Legal Writing and Analysis, Fifth Edition

Front Matter
	Editorial Advisors
	Title Page
	Copyright Page
	About Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S.
	Dedication
	Summary of Contents
	Contents
	Preface
	Acknowledgments
Part One: Lawyers and the Legal Landscape
	1. Overview of the Lawyer’s Role
		I. Writing and a Lawyer’s Roles
		II. Overview of a Civil Case
		III. Ethical Duties
		IV. Legal Citation
			A. Plagiarism
			B. When to Cite
	2. The Legal System, the Common Law Process, and Kinds of Authority
		I. The Structure of Court Systems
			A. The Federal Court System
			B. State Court Systems
		II. The Functions of Trial and Appellate Courts
			A. The Functions of Trial Courts
			B. The Functions of Appellate Courts
		III. The Common Law Process
			A. Stare Decisis
			B. Holdings
			C. The Breadth of Holdings
			D. Holdings Versus Dicta
		IV. The Weight of Authority
			A. Primary Authority Versus Secondary Authority
			B. Mandatory Authority Versus Persuasive Authority
			C. Other Characteristics Affecting the Persuasive Value of Cases
Part Two: Reading and Analyzing the Law
	3. Briefing and Synthesizing Cases
		I. Introduction to Case Briefing
		II. A Format for Case Briefing
		III. Synthesizing Cases
			A. Using Consistent Cases
			B. Reconciling Seemingly Inconsistent Cases
	4. Interpreting Statutes
		I. Reading Statutes
		II. Identifying Issues
		III. Interpreting the Statute’s Language
		IV. Canons of Construction
	5. Forms of Legal Reasoning
		I. Rule-Based Reasoning
		II. Analogical Reasoning (Analogizing and Distinguishing Cases)
		III. Policy-Based Reasoning
		IV. Principle-Based Reasoning
		V. Custom-Based Reasoning
		VI. Inferential Reasoning
		VII. Narrative
Part Three: Writing the Discussion of a Legal Question
	6. The Writing Process and Law-Trained Readers
		I. The Writing Process
		II. Law-Trained Readers
			A. Focus on the Reader
			B. Attention Levels
			C. Road Maps
			D. Readers as Commentators
			E. Judges as Readers
			F. Law Professors as Readers
	7. Large-Scale Organization: Creating an Annotated Outline
		I. Rule Structures
		II. Creating an Annotated Outline
			A. The First Level: The Legal Questions You Have Been Asked to Address
			B. The Second Level: Governing Rules
			C. The Next Levels: Filling in the Rules
			D. Omitting Issues Not in Dispute
			E. Uncertainty About Which Rule Your Jurisdiction Will Adopt
			F. Annotating Your Outline
	8. Small-Scale Organization: Explaining the Law
		I. An Overview of the Paradigm for Legal Analysis
		II. Stating the Conclusion
		III. Stating the Governing Rule
		IV. Explaining the Rule: Five Components
		V. Guidelines for Rule Explanation
		VI. Organizing a Pure Question of Law
	9. Small-Scale Organization: Applying the Law
		I. Two Approaches to Writing the Application Section
		II. Content of Rule Application
		III. Common Trouble Spots in Rule Application Sections
		IV. Evaluating Your Draft
	10. Discussing Multiple Issues: Putting It All Together
		I. Ordering for Your Reader
			A. Accounting for Elements Not at Issue
			B. Selecting an Order for the Remaining Issues
		II. Umbrella Sections
		III. The Conclusion
		IV. Editing Subsection Lengths
		V. Variations of the Multi-Issue Paradigm
	11. Deepening Your Analysis
		I. Using Policies and Principles in Rule Explanation
		II. Using Analogical Reasoning in Rule Application
			A. Deciding Which Similarities and Differences Are Significant
			B. Choosing a Format for Your Case Comparison
		III. Using Factual Inferences in Rule Application
Part Four: Predictive Writing
	12. Writing an Office Memo
		I. The Function of an Office Memo
		II. An Overview of the Memo Format
		III. Drafting the Heading
		IV. Drafting the Question Presented
		V. Drafting the Brief Answer
		VI. Drafting the Fact Statement
			A. Fact Selection
			B. Organizing the Fact Statement
		VII. Drafting the Conclusion
		VIII. Writing an Email Memo
	13. Writing Professional Letters and Emails
		I. General Characteristics of Professional Letter Writing
		II. Advice Letters
		III. Emails
Part Five: The Shift to Advocacy
	14. Introduction to Brief-Writing
		I. Ethics and the Advocate’s Craft
		II. Judges, Briefs, and Persuasion
		III. The Components of a Trial-Level Brief
		IV. The Components of an Appellate Brief
	15. Questions Presented and Point Headings
