Absorbability: The Key to Good Legal Writing

The most important thing you can do to improve your legal writing is to write in a way that is easily absorbed.  A judge, law clerk or senior partner must be able to read it without words that they don't understand, without gaps in logic or common sense.  Asking others to proofread important documents can help smooth out any bumps.   This article gives you six tips to help you achieve this overall goal.

1.  Be Organized.
  A.  Have an introductory paragraph that tells the reader what you are going to say.
  B.  Say it in a logical way e.g.,
    1.  A plus
    2.  B plus
    3.  C equals D.
  C.  Have a conclusion telling the reader what you want, e.g., Because of XYZ, you must enter an Order enjoining the Plaintiff from using ABC in his/her next book.

2.  Put the Conclusion Up Front.  Some attorneys have impeccable logic that flows over page after page and the reader has no clue how the concepts link together to a climactic ending until the ending.  This writing style is hard to follow.   A "Gone With the Wind" writing style is difficult to follow unless you have a lazy afternoon curled up with a good kindle.  Therefore, tell the reader the conclusion up front so he or she knows in what direction the brilliant prose and logic is headed. 

3.  Briefs are supposed to be Brief.

Get to the point. This was overkill, but it was the briefest Brief I have ever submitted to a Judge. I represented several people aka Defendants who were sued for breach of contract. There was a written contract. The Plaintiff not only sued for breach of contract but also for unjust enrichment which only applies when there is no contract. This was my Brief:

Defendants [my clients] have cited Nevada law which forbids an unjust enrichment claim when there is a contract. Leasepartners Corp. v. Brooks Trust, 113 Nev. 749, 755, 942 P.2d 182 (1997). Plaintiff cites Arizona law to the contrary. Nevada law trumps Arizona law in Nevada.

4.  Visuals Can Help.

I like to put pictures in the documents I submit to the Court.  These can be charts, graphs or graphical clips from a contract.  A picture or diagram can make it much easier for the reader to follow.

In Conclusion, keep briefs brief.  Make them simple and easy to absorb.