document could mean a lost case, miscommunication with a client, or even malpractice. For instance, a personal injury lawyer may need to write a demand letter on behalf of their client. The ability to present that argument in a professional, clear, and concise manner can influence how the letter is received and whether the dispute moves toward a favorable resolution.
Legal writing audiences and goals
Effective legal writing requires a clear understanding of your audience and the goals you want your written work to achieve. Before you start drafting, pause to consider who will read it and what you want them to think, decide, or do next.
Know your audience
Legal documents are often read by several different audiences including clients, judges, opposing counsel, and other legal professionals. Each of these audiences will have varying levels of legal experience and require a unique structure and tone. Writing for lawyers will look different than writing for clients.
For example, a closing letter to a client should be professional, clear, and concise without unnecessary legal jargon. It should be understandable by someone without any legal background. On the other hand, if you are submitting a request to a judge or magistrate, you can assume they will be familiar with complex legal language, so you may consider writing in a more formal tone of voice.
To make sure you have a good understanding of your audience, review the context in which the document will be read and anticipate the reader’s primary concerns. Then adjust your structure, level of detail, and terminology to match that reader’s expectations and decision-making role.
Know your purpose
Determine the purpose of each legal writing document before you put your pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). A clearly defined purpose will guide your writing and help you create a document that is thorough and contains all necessary information, tailored for your audience.
For instance, divorce papers will include all court requirements such as income, assets, and property valuations that require more legal language. Whereas, your firm's client intake form should gather information about a potential client that will allow you to evaluate the benefits of a future lawyer-client relationship. And a letter to opposing counsel may serve to persuade and inform them of an offer. Each type of legal documentation has a different purpose and requires a unique tone and structure.
Before you get started, ask yourself:
Why am I writing this document?
What is the desired outcome?
Legal writing best practices
Whether you’re just starting out as a legal writer or looking to refine your skills, these tips will help you create content you can be proud of.
1. Create a well-structured outline
To prepare well-written legal documentation, organization is key. Once your ideas and research are structured, fleshing out your draft becomes much less daunting.
Create a content structure by writing out the main points you want to convey. Next, under each of these points, place ideas, arguments, and research to support your claims.
Depending on the type of legal writing you’re doing, you’ll likely need an introduction and conclusion. The introduction is where many people will determine if they are going to read, scan, or skip over your writing.
Many adults are not active readers. Research cited by CNBC found that only 24% of adults had read a book in the previous year. Ensure that your hard work gets read and not glossed over with a solid introduction that hooks the reader. It should be short, clear, and relatable. Include statistics or data when applicable.
2. Make sure your work is readable
Readable writing strengthens your authority and ensures your message is understood. Below are a few legal writing best practices that can help enhance readability:
Don’t be too verbose. Keep your writing clear, concise, and relevant. Your content should be easily understood by your audience.
Only use legal jargon when appropriate. Avoid using too much “legalese” or overly complex language. For example, court documents may contain more legal language than correspondence with a client.
Avoid using double negatives. Commonly used phrases such as “not insignificant” or “not unlike” can come across as unprofessional and demonstrate poor writing skills.
3. Thoroughly proofread and edit your writing
As a legal professional, your writing should demonstrate authority and expertise. If it’s riddled with spelling or grammatical errors, it can undermine your credibility. Ensure your legal drafting is free of errors by following these tips:
Read your writing aloud. Proofreading your own writing can get tricky, but when you read it aloud, even in a whisper, you are more likely to catch mistakes.
Try reading your content backward. Once you’ve written something, you become all too familiar with it. This can make editing difficult. Try reading it from bottom to top to catch any less obvious spelling and grammar errors.
Get a second pair of eyes on it. Every writer needs an editor. No matter how proficient of a writer and lawyer you may be, human error can make its way into your work. Having a second pair of eyes on your legal writing can help eliminate errors and bring a fresh perspective.
Master the basics of spelling and grammar. Writing for lawyers is a daily task, you should be comfortable with it. Familiarize yourself with the foundations of spelling and grammar rules before you drive into writing. It may be helpful to take a course to refresh what you may have previously learned in law school classes about legal writing.
Rely on online editing tools. Sometimes spell check and autocorrect aren’t sufficient. Using tools such as Grammarly.com can double-check your work in real-time and act as a fail-safe against grammatical and spelling errors.
Legal writing: Organize and automate your legal documents
Writing plays a critical role in the legal profession and your marketing efforts. Your day is filled with writing tasks like document management and document creation. Leveraging a practice management solution like 8amTM MyCase can help your firm keep all documents organized and easily accessible in a single, secure location. Plus, you can generate legal documents in minutes with advanced document automation tools and an AI writing assistant.
Contact 8am today to learn how our legal solutions can support your firm’s success.