Writing to Your Reader: What Does This Mean as a Lawyer?
As a law student enrolled at California Desert Trial Academy College of Law, you will find that there is a serious focus on honing the writing skills; in fact, the Saturday Enrichment Program on campus is one of the most valuable parts of this education, giving students a chance to learn unique essay writing skills that will be extremely helpful for sitting for the bar.
You may have had strong writing skills your whole life. You may love to read and have a natural skill. For legal writing, however, there are many facets you will need to master. In many cases, your audience may be the court—and ultimately, the judge—or another administrative entity. You may also draft numerous legal documents such as contracts, wills, and more. There will also be many communications written throughout your career to or for clients, as well as interoffice letters, emails, and more.
The first element to good legal writing is proper spelling and grammar. The actual content should be written to your reader, and for an eloquent communication to follow, you should know what you are talking about. If you are well-versed in the subject, the words will flow easily and allow you to be much more inspiring. This is where research plays a substantial role, whether you are discussing a case or drafting an agreement between two or more parties. Writing is a joy when you have the facts, but it can be a nightmarish struggle if you are unsure—and it may lead to poor summaries and conclusions within your work also.
Legalese is a common issue in legal writing, and many attorneys find this a hard habit to break. While you must follow the correct citation format allowing your readers to garner more information if necessary, there is no reason to torture any reader with legalese. Other attorneys and judges find it just as unwieldy to wade through as anyone else does, and not only that, your writing could come off as lacking strength and ingenuity. Write with power, action, and draw the reader into your story, whenever that is possible in legal writing. Sometimes you may have to write and re-write to find that balance between uber professional and interesting, but if you have knowledge of the subject and passion for what you do, this will become much easier over time.
Our mission at CDTA College of Law is to educate, train, and develop extraordinary legal advocates. Your legal education will be comprised of bar-tested academic subjects, skills training, and values reinforcement. Upon completion of your four-year course of study you will be fully qualified to take and pass the California Bar examination. Call us today at (760) 342-0900 or find out more online here.