Professor Deborah L. Borman has written A Short and Happy Guide to Legal Writing
Professor Deborah L. Borman, a faculty member at the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, has written . It is part of West Academic鈥檚 Short and Happy series which began in 2011 with A Short and Happy Guide to Property by Professor Paula Franzese.
鈥淭he title is a misnomer,鈥� Professor Borman says. 鈥淭here is no short way to teach legal writing. There are no short-cuts, no acronyms for substantive rules, no data to memorize.鈥�
鈥淏ecause of that, learning legal writing doesn鈥檛 make students or practitioners happy,鈥� she continues. In Chapter 4, she compares legal citations to swimming with sharks.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not even really about writing so much as it is about retraining yourself in analysis and oral advocacy. That isn鈥檛 an easy process for anyone.鈥�
Borman spent four years writing this guide. The topics are broken into simple and/or memorable structures that jumpstart readers鈥� critical thinking process.
Instead of being a list of rules or dos and don鈥檛s on legal style, the guide is organized to tell the story of legal advocacy. 鈥淎dvocacy is supposed to be compelling,鈥� Borman says. 鈥淎 list of rules isn鈥檛 compelling.鈥�
Beginning with the documents that shaped the American legal system, the guide explains how those documents affect the current framework and context of U.S. law. 鈥淚鈥檇 like students to understand there鈥檚 a connection between what exists, what they鈥檙e learning, and what they will be adding to advocacy for future generations,鈥� Borman said. 鈥淟egal writing isn鈥檛 done in vacuum. Everything they write becomes part of that history.鈥�
After history comes the discussion of legal authority and each source may build on another, which she likens it to an elevator. Next is the citation chapter, 鈥淪wimming with Sharks,鈥� which anyone who has had to interpret The Blue Book will understand. Borman helps explain citations by likening them to reading an address or directions.
Building on sources and citations, the guide then dissects objective (legal memos) and persuasive (legal briefs) writing. The algorithms that come into play here are TREACC for objective writing and CRAC for persuasive writing.
Borman also offers a chapter of quick tips, a primer chapter, and a brief chapter on grammar and structure.
鈥淚 wanted to create a honed in, useful guide for conducting legal analysis and fostering better advocacy,鈥� Borman said. 鈥淟awyers are responsible to their clients, to the legal community, and to society as a whole. We must be clear communicators and advocates not just for our clients but for the legal system. No matter what you call it, if you don鈥檛 understand the theory behind legal analysis, you won鈥檛 be able to do it well.鈥