The Pocket Guide to Legal Writing, Spiral bound Version

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ISBN: 9781401865979 | 1401865976
Cover: Spiral Bound
Copyright: 8/5/2005

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The Pocket Guide to Legal Writing is designed as a desk book for use by practicing paralegals, legal assistants, attorneys, and students. It is a reference book that allows the user to quickly obtain the answer to many commonly encountered writing questions concerning the following subjects: sentence and paragraph drafting, word selection and usage, spelling, numbers, grammar, punctuation, legal citation, legal correspondence, legal research memoranda, and court briefs. It also includes a chapter on the location of various non fee-based internet and other computer based legal research sources. In addition is a chapter discussing the various time deadlines under federal rules of civil and criminal procedure. The book is color coded so information may be easily located and designed to lie flat on a desk next to a computer. It is written in a non technical manner and designed so that it is easy to understand and use by anyone working in a law office. It includes checklist for use in conjunction with the various types of legal writing.

Acknowledgments	p. xv
About the Author	p. xvii
Sentences and Paragraphs	p. 1
Sentences	p. 1
Structure/Pattern	p. 1
Phrases and Clauses	p. 2
Types and Classifications	p. 4
Basic Rules and Problem Areas	p. 6
Paragraphs	p. 16
Topic Sentence	p. 17
Body	p. 17
Closing Sentence	p. 18
Transition Words, Phrases, and Sentences	p. 18
Paragraph Length	p. 19
Word Selection and Usage, Spelling, Capitalization, Italics, Abbreviations, and Numbers
Word Selection and Usage	p. 21
Noun/Verb Strings	p. 21
Nominalizations	p. 22
Legalese	p. 22
Archaic Words/Excessive Verbiage	p. 23
Sexist Language	p. 23
Specific Words-Problem Areas	p. 25
Spelling	p. 28
Basic Spelling Rules	p. 29
Plurals	p. 31
Possessives	p. 33
Numbers	p. 35
Spelled-Out Numbers	p. 35
Numbers at the Beginning of Sentences	p. 36
Hyphenated Numbers	p. 36
Plural and Possessive Numbers	p. 37
Numbers That Appear Together	p. 37
Capitalization	p. 38
Sentences and Quoted Sentences	p. 38
Proper Nouns	p. 39
Titles	p. 39
Words Following a Colon	p. 41
Full and Short Names	p. 41
Geographic Terms	p. 41
Abbreviations	p. 42
Titles	p. 42
Organizations, Corporations, Countries, and Technical Terms	p. 43
Times, Date, and Temperatures	p. 43
Latin Abbreviations	p. 43
Italics and Underlining	p. 44
To Show Emphasis	p. 44
Titles and Names	p. 45
Words Used as Term	p. 45
Foreign Words and Phrases	p. 45
Formal Writing Conventions	p. 46
Grammar	p. 47
Subject/Verb Agreement	p. 47
Person and Number	p. 47
Subjects Joined by And	p. 48
Subjects joined by Or or Nor	p. 48
Compound Subject with Singular Meaning	p. 48
Indefinite Pronouns in General	p. 49
Indefinite Pronouns All, None, Most, Some, and Any	p. 49
Plural Indefinite Pronouns	p. 49
Collective Nouns	p. 49
Plural Nouns Singular in Meaning	p. 50
Titles and Company Names	p. 50
Relative Pronouns-Which, Who, and That-Agreement with Antecedent	p. 50
Relative Pronouns-Which, Who, and That-Proper Use	p. 51
Where Subject Follows Verb	p. 52
Plural Subject Followed by Each	p. 52
Forms of Measurement or Amount	p. 53
Science or Discipline Ending in -ics	p. 53
Noun/Pronoun Agreement	p. 53
Noun/Pronoun Agreement-General Rule	p. 53
Indefinite Pronouns	p. 54
Antecedents Joined by And	p. 54
Antecedents Joined by Or or Nor	p. 54
Pronoun Case	p. 55
Pronouns and Infinitives	p. 58
Number of a Pronoun That Refers to a Collective Noun	p. 58
Pronoun Reference	p. 58
Generic Nouns	p. 60
Formal Writing and Placement of a Pronoun	p. 60
Verb Tense and Superfluous Verbs	p. 60
Verb Tense in General	p. 60
Superfluous Verbs	p. 61
Adverbs, Adjectives, and Conjunctions	p. 62
Forming Adverbs and Improper Use of Adjectives	p. 62
Adjectives, Adverbs, and Linking Verbs	p. 63
Comparatives and Superlatives	p. 63
Adverbs Used for Emphasis	p. 64
Coordinating Conjunctions	p. 64
Correlative Conjunctions	p. 65
Parallel Construction	p. 65
Modifiers and Infinitives	p. 66
Misplaced Modifiers	p. 66
Dangling Modifiers	p. 67
Squinting Modifiers	p. 67
Split Infinitives	p. 68
Punctuation	p. 69
Comma (,)	p. 69
Semicolon (;)	p. 73
Colon (:)	p. 75
Apostrophe (')	p. 76
Quotation Marks (" ")	p. 76
Period (.)	p. 78
Question Mark (?)	p. 80
