AN INTRODUCTION TO
LEGAL WRITING STYLE
This will be a fun seminar – and it is meant
to get you thinking about that Natalie
Attired legal memorandum you need to
do for the Final Project….
WEEK #8 is here!
I hope that you guys are getting geared up for the
homestretch of the semester….we are almost to the
finish line – so don’t run out of gas on me! 
This guy also worked with Natalie
Attired at the restaurant….
 He
got fired by Biddy too….
Let’s discuss what is due this
week:
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Please draft a legal memorandum addressing the issues in the Attired case.
Make sure that your memorandum includes all the required sections: facts,
issues, brief answers, applicable statute, discussion, and conclusion. Use
only the legal authority which has been provided to you: the New Mexico
Unemployment Compensation statute and the three cases you briefed
interpreting the statute.
 You will prepare several drafts of the memorandum.
 In Unit 6, you will draft the Statement of Facts, Issues, Brief Answer ,
an d Applicable Statute sections.
 In Units 7 & 8, you will draft and revise the discussion and conclusion
sections.
 In Unit 9, you will combine all the sections together into a final
memorandum of law.
Final Project
(and how it should be organized):
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Make sure that you memo has all six required sections:
Statement of Facts
Questions Presented
Brief Answers
Applicable Statutes
Discussion
Conclusion
There is no Discussion Board this
week….
 In
case you were wondering….we had
talked about that last week.
Just a reminder….

NEXT week (Week 9) will be our final seminar of the semester.

We will discuss the Final Project next week. BUT I WANTED TO
mention a couple of quick points….

It is a Legal Memo regarding the Natalie Attired case. You will put
together all of the information we’ve been going over and incorporate
it into the memo.

The memo needs to be a MINIMUM of 6 pages. Aim for 6 and as long
as you’re close you will be fine with me!

AND here is the best part….it is due by the end of Unit 9, but if you
need extra time – you can submit it during Unit 10.

