T a s ipt
MS CAMMY MAN 1 : WHAT MAKES GOOD LEGAL WRITING?
What
akes good legal writi g i E glish?
I thi k hat
he
e
akes good legal
ite, e k o
o ise a d su i t
iti g i E glish is that e ha e to fi st ide tif the audie e, so that
hat e should fo us o , so he
a
e
a
ediatel
ite a e ail to lie ts, the lie ts
a s e to the uestio o the solutio fo the , ut
lie ts, e
ite it, e ould
e , so that the people eadi g it a get i
to p ese t. Fo e a ple, he
othe
e
he
e
ite it i a e
hat e ould like
a just a t to k o
the
ite to othe legal ad iso s of the
e a le to use so e legal ja go to p ese t ou ideas lea l , ut that
a
ot
e possi le to lie ts.
How does legal writi g i a acade ic setti g differ fro
Fo a ade i
that
he
the e is
iti g, I thi k it s diffe e t f o
e p ese t ideas, the e is
that i a professio al setti g?
p ofessio al
o e oo
iti g i the o k o te t, i the se se
fo us to look fo othe s hola s opi io s a d
o e spa e fo us to dis uss the othe opi io s f o
o te t,
e
the othe
a o l ha e li ited ti e a d also li ited spa e fo us to
o te ts. But i the
ok
ite those opi io s out.
We ha e to e di e t i the o k o te t.
Usuall
i
the a ade i setti g,
ost
iti gs
e
assess e t pu poses. The est thi g a out those assig
e a
ite a d ho
ite a assig
e should
ite
ould
e the assig
e ts is to gi e us so e p a ti e as to hat
ite it p ope l to the ight audie e. Fo e a ple,
e t ased o a essa t pe uestio , e usuall follo the fo
Rules, Appli atio , a d Co lusio . Follo i g this fo
st u tu e, so that the
e ts fo ou
a follo ou ideas
at,
he
e
at as to the Issues,
e a gi e the audie e a p ope
o e logi all .
What ki ds of te ts do ou eed to write as a trai ee solicitor a d what are the strategies that
ou use to
Most of the
ake a good te t?
iti gs e ha e to
ite e e
da a d the
ost f e ue t o es ould e the e ails,
eithe to lie ts, to ou supe iso s, o to the othe legal ad iso s of the othe pa ties. O e thi g
MS CAMMY MAN 1 : WHAT MAKES GOOD LEGAL WRITING?
that
e ha e to e e
e
he
e
ite e ails
T a s ipt
ould e to t
to keep the
sho t, a d t
to
keep the easo i g sho t as ell, ut at the sa e ti e, e ha e to p ese t the ideas lea l , so that
he ou
lie ts o the othe pa ties ead the , the k o
tha just telli g the
hat ou sta dpoi t
the easo i g ehi d it. So, e ha e to take a sta e he
ould e, athe
e
ite e ails o
othe ad i e.
So, i this setti g, the o te t ould e e
e ail o the
iti g
o te t, so that the
details ould e e
ould e e
i po ta t, ut at the sa e ti e, the st u tu e of the
i po ta t too, e ause it guides the audie e to ead it as to
a keep it step
step. A d
o e i po ta tl , i a p ofessio al setti g, the
i po ta t as ell. Fo e a ple, the e should e o t pos, this ki d of thi g.
How do ou keep co te t co cise?
The fi st thi g
ould e I ha e to ide tif
a ti le, so that I
ould diffe e tiate
i lude i a passage, a d also
hat is the fo us of the pa ag aph o e e the
hat a e the p i iples that a e
hole
ost i po ta t that I
ust
hat a e those e a ples that a e ele a t, so I ha e to st ike a
ala e et ee p ese ti g the theo ies a d also the e a ples i suppo ti g the theo ies. The
se o d
a
ould e to t
to keep so e e p essio s sho t. Fo e a ple, fo la
usuall use so e legal ja go o the e a e
ould sa
su se ue t to
athe tha
e p essio s, so eti es e a e ot
eet the o d li it, e ill e
o ds that
afte
o
e a keep the
i o de to
i dful to keep the
o e a eful a out that.
stude ts,
e
sho t. Fo e a ple,
e
athe tha
sho t, ut he
to . These ki ds of
ou ha e to ut o ds to