Exclamation Point (!)	p. 81
Ellipses (...)	p. 81
Brackets ([])	p. 82
Parentheses (())	p. 83
Hyphen (-)	p. 84
Dash (-)	p. 86
Slash (/)	p. 86
Legal Citation	p. 89
Introduction	p. 89
In General	p. 89
The Bluebook and the ALWD Citation Manual	p. 90
Primary Authority	p. 91
Case Law-Bluebook R-10 & P1; ALWD-12	p. 92
Constitutions-Bluebook R-11; ALWD-13	p. 103
Statutory Law-Bluebook R-12 & P5; ALWD-14	p. 103
Rules of Evidence and Procedure-Bluebook R-12.8.3; ALWD-17	p. 107
Administrative Law-Bluebook R-14; ALWD-19	p. 108
Secondary Authority	p. 108
Annotated Law Reports-Bluebook R-16.6.5; ALWD-24	p. 109
Legal Dictionary-Bluebook R-15.7; ALWD-25	p. 110
Legal Encyclopedia-Bluebook R-15.7; ALWD-26	p. 111
Periodicals-Law Review/Journal Citations-Bluebook R-16; ALWD-23	p. 112
Restatements-Bluebook R-12.8.5; ALWD-27	p. 112
Treatises/Books-Bluebook R-15; ALWD-22	p. 113
General Rules of Citation	p. 114
Typeface-Bluebook R-2 & P1; ALWD-1.1	p. 114
Italics and Underlining-Bluebook P1; ALWD-1.3	p. 114
Citation Placement in Sentences and Clauses-Bluebook P2; ALWD-43.1	p. 115
Abbreviations-Bluebook R-6 and Tables T.5 to T.17; ALWD-2 and Appendices 3, 4, and 5	p. 116
Capitalization-Bluebook R-8 & P6; ALWD-3	p. 118
Quotations-Bluebook R-5; ALWD-47 to 49	p. 119
Page Numbers (Pinpoint Citations)-Bluebook R-3.3 to 3.5; ALWD-5.2 to 5.4	p. 124
String Citations-Bluebook R-1.1 & P.2.2; ALWD-43.3(A)	p. 126
Short Citation Forms (Id., Supra and Hereinafter)-Bluebook R-4, P4, & P7; ALWD-11.2 to 11.4	p. 126
Internal Cross-References (Supra and Infra)-Bluebook R-3.6; ALWD-10	p. 128
Signals-Bluebook R-1.2 to 1.5; ALWD-44 to 46	p. 129
Sections and Paragraphs ([section paragraph])-Bluebook R-3.4; ALWD-6	p. 130
Electronic Sources-Bluebook R-18; ALWD-38 to 42	p. 132
Key Points-Citation Checklist	p. 134
Computer and Internet Research Web Sites	p. 135
Introduction	p. 135
Ethics	p. 136
Limitations	p. 136
Non-Fee-Based Law-Related Web Sites	p. 137
Search Terms	p. 137
General Access and Links	p. 138
Federal Government Sources	p. 139
State Sources	p. 142
Secondary Authority and Specialty Areas	p. 143
Listservs	p. 146
Organizations	p. 146
CD-ROMs	p. 147
Key Points Checklist: Computers and Legal Research	p. 147
Preparing to Write-The Writing Process for Effective Legal Writing	p. 149
Introduction	p. 149
Legal Writing Process	p. 149
Prewriting Stage	p. 153
Writing Stage	p. 166
Postwriting Stage	p. 167
General Research Suggestions	p. 168
Key Points Checklist: The Writing Process	p. 170
Legal Correspondence	p. 171
Introduction	p. 171
Basic Components	p. 172
Letterhead	p. 173
Date	p. 173
Method of Delivery	p. 173
Recipient's Address Block	p. 173
Reference (Re:) Line	p. 174
Salutation	p. 174
Body	p. 174
Closing	p. 176
Signature and Title	p. 176
Reference Initials	p. 176
Enclosure Notation	p. 177
Others Receiving Copies	p. 177
Format Style	p. 177
General Considerations-All Correspondence	p. 177
Types of Correspondence	p. 178
Information Letter	p. 179
Opinion Letter	p. 181
Demand Letter	p. 185
Key Points Checklist: Legal Correspondence	p. 188
Legal Research Memorandum	p. 189
Introduction	p. 189
Prewriting Stage	p. 190
Who Is the Audience?	p. 190
Constraints on the Assignment	p. 190
Organization of the Assignment	p. 190
Sections of the Legal Research Memorandum	p. 192
Heading	p. 193
Statement of Assignment	p. 194
Issue	p. 195
Brief Answer	p. 198
Statement of Facts	p. 200
Analysis	p. 205
Conclusion	p. 217
Recommendations	p. 218
General Considerations	p. 219
Heading	p. 219
Introductory Sentences	p. 220
Transition Sentences	p. 220
Paragraphs	p. 221
Persuasive Precedent	p. 221
Conclusions	p. 222
Revisions/Redrafts	p. 222
Additional Authority	p. 222
Key Points Checklist: Legal Research Memorandum	p. 223
Court Briefs	p. 225
Introduction	p. 225
General Considerations	p. 225
Similarities-Court Briefs and Legal Research Memorandums	p. 226
Dissimilarities-Court Briefs and Legal Research Memorandums	p. 226
Trial Court Briefs	p. 237
Audience	p. 238
Constraints	p. 239
Format/Content	p. 239
Appellate Court Briefs	p. 244
Audience	p. 245
Constraints	p. 245
Format/Content	p. 246
Key Points Checklist: Court Brief	p. 248
Correspondence	p. 251
Legal Research Memorandum	p. 257
Court Briefs	p. 265
Glossary	p. 277
Index	p. 287
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The Pocket Guide to Legal Writing, Spiral bound Version

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