Legal writing is an important skill for lawyers because the demands of the legal profession will require drafting of briefs, motions and pleadings in defense of their clients. Lawyers must possess effective writing skills to be able to convince the courts to rule in the favor of their clients since most courts render decisions on appeals even without argument. Courts require lawyers to follow their own legal format in the preparation of briefs which must be concise and direct to the point (Karabin 1). Thus, it is essential for all lawyers to be equipped with good communication skills because the brief is considered more relevant than oral arguments since there have been several cases that have been decided based merely on paper.
Lawyers must continuously refine and improve their writing skills because their professional life is mainly dependent on it. In fact, some experts have regarded lawyering as a profession of words (Vinson 507). The failure of the lawyer to communicate effectively to the client, opposing counsels and the judge means that he is crippled as a lawyer. Legal writing is needed in all stages of actual practice to successfully develop a career in legal profession, (Vinson 507). It is imperative for lawyers to hone their writing skills by asking the judges and teachers for useful tips and techniques on how to produce credible documents.
Legal writing is a special skill that should be mastered by lawyers as part of their training while they are still young law students. One of the major challenges of future lawyers is to perfect their advanced legal writing skills in law school clinics. It is vital for the the teachers to allocate time in training the future lawyers to create practice-worthy legal documents (Kowalski 285). There is no precise methodology in acquiring excellent writing skills because it takes years of reading and analytical skills to enhance the craft in order to win cases.
The lawyer can win his cases through persuasive writing. To be able to achieve this, lawyers must be careful with the choice of words, grammar, punctuation, the use of adjectives and avoid archaic words. All lawyers should be armed with superior legal writing skills to be able to keep up with their colleagues and successfully flourish in the legal profession.
Lawyers should master persuasive writing since judges tend to be too occupied to read lengthy briefs as they draft the decisions voluminous cases (Karabin 1). The courts decided to impose word limits on all legal documents submitted by lawyers to save time and effort. This means that lawyers should learn the art of persuasive writing to be able to make their briefs stand out. The objective of every winning lawyer is to impress the judges with well-prepared briefs to earn favorable decisions for their clients and promotes job satisfaction.
Having good legal writing skills is important for lawyers because it can be considered an essential factor in job retention and future promotion (Vinson 508). During job applications, the lawyer applicant will be assessed on the basis of the writing samples that will be presented as well as the results of the written tests. Legal writing and clinical education must emphasize the importance of holding a broad legal background that can be easily obtained through active law practice and supervision of experts in the field of advanced legal writing (Kissam 1970).
Good writing skills will allow the lawyers to expertly compete for top employment opportunities in the legal profession with the help of the experts (Kissam 1967). Lawyers who are able to present good grades, competent analytical skills and superior writing skills during job applications are expected to land high-paying jobs in law firms. Under normal circumstances, the firms focus their attention on grades and class ranking of the applicants. Hiring lawyers with exceptional writing skills is an asset for the firm since it will maintain its good name and reputation in extremely competitive markets for legal services (Kissam 1967). After a lawyer has been hired by the firm, his legal writing is expected to meet the professional standards to provide excellent legal services to the clients. Oftentimes, the unsatisfactory writing skills and failure to meet the standards of quality will weaken confidence of clients and may lead to incompetence of lawyers in courts. Poor writing skills bears serious effects among lawyers since their credibility in the legal community will be at stake. The consequence of poor writing skills among lawyers may lead to termination and loss of clients (Vinson 508). Other severe consequences of poor writing skills include lack of integrity for the legal profession, plunging legal fees, lack of respect for lawyers and misleading the clients. Furthermore, a legal document that has been haphazardly written showing the poor grammar and incorrect usage of punctuation marks will be detrimental for the clients. As a result, many clients have been exposed to lawsuits which resulted to litigation costs and other expenses, which in turn penalized erring lawyers (Vinson 508).
Good writing skills will enable the lawyers to avoid penalties by presenting the cases flawlessly and to state the jurisdictional facts in simple terms. Judges will depend on the lawyers to write the legal briefs containing the main points and issues to help in the speedy disposition of the cases. Effective writing among lawyers means that their statements are well-defined, concise and devoid of any redundancies. The judges will be persuaded with legal briefs that follow not just the legal format but also the rules of grammar (Karabin 1).
In conclusion, the essence of being a good writer requires years of experience in writing astounding legal briefs, memoranda, contracts and correspondences to their opponents by following the rules of form and grammar. Advanced legal writing is skill that all lawyers must learn to master the correct use of terms which are minimal and direct to the point. Lawyers must be willing to spend time, effort, money, patience and the willingness to look for solutions to enhance their writing skills. Therefore, improving the writing skills of lawyers can be considered as a life-long learning process that thrives to achieve professional excellence which may reap economic rewards in the future. Having superior writing skills will give the lawyers the opportunity to demand for a higher price tag knowing that their written works are of best quality. At the same time, the persuasive writing skill of lawyers is one way to reassure their existing and future clients that they have been well-represented in court.
Works Cited:
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Vinson, Kathleen Elliott. “Improving Legal Writing: A Life-long Learning Process
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