Good legal writing is an inherently ethical practice and fundamental to professionalism and lawyering.

Legal Writing: Academic and Professional Communication emphasises the link between legal writing and ethics as it guides readers through phases of the writing process and helps them develop effective legal writing skills essential for both academic and professional contexts. The book covers a range of academic writing commonly encountered by undergraduate and postgraduate law students including case notes, problem questions and essays. It also explores specific forms of legal writing required in the profession, through client letters, memoranda, appellate briefs and reports to support novice writers in understanding their ethical obligations and developing a professional voice.

• Provides grounding in good writing techniques with practical guidance and examples across a range of academic and professional writing genres
• Extensive learning materials including a grammar primmer, theories of writing and comparative tables outlining professional rules for ongoing reference
• Includes exercises, questions for reflection and further reading at the end of each chapter to help students hone their skills as legal writers

1. Legal Writing as an Ethical Practice

PART 1 GENERAL AND ACADEMIC WRITING 

PART 2 PROFESSIONAL WRITING

7. Balanced Writing: The Memorandum and Client Letter

8. Persuasive Writing

9. Form Writing: Standard Forms and Use of Precedents

10. Technical Writing

11. Writing with Civility

12. Reflective Practices and Everyday Communication

13. Conclusion

PART 3 LEARNING MATERIALS

Theories of Writing

Comparative Tables

A Grammar Primer

Glossary