Can you remember being taught as a law student that lush, detailed prose would have no role in your future writing tools as a lawyer? It may have seemed at the time that proper legal writing had to be short, dull and colorless.
Today’s lawyer may not seek to write a best-selling novel, but they still face increasing pressure “to produce compelling prose.” In his book Point Made: How to Write like the Nation’s Top Advocates (Oxford 2011), Ross Guberman states that time-strapped judges have little patience for “dry and boring,” and that effective legal writing must now “sell the sizzle.” Guberman also asserts that different facts and situations call for different creative writing approaches. To demonstrate both points, Guberman provides writing sample snippets from more than 50 legal writing experts. Through text taken from such well-known names as Frank Easterbrook, Barack Obama, John Roberts, Ken Starr, and Larry Tribe, Guberman demonstrates how these experts have crafted their own effective yet creative writing styles for different situations. Guberman concludes this book with 50 compact steps to writing the perfect brief.
The Law Librarian found Point Made a pleasure to review. Spot on with Guberman’s message, this book is a succinct yet compelling read in its own right.
