All lawyers write—and the documents they write must be clear, technically perfect, and effective. This concise manual guides lawyers, law students, and paralegals through all phases of the writing process, from preparing to write to polishing a finished draft. Written in accessible, easy-to-understand language, it offers practical suggestions on outlining and establishing deadlines as well as comprehensive, jargon-free advice on grammar, punctuation, usage, document formatting, editing and proofreading.

The manual is written by an experienced teacher and practitioner and is intended as a reference for lawyers at all levels of experience who know what they want to write but who might have forgotten the details of the more mechanical aspects of writing. Uncluttered by lengthy examples or exercises, this short reference work provides brief illustrations to clarify the text and focuses on helping writers produce legal documents of all types that are easily read, technically accurate, and effective.