Unit 10 is a catch-up week. AND remember that I cannot accept any
work after midnight EST on (February 21st– the last day of Week 10).
And of course the discussion board too….
 So
get busy with the discussion board
when you get a chance.
 This is a LONG Powerpoint (which covers
– in general – Legal Writing Tips.
 Since it is a long one….let’s get rolling!
Legal briefs and memoranda
are formal documents.
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Do not use contractions.
Do not write in the first person.
Do not write in the second person.
Do not ask rhetorical questions.
Do not use slang unless you are quoting.
Capitalize “court” correctly.
Capitalize “court” only when referring to the
United States Supreme Court, when giving the
full name of any court, or when referring to the
court you are addressing.
 Examples:
 The Arizona Supreme Court recently decided
the issue.
 In Smith, the court [not Court] stated . . . .
 This Court [not court] should deny the
Defendant’s motion.
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Capitalize the full title of litigation
roles only when they refer to the
parties in your case.
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Examples:
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The Defendant in this case was properly served.
In Jones, the defendant was a motorcycle dealer.
Capitalize the full titles of
litigation documents in your case,
but not other references to them.
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Examples:
 Plaintiff failed to respond to Costco’s
Request for Production of Documents.
 Plaintiff failed to respond to Costco’s
document requests.
Capitalize full and shortened forms
of names of governmental units,
official titles, or acts.
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Examples:
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All appeals must be brought before the Department of
Human Services. A recipient can bring a civil action only if
the Department refuses to reinstate the recipient’s benefits.
Animals are protected under the Animal Welfare Act.
However, the Act does not protect farm animals.
Do not write in headline style. Do
not drop the articles a, an, and the
from your sentences.
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Examples:
 [Incorrect] In Jones, buyer of 1989 Toyota
sued dealer for breach of warranty.
 [Correct] In Jones, a buyer of a 1989 Toyota
sued the dealer for breach of warranty.
Be consistent in what you call
people and things.
If you start with “factors,” stick with “factors”; do
not switch to “elements” or “considerations.”
 Example:
 [Incorrect] The Toyota entered the
intersection after stopping at the stop sign.
The car was accelerating when it struck the
van. The impact caused the vehicle to roll
three times.
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Avoid footnotes.
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Footnotes are appropriate in law review articles
but generally frowned upon in court documents.
“Court” is a single entity and is therefore singular, not
plural, regardless of how many judges are on the court.
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Examples:
 [Incorrect] The court noted that they were
bound by the Webster decision.
 [Correct] The court noted that it was bound
by the Webster decision.
Refer to decided cases
efficiently.
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After fully citing a case, refer to it in your text by
the name or the abbreviated name of the first
party to the case, or to the other party if the first
name is not distinctive.
 Examples:
 [Correct] In Webster, the court established a
new rule.
 [Incorrect] In the case of Webster, . . . .
 [Incorrect] In the Webster case, . . . .
Be precise in describing what a
court did. Courts often:
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grant or deny a motion
sustain or overrule an objection to evidence
accept or reject an argument
hold on an issue of law
find on an issue of fact
rule on an objection to evidence, motion, or
issue of law
affirm, reverse, or modify a judgment or order
of a lower court
remand a case to a lower court
Courts do not have feelings and
do not argue.
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Write that the court noted, articulated, stated,
reasoned, or recognized something, not that it
felt, believed, or argued something.
Use the past tense to describe the facts in a decided case
and what a court stated or did.
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Examples:
 The court in Hill stated [not states] that the
rule is based on sound public policies.
 In Hill, a pit bull bit [not bites] a child.
 Courts, not cases, make statements. Therefore,
write “the court in Hill stated” or “the Hill court
stated,” not “Hill stated.”
On the other hand, express the rule
from a case in the present tense.
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Example: In Hill, the court held that an owner
of a dangerous animal is [not was] strictly
liable for injuries caused by the animal.
Use the present tense when
referring to statutes and rules.
 Example:
Section 2-719 states [not
stated] that if a limited remedy fails to
satisfy its essential purpose, the buyer can
resort to other remedies.
 Exception: When discussing the former
text of a statute or rule that has since been
amended, use the past tense.
 Example: Prior to the 2004 amendments,
section 2-719 stated . . . .
Refer to the parties in your case
(not in decided cases) by their
proper names, unless their
litigation roles are more
persuasive.
Using a party’s name rather than “Plaintiff” or
“Petitioner” prevents confusion and makes
your case more vivid.
 Generally, avoid using first names alone.
 Omit titles such as Mr., Ms., and Mrs.
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Introduce short-form names
efficiently, and capitalize them.
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Examples:
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[Correct] This case involves a dispute between
Daniel Simon and Janet Garcia. Simon and Garcia
entered into a contract in 1987.
[Correct] Paul Young, William Luther, and Joe Jones
(“the Buyers”) are Colorado residents.
[Incorrect] Paul Young, William Luther, and Joe
