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: Legal Blog Watch

Why 'Legal Writing Is Not What It Should Be'

By Bruce Carton

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Wayne Schiess of The University of Texas School of Law, has written a great article entitled, "Legal Writing Is Not What It Should Be." In it, Schiess offers nine reasons why this is the case, as well as three recommendations that could improve the problem. Of his nine reasons, several resonate with me. They include: 4. "LAWYERS IMBIBE LOTS OF POOR WRITING FROM JUDICIAL OPINIONS AND OTHER REQUIRED READING" True, true, true. From Day One of law school, students are bombarded with judicial opinions, legislation and other materials that are horrible examples of how to write. After a while, students start to think this is how legal writing should look, and they start to emulate it. Schiess observes that "one commentator has said that lawyers, in their reading, are exposed to 'the largest body of poorly written literature ever created by the human race.'? That may well be true. 5. "LAWYERS RELY ON FORM DOCUMENTS THAT ARE POORLY WRITTEN" Ya think? Nothing has done more to create unreadable legal writing than lawyers' reliance on the crappy forms handed to them by their predecessors. When I was a lawyer at the SEC in the mid-1990s, we sent out subpoenas that demanded...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on November 01, 2010 (boomark / email).