Page 6 - GL_Staff Manual and Procedures

OUR LEGAL WRITING PROCESS

» Be Sure to Read 1
Legal Writing for
Legal Readers. Analyze Facts and
» State the issue or Concisely Word
question in one
concise sentence. Legal Question
or Issue 2

Conduct Research
as Described In
“Legal Research
3 Process”
» Who is your reader?
» Why are you writing
the document? Determine
» What legal format Who, Why, and
will you use? What Format? » Use IRAC for most
4 Rules, Analysis of
documents: Issue,
Rules to the Facts,
and Conclusion.
Plan Your Draft » Use headings
and subheadings
to organize the
» Use clear topic information.
sentences. 5
» Write in the active
voice. Draft Document
6 » Check grammar,
» Aim for clarity. » Is cited law on point?

spelling, and
Micro-Level: punctuation.
Use the Oxford comma.
» Does the document look Double-Check » AVOID:
attractive and inviting? and Revise Ambiguity, Adverbs,
» Is the document and Passive Voice.
well-organized 7
with headings and
subheadings?
Is there enough Macro-Level:
white space? Double-Check
» Is the document and Revise
justified—both left and
right sides are straight?