Guide to Legal Writing Style [With CDROM]

I am not a law student. I bought this book because I needed to work with a team of lawyers and testing specialists to create a writing assessment for Federal attorneys. I needed an introduction to legal writing that helped me understand the style and the ways that style could go wrong so I could ask my team members intelligent questions and turn the answers into an employment test. I bought this book and another big, fat, expensive one on judicial opinion writing. This one helped the most. Terri LeClercq's book presents the basics of writing and the law. The book's strength is the repeated "here's the problem, now here's the solution" structure that helps readers identify and correct common problems. The chapters are concise, well-written--as one would hope--and useable as references while writing or editing. The concluding exercises for each chapter with model answers at the end of the book allow practice with as much feedback as is possible without a live teacher. The CD is a useful addition to the third edition. This reader- and student-friendly book is sure to improve the writing style of law students and practicing attorneys. It's an excellent extension of the basic writing principles found in the classic The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. You can also blame it for helping to make one government employment test a little tougher.

I have several of Terri's books, including the earlier edition of this one. But with this edition, Terri has added a CD-Rom that really makes a difference. There are a lot of really good legal writing books out there, but I think Terri's are exemplary. For anyone who is interested in legal writing or who wants to improve their writing skills, buy this book.