Legal Research

1) Why is good legal writing important to the legal profession?
Good legal writing is very important to the legal profession because it can protect an attorney in violating ethic rules and lead to disciplinary rules. The purpose of legal writing is to prepare documents in plain English so the document is easy to understand.   Good legal writing is important to the legal profession because, your words have power. They often serve as a basis for action, and, when carried out, they have an effect on the society of which you are a part. You are supposed to be a professional whose words and actions have effects on real people--not only on their clients and their opponents but on other people in society. I think that the legal profession has a responsibility to use their words to do well and to persuade others that they are doing well. When you are writing a legal document the purpose is to record information, inform, persuade, to back sure you set forth the law to be followed.

2) How does legal writing resemble or differ from writing you have done in the past?

Legal writing is not that different from writings that I have done in the past. In reality I think that I have to learn the format for legal documents and bring my writing skills up by making sure that I use common sense in my writing.

3) Who are the audiences for the different types of legal writing referred to in the chapter?

4) Is it always a good idea for legal writing to communicate as much as possible?
No it is not a good idea. You have to be careful not to communicate too much. An attorney must keep the client’s best interest in mind, by guarding against certain information being disclosed and will have to be careful how it is presented. The way you have to use your wording is extremely important because anything in writing could be used against the writer later.

5) Where could you look in this book to find out how to eliminate mechanical errors from legal writing?
The explanations of...