Jones (“the buyers”) are Colorado residents.
“The” is optional before litigation roles in your
case, as long as its use or omission is consistent.
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Examples:
 [Correct] The accident occurred while Plaintiff
was driving south on Elm.
 [Correct] The accident occurred while the
Plaintiff was driving south on Elm.
 [Correct] In Jones, the plaintiff sued for
breach of warranty.
 [Incorrect] In Jones, plaintiff sued for breach
of warranty.
Refer to the parties in a cited
case by their real-life roles (such
as “tenant” or “employer”) rather
than their litigation roles (such as
“plaintiff” or “appellant”) or their
names.
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Example: In Smith, the buyer bought a
computer that broke after only three months.
The seller never successfully repaired the
computer.
A business or institution is “it,”
not “they.”
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Business entities (such as corporations and
partnerships) and institutions (such as
universities and government agencies) take
singular pronouns.
 Example: The FBI investigated the crime. It [not
they] concluded that Johnson was present at the
crime scene.
Refer to legal arguments as if they
were made by the parties, not by
their lawyers.
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Write “IBM will argue,” not “Counsel for IBM
will argue.”
Avoid Legalese.
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Do not imitate the writing style of cases in your
casebooks. Avoid archaic and stilted terms like
aforesaid and hereinafter and said (when used
to mean the or that).
Use familiar, plain words.
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Tell, not apprise
Go, not proceed
Start or begin, not commence or initiate
Show, not evince
Later, not subsequently
Omit needless words.
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Wordy prepositional phrases:
 for the purpose of = to
 in order to = to
 in order for = for
 in the event that = if
 in view of the fact that = because
 with respect to = about, concerning, regarding
And more needless words.
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Redundant phrases:
 the area of tort law = tort law
 ask the question = ask
 general consensus = consensus
 Needlessly abstract phrases:
 The allegations were serious in nature = The
allegations were serious
 At the trial court level = In the trial court
And even more needless words.
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Needless introductory words:
 The law is that for a statement to be
privileged = For a statement to be privileged
or A statement is privileged when . . . .
 It is important to note that = [just note it]
 It can be seen that Hill involved the same
issue = Hill involved the same issue
 Needless modifiers:
 very important = important
 rather unusual = unusual
Avoid freezing the action in a
noun (nominalizations).
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conduct an examination = examine
make a decision = decide
possess knowledge = know
made a request = requested
was a violation = violated
Generally, use the active voice,
not the passive voice.
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Examples:
 [Passive] The house was searched by the
police.
 [Passive] The house was searched.
 [Active] The police searched the house.
Use parallel construction, which
requires analogous units in a
sentence to have the same
grammatical structure.
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Examples:
 [Incorrect] Sally likes to swim, walking, and she
likes to run.
 [Correct] Sally likes to swim, to walk, and to run.
 [Correct] Sally likes swimming, walking, and
running.
Always use the serial comma in a
series of three or more elements.
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The serial comma is the comma prior to the
final conjunction in a series of three or more
elements.
 Examples:
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[Correct] The tenant, the landlord, and the owner had an
acrimonious discussion.
[Incorrect] The tenant, the landlord and the owner had an
acrimonious discussion.
[Correct] The tenant, the landlord and owner, and the agent
had an acrimonious discussion.
[Incorrect] The tenant, the landlord and owner and the agent
had an acrimonious discussion.
However, if there are commas within an element in a
series, separate the elements with semicolons.
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Example: The defendant, in an attempt to mitigate his sentence,
pleaded that he had been despondent over the death of his wife;
that he had lost his job; that his landlady had threatened to have
him evicted; that he had not eaten for several days; and that he
had, in this weakened condition, been unduly affected by an
alcoholic beverage.
Possessives of Singular Nouns
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Generally, form the possessive by adding an
apostrophe followed by an “s.”
 Examples:
 The party’s lawyer was present.
 William Jones’s lawyer was present.
 O.J. Simpson’s house
 There are traditional exceptions for some
singular nouns ending in “s” (e.g., Jesus’,
Euripedes’, Xerxes’).
Possessives of Plural Nouns
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Generally, form the possessive by adding an apostrophe
after the “s.”
Examples:
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The parties’ lawyers were present.
The Simpsons’ lawyers were present.
Closely linked nouns or proper names are often
considered a single unit when the entity possessed is the
same for both.
Examples:
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Nicole and O.J.’s house
His aunt and uncle’s will
Possessive of “It”
The possessive of “it” is “its,” not “it’s.”
 Examples:
 [Correct] The trial court stated in its findings
of fact . . . .
 [Incorrect] The trail court stated in it’s findings
of fact . . . .
 “It’s” means “it is.”
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Quotations
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Use quotations sparingly.
 When using a quote, make sure that the quoted
language is absolutely accurate (with any
alterations indicated) and that a proper citation is
provided.