You’ve been hired. Congrats! Now what do you need to do to prove yourself to be a top-notch legal document writer?
You’ve got a lot of work ahead of you. In this blog post, we’ll teach you the basics of legal writing so you can draft smooth and flawless legal documents for your new employer. Even if you’re a naturally gifted writer, you might not be familiar with legal writing conventions and terminology. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Let’s get started.
The Essentials Of Legal Writing
To begin with, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the basics of legal writing. You have a tendency to get into trouble if you don’t know how to write legally. It’s easy for anyone to go through a grammar checker and have their work corrected by an editor. But what if the person doing the correcting is not a lawyer? You’ll have to learn how to correctly write a legal document yourself. Let’s dive into the essentials of legal writing.
Style
The first thing you need to do is pick your style. Nowadays, you’ll find that most legal documents are crafted in an informal manner. For example, if you are applying for a job as an associate at a law firm, you will most likely be asked to provide a writing sample. Therefore, you will want to use your best everyday writing voice. You can also add a bit of an informal vibe to your documents by using phrases like ‘folks’, ‘you guys’, and ‘anyway’.
Voice
The second thing you need to do is craft a voice. You probably already have a voice; it’s just a matter of choosing what you want to do with it. You need to find a way to make your writing come alive. The best way to do this is through effective use of language. One recommended approach is to vary your vocabulary and use words that are uncommon in everyday speech. For example, if you’re writing a business contract, you might want to use words associated with business, economics, and marketing. Additionally, you can use big wordsto give your writing that extra kick. Remember: it’s always better to use big words than to attempt to imitate a lawyer’s voice. Using big words won’t make your writing any less accessible to non-experts, but it will give it a polished, professional air. Here are a few examples of how you can vary your vocabulary:
- Instead of ‘defend’, use ‘assert’.
- Instead of ‘signature’, use ‘pen name’.
- Instead of ‘vice versa’, use ‘respective’.
- Use ‘monetary value’ instead of ‘value’.
- Use ‘incurrence’ instead of ‘occurrence’.
- Use ‘amend’ instead of ‘update’.
Purpose
The third thing you need to do is set the purpose of your writing. Why are you writing this particular legal document? What are you trying to achieve? Remember, you’re writing for a specific audience. Your writing should reflect what the person reading it wants to hear. In the example below, we’ll assume that you’re writing a business contract for a marketing agency.
The purpose of this document is to set the terms and conditions of the agreement between the company, the client, and the agency. This contract will govern all of the agency’s relationships with the client moving forward. It is important to note that this document is not a proposal. A proposal would come before this contract and could be used for any client work the agency might do.
The above paragraph is an example of an informative heading. It gives the reader the basic details of what the document is about while not being too complex. Complexity can cause confusion, and in the end, that’s what you want to avoid. When writing a business contract, it is important to keep everything straightforward and easy to understand. Begin every paragraph with a concise sentence that gives the reader the key point of what you’re writing. Remember: everyone in your organization values clarity and avoids ambiguity. When you make your writing clear and concise, your readers will appreciate it and have no trouble understanding what you’re saying.
Format
The fourth thing you need to do is decide how you want to format your writing. There are tons of styles and templates you can choose from, so it’s important to find what works best for you. If you’re a fan of the AP Stylebook, you can use the ‘Business’ edition. If you want to add a bit of an economic slant to your writing, you can use the ‘Economic’ edition. And if you’re into marketing, you can use the ‘Marketing’ edition.
The above template is the basic structure for a normal business contract. It includes the name of the company, the date, the legal basis of the document, a short statement of purpose, a short and simple outline of the contract terms, and a simple clause for signature.
As you can see, the above template is very typical of a business contract. It defines the relationship between the company, the buyer, and the seller. The relationship is a legal one, so the above template is a type of contract known as a ‘contract for sale’.
A few key things to note about the above template:
- The ‘outline’ is simply that – an outline. You don’t need to go into great detail about every part of your proposed agreement. Only give the important points.
- The above template is written in third person. This was done intentionally so you could focus on the structure of the contract and leave the actual language to one side. Of course, you should know how to write in the third person, but rather than having to work out the pronouns yourself, it is easier to let the document do the talking.
- Like any good lawyer, make sure you keep your language plain and simple. If you’re looking for a way to spice things up a bit, you can add some informality. For example, if you are writing for a business audience, you could shorten ‘the Company’ to ‘the Firm’, and shorten ‘this Agreement’ to ‘the Doc’.
- The above template is a ‘standard-form’ contract. This means that its terms are designed to be used as a model and can be applied to a wide variety of situations. A company that agrees to use a standard form contract for a specific service is known as the ‘sole source’ or ‘lowest-bidder’ – terms that have become very popular in recent years.
The Outline
The fifth thing you need to do is create an outline. This is very similar to the format of a traditional essay or report. An outline is a tool that can help you make your writing easier to follow and more logical. It is also a good idea to add mini-subheadings to each section of your outline. These mini-subheadings can be used as a guide for your readers, giving them a clearer idea of what they’re reading.
The first section of your outline should be a short introduction. Start your outline by focusing on who you are, what qualifications you have, and why you’re the best person for the job. You can add a bit of an economic slant to your introduction by focusing on the costs associated with the job. For example, if you’re applying for a marketing job at a law firm, your introduction might mention that the contract you’re writing will be used for a lot of marketing work, so you will need to have extensive knowledge of marketing budgets. Additionally, your introduction can include details on your hobbies and interests. This will help the reader understand your value as a collaborator and make them more interested in your proposal.
The above template is a good example of an outline. You can see that it is very short and to the point. It has an introduction, three sections defining the key terms of the contract, and a short conclusion. What’s more, each section is sub-headed with important points.
Rough Draft Versus Final Draft
Once you’ve completed your outline, you need to move on to the next stage – the rough draft. An outline is a good start, but it’s not finished material. You still need to take everything you wrote and polish it, eliminating spelling errors and awkward sentences. You can’t expect employers to read and understand your rough draft – it needs to be perfect!