About the Book

A Practical Guide to Legal Writing and Legal Method, Fourth Edition is a successful, concise, readily accessible text that focuses the first-year law student on learning the basic principles of legal writing and analysis.

Features:

• Updated classic for a new generation of law students.
• Flexible presentation that presents the essential skills of legal reasoning and analysis in a straightforward manner that allows each teacher—and student—to engage with the material in his or her own way.
• Legal reasoning and writing presented in a simple and understandable manner, as a series of accessible and simple guidelines.
• Focused exercises allow students to practice guidelines presented in the text.
• Presentation focused on learning the basic principles of legal method and applying these principles in legal writing.  Legal research, basic grammar, and citation form are not covered.
• Extensive appendices offer useful examples.
• Accompanied by a Teacher’s Manual that includes additional exercises, teaching suggestions, and advice for new teachers.

New to the Fourth Edition:

• A new chapter on opinion letters to clients that sets out rules for writing these letters.
• More extensive treatment of persuasive writing and how to structure an argument.
• New material on electronic communication, including email etiquette and ethics.
• Expnded coverage of organizing a legal memo.
• Examples and exercises specifically for classroom use for all new material.
• Sample opinion letter in the Appendixes.