Recommended reading
1. Troy Simpson, Win More Cases: The Lawyer's Toolkit (with a Foreword by Justice Michael Kirby) (Join Write Better English to receive a 20% discount on this title, until 31 May 2008)
Independent review by Stephen Chakwin, trial lawyer and appellate lawyer, New York
The art of argument (rhetoric) is, like all the arts, based on craft.
This book offers a valuable grounding in the skills of that craft, the
tools that are there to be used in it, and the ways that mastery of
this craft can free you to achieve the artistry that guides thought
and moves emotions. Beginners will find this a valuable guide to what
they must learn to progress to mastery. The experienced, no matter how
skilled and experienced they may be, will find a useful reminder of
basics and some new insights into familiar techniques that can broaden
and deepen established art.
As one would expect in a book about written communication, this one is
clearly written. The style is crisp without being dry, authoritative
without being didactic. I found that I was approaching it as a
reference book and then getting engrossed in it as if it were a
chronicle.
I would have welcomed a discussion of the role of emotions in decision-making and of some current psychological findings such as Robert Cialdini's work on influence
tied in to the nuts-and-bolts of argument
structuring, but within its still-ambitious limits, this book is a
welcome resource.
2. Michael R Smith, Advanced Legal Writing: Theories and Strategies in Persuasive Writing (Legal Research and Writing)
(2002)
Reviewed by Troy Simpson LLB(Hons)
Lucid and practical.
Smith fills a gap in the literature on legal writing. The particular strengths of this book are the sections that explain how to persuade judges and other legal audiences with "medium mood control" and "ethos" (credibility). While the book incorporates a lot of theory, the book also provides lots of concrete and practical advice, lucidly written, which lawyers can use in their daily writing. Ideal for crafting persuasive "trial briefs" and "appellate briefs" (US terminology), "written submissions" (Australian terminology), "skeleton arguments" (UK terminology), and other legal documents.
3. Frederick Bernays Wiener, Briefing and Arguing Federal Appeals
(1961, 2001 reprint)
Reviewed by Troy Simpson LLB(Hons)
A classic.
I agree with Bryan A Garner, who writes the Introduction to this 2001 reprint, that Wiener's book is 'a brilliant book by a brilliant mind. It's the seminal 20th century book on appellate advocacy, with wisdom, insight, and concrete examples packed into page after page'. Three chapters will particularly interest visitors to Write Better English (Ch III 'Essentials of an Appellate Brief', Ch IV 'Suggestions for Writing and Research', and Ch V 'The Finer Points of Brief Writing'). Some of the reasons the book gets 4 stars rather than 5 stars are that it is dated, its focus is entirely on America, and the book costs quite a lot. But while the book is American, much of the book's advice could apply to other jurisdictions where written argument is important to a case's outcome.
4. Bryan A Garner, The Winning Brief: 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Courts (2004).
Reviewed by Ed Serenson
My number-1 pick.
Provides valuable advice on writing clear and persuasive legal language. It is an American work, but many tips would apply to lawyers in other jurisdictions. Useful not only for lawyers, but also law students.
5. Eugene Volokh, Academic Legal Writing: Law Review Articles, Student Notes, and Seminar Papers (2003).
Reviewed by Ed Serenson
A sentimental favourite.
Academic Legal Writing is an American book, but it still provides helpful advice for law students from other countries. Concise and lucid. Bryan A Garner says Academic Legal Writing is "the best ever in its field. Heed it closely if you want to make the grade".
6. Joseph Kimble, Lifting the Fog of Legalese: Essays on Plain Language
(2006)
Reviewed by Troy Simpson LLB(Hons)
Persuasive.
The first part of this collection of essays argues the case for plain legal language. For example, Kimble rebuts the myth that plain language is imprecise. In the second part, Kimble explains how to write plain language. Garner's Winning Brief is more comprehensive than Kimble's book, but Lifting the Fog of Legalese is still useful. The book also has a useful bibliography.