Better legal writing means plainer legal writing. Here are some free resources from around the world that can help you improve your legal writing.
1. Australia
The Australian Office of Parliamentary Counsel provides an excellent collection of plain language links.
The Australian Office of Parliamentary Counsel on Drafting Legislation has written a 40-page guide on drafting legislation that includes good general advice on plain English. Download its Plain English Manual free (pdf, 287 kb). The Law and Justice Foundation of NSW has a section on Writing in Plain Language and publishes a free plain legal language newsletter. David Jackson QC says "There is a lot to be said on the subject of writing style, particularly in American books and articles, but you can’t go past Troy Simpson’s recent article and the sources referred to in it for insight about that". The article is called "Persuading Judges in Writing: Tips for Lawyers" available free from LLRX.com. LLRX also provides a lot of other helpful resources for better legal writing.
2. United Kingdom
The Irish National Adult Literacy Agency publishes A Plain English Guide to Legal Terms explaining 1400 words in 60 pages, downloadable as free pdf. Clarity International includes free html and pdf articles and links to seminars and books. The Plain English Campaign has a law page that also includes free pdf guides. From the Scottish Executive, the Plain Language and Legislation Booklet lets you download a free pdf booklet on plain language, especially in legislation.
3. USA
The American Society of Legal Writers publishes an excellent journal on better legal writing called The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing.
Bryan A Garner is the world's guru on better legal writing. Among Garner's many excellent books and articles, you can download 50 free exercises on writing plain legal language (Exercises from Legal Writing in Plain English). The
Indiana University School of Law publishes a short html guide on good legal writing called How to Write Good Legal Stuff.
For free articles on plain legal language that appeared in the Michigan Bar Journal, go to the State Bar of Michigan's Chronological Index of Columns. The Mississippi Bar Association defines common legal terms in Guide to Legalese.
Raymond P Ward publishes "a collection of resources for lawyers, who write" in The Legal Writer. Dave Sandeep lists resources on plain legal language in Plain Language in Law.
Eugene Volokh provides a short list of wordy legal phrases and their simpler alternatives in Eschew, Evade, and/or Eradicate Legalese.