		I. Writing the Question Presented
		II. Point Headings
			A. Identifying Point Headings
			B. Drafting Point Headings
			C. Editing Point Headings for Readability and Persuasion
			D. Identifying Subheadings
	16. Writing the Argument Section
		I. Arguments for Different Kinds of Legal Issues
			A. A Pure Question of Law
			B. An Issue of Statutory Interpretation
			C. An Issue of Common Law Case Synthesis
			D. A Case of First Impression in Your Jurisdiction
			E. Seeking a Change in the Law
			F. An Issue Applying Law to Fact
		II. Honing Your Argument for the Court’s Role
			A. The Trial Judge
			B. Appellate Judges and the Appellate Process
		III. Reminders About Organization
		IV. Using Case Comparisons to Support Your Argument
		V. Rebutting Your Opponent’s Arguments
		VI. Using Legal Theory to Sharpen Your Arguments
	17. Standards of Review
		I. Categories of Trial Court Decisions
		II. Advocating for a More Favorable Standard of Review
		III. Conforming Headings to the Standard of Review
	18. Writing a Fact Statement
		I. Fact Ethics, Readers, and the Conventions of Fact Statements
			A. Fact Ethics
			B. The Conventions of a Statement of Facts
		II. Developing a Theory of the Case and Selecting Facts
			A. Developing a Theory of the Case
			B. Selecting and Citing to Facts
		III. Organization
			A. Formats
			B. Procedural History
		IV. Techniques for Persuasion
			A. General Principles
			B. Large-Scale Organization
			C. Paragraph Organization
			D. Techniques with Sentences
			E. Other Small-Scale Techniques
				Statement of Facts on Behalf of Carrolton
				Statement of Facts on Behalf of Watson
Part Six: Style and Formalities
	19. Citations and Quotations
		I. Citation in Legal Writing
		II. Citation Form
			A. Using the ALWD Guide to Legal Citation
			B. Using the Bluebook
			C. Several Key Concepts
			D. Introduction to Citation Form
			E. Matching the Citation to the Text
			F. Citing with Style and Grace
			G. Editing Citation Form
		III. Quotations
			A. When Quotation Marks Are Required
			B. Choosing to Use Quotation Marks
			C. Overquoting
			D. The Mechanics of Quoting
			E. Editing Quotations
	20. Paragraphs, Sentences, and Style
		I. Paragraphing
		II. Choose Strong Subjects and Verbs
			A. Active Voice
			B. Nominalizations
			C. Throat-Clearing
			D. Sentences Beginning with Forms of “It Is” or “There Is”
		III. Avoiding Wordiness
			A. Revise Phrases That Can Be Replaced by a Single Word
			B. Avoid Legalese
			C. Avoid Redundancies
			D. Avoid Intensifiers
		IV. Other Characteristics of Good Style
			A. Keeping the Subject and Verb Close Together
			B. Avoiding Long Sentences
			C. Unnecessary Variations
			D. Parallelism
		V. Gender-Neutral Writing
			A. Techniques for Nouns: Elimination or Substitution
			B. Techniques for Pronouns
			C. Techniques for Proper Names and Titles
Part Seven: Oral Advocacy
	21. Oral Argument
		I. The Purpose of Oral Argument
		II. Formalities and Organization of Oral Argument
			A. Preliminary Formalities
			B. The Appellant’s Argument
			C. Argument of Co-Counsel for the Appellant
			D. The Appellee’s Argument
			E. Argument of Co-Counsel for the Appellee
			F. Concluding the Argument
			G. Rebuttal
		III. The Content
			A. The Standard of Review
			B. The Burden of Proof
			C. The Trial-Level Procedural Posture
			D. Themes
		IV. Preparation
			A. The Record
			B. Outline Your Argument
			C. Prepare Your Folder
			D. Script the Entire Opening, the Conclusion, and Your Prepared Rebuttal
			E. Practice
			F. Visit the Courtroom
		V. Handling Questions from the Bench
			A. Anticipate Questions
			B. Attitude
			C. Recognize Types of Questions
			D. Listen Carefully to the Question
			E. Clarify the Question
			F. Begin with a Clear, Direct Answer
			G. Returning to Your Prepared Presentation
			H. Handling Questions on Your Co-Counsel’s Issue
			I. Handling a Question for Which You Do Not Have an Answer
			J. Agreeing When You Can
			K. Referring to Earlier Questions or Comments from the Bench
		VI. Presentation
			A. Dress
			B. Body, Hands, and Eyes
			C. Voice
			D. References
			E. Nervousness
Appendices
	Appendix A Sample Office Memorandum
	Appendix B Sample Trial-Level Brief
	Appendix C Sample Appellate Brief
	Appendix D Sample Letters
	Appendix E Cases
Index