Checklists for Powerful, Efficient Legal Writing

Georgia Bar Journal, Volume 17, Number 4

Emory Legal Studies Research Paper No. 12-225

4 Pages Posted: 5 Oct 2012

Date Written: December 2011

Abstract

Lawyers may wish for their writing to be more powerful and efficient, but not know what to change or how to implement changes. One solution that speaks to each phase of the writing process and every writing situation is this: a checklist. Actually, the solution is not just one single checklist, but the method of using checklists throughout the writing process as well as in broader conversations about effective legal writing.

Inspired by Atul Gawande’s The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right (2009), this column in the Georgia Bar Journal reviews the types of checklists lawyers may use to improve their writing process and their written work product. It provides short sample checklists and encourages lawyers to critically assess their own writing strengths and weaknesses and construct personalized writing checklists for better legal writing.

Keywords: legal writing, rhetoric

Suggested Citation

Romig, Jennifer Murphy, Checklists for Powerful, Efficient Legal Writing (December 2011). Georgia Bar Journal, Volume 17, Number 4, Emory Legal Studies Research Paper No. 12-225, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2157001

Jennifer Murphy Romig (Contact Author)

Emory University School of Law ( email )

1301 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30322
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
1,261
Abstract Views
5,491
Rank
30,109
PlumX Metrics