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My legal writing professor opened the class with these prophetic words, "If lawyers got paid by the word, we'd all be wealthy. But we don't, and we're not." As attorneys, we have a habit of using longer, complicated words when we could be concise and to the point. You probably caught the intentional redundancy at the end of the last sentence, illustrating the point.
Lawjobs.com recently included some valuable tips for becoming a more effective legal writer in a post by Elizabeth Lampert, president of Elizabeth Lampert PR, and attorney John di Bene. The post provides tips on how lawyers can improve their writing. To be an effective persuasive writer, the authors note, a writer must be clear and able to convince the reader to take action.
Their suggestions include:
Just remember, your writing is a reflection of your ability to communicate clearly. Lampert adds, "clients will appreciate your lawyering skills all the more if you display superior writing skill, are not self-conscious about style and technique, and are able to execute complex writing tasks quickly, intelligently and effectively."
Source:
Law Jobs.com