A Compendium of Legal Writing Sources

Abstract:     
During my past five years as a legal writing professor, I have endeavored to categorize the burgeoning scholarship on legal writing, compiling a “master list” with hundreds of legal writing sources organized by topic. Students and other faculty members have often consulted me for assistance with legal writing, and the master list has proven to be an indispensable guide for them. In this article, I present an edited version of the master list for readers – including academics, practitioners, and students – seeking to improve their legal writing.

Although the bibliography contains few sources centered on legal writing instruction, the organization of topics in its first half parallels the order of assignments in a typical two or three semester legal writing course, moving from introductory to advanced legal writing texts. I begin by enumerating elementary legal writing texts and sources introducing the study of law, case synthesis and small-scale organization, objective legal memoranda, persuasive writing and appellate advocacy, oral argument, and advanced legal writing. The remainder of the bibliography is devoted to sources discussing legal research, legal writing style, legal citation, law school assistance, academic legal writing, and useful miscellany.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 38

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