THE LITERATE LAWYER: LEGAL WRITING AND ORAL ADVOCACY, 4TH REVISED EDITION

By Robert Barr Smith Not long ago, an appellate court fined a lawyer for filing an "incomprehensible brief." That negligence hurt the lawyer's wallet and reputation, but his carelessness hurt his client's case even more. Today, most of our law depends on the written word. A single error can tarnish the writer's image in the eyes of the court and make his or her writing less persuasive. In the end, the client suffers. Even the simplest error reduces the effectiveness of any brief or pleading. Spellcheck won't cure every ill; neither will a loyal and efficient secretary. This little book is dedicated to real legal writing, terse, persuasive, and accurate. It not only teaches brevity, clarity and power in writing, but lists the common pitfalls that infest so much legal writing and destroy the lawyer's meaning and the client's life. It includes tables of commonly misspelled and misused words and commonly confused prepositions. It lays out guidelines for persuasive brief-writing, deals with