Basic Writing Techniques Sentences

Keep Legal Writing Simple Use active voice Use short sentences Avoid unnecessary words Avoid use of “there is” “It is” etc. © 2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Use Active Voice Actor—Action—Object Victor kicked the ball Not: The ball was kicked by Victor

Omit Surplus Words Identify working words from glue words –Working words—carry meaning –Tie words together Concentrate on working words and eliminating surplus words –i.e word wasting idioms: “there are”/ It is –Eliminate compound words –Eliminate legal jargon Keep Sentences short—20 words or less

Fixing Sentences At a time when many law firms and corporations are eliminating jobs for the purpose of elimination from the budget excess expenditures, paralegals may become more of an asset. Because of the fact that paralegals’time is charged at lower rates, paralegals may be employed by law firms and corporations to perform tasks previously performed by lawyers.

With regard to ethical considerations, paralegals can perform legal research under the supervision of an attorney. There are only one hour and thirty-five minutes left to voir dire, the judge stated. The house was vacated by the tenants. The paralegal association set the following goals: recruitment of new members, educating the community, and improvement of paralegal work conditions.

Writing Tips, cont. Check pronoun reference –The police officer struck the defendant with a baton. He was out of control. Verb Tense –Past tense for facts –Present tense for rules of law (holding) Avoid nominalization –The officer made inquiries

Cont. Parallel construction –We have scheduled the deposition, the doctor’s consultation, and to send Mr. Young to the accident scene. AVOID DANGLING MODIFIEERS Lying under some papers at the back of the drawer, John saw yesterday’s tuna sandwich. AVOID CONTRACTIONS

Cont. WHETHER (OR NOT) We could not tell whether the jury was impressed Use “or not” only when describing a situation in which it does not matter which alternative occurs, i.e. “We are driving to Pittsburg tonight, whether or not it rains.” CAPITALIZATION Proper names, Judge Smith, (but not judge) President when used to refer to President of U.S. Court only when referring to U.S. Supreme Court