ATIENO OGOLA BAR

LESSONS
ATP 103: LEGAL WRITING
AND DRAFTING
BY: CINDY DANA
 INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL
WRITING
An Advocate’s main tool of communication is words. Most laymen believe that an

advocate’s responsibility is to look at what the law states, and find the most

conniving’ way to interpret it for the benefit of the client.

The aim of legal writing and Drafting is to guide you on the particular know-how that

you ought to be equipped with to be able to pass across any relevant information.
THE AIM OF LEGAL WRITING
The essence of any form of communication by an advocate is the following.

1. To explain a concept to a client.

2. to get information from a witness
3. To make a point to court
4. Correspondence.
*A good legal writer ought to be able to do the following:
A) Analyze and conceptualize legal issues
B) Organize Strategies
C) Structure legal arguments
D) Choose appropriate language
E) Have efficient writing skills.
QUALITIES OF GOOD LEGAL
WRITING
Good legal Writing ought to be easily understood, be straight forward, and be persuasive in nature.

Some of the qualities of good legal writing include the following;

1. Making choices. (Every word that ends up in your final draft ought to be there because you want
it to be there. Further, there is no room for accidents.
2. Clarity. (Any drafted document should be easily understood.) C.I.P- PLO Parody Accounts.
3. Logical Structure. (Flowing and has flagposts) i.e FILAC/IRAC (issue, rule, Application of the Rule
and a conclusion.)
4. Spelling
5. Grammar
6. Punctuation
7. Precision (Go straight to the point)
CONTD.
8. Non-
ambiguity. (Where a sentence or a word has more than one
meaning)
9. Conciseness
10. Completeness (Do not give your target audience the pleasure of
saying SO WHAT)
11. Elegance
12. Use shorter sentences
PLAIN ENGLISH
Is the use of straight forward language which conveys meaning clearly and simply.
Plain English seeks to decipher and simplify the difficulty in understanding that has been
brought about by the use of Legal jargon in various legal documents.
steps that have been taken to increase the use of Plain English include
1. Legal Documents, standard forms and regulations are being drafted in Plain English.
2. The public is being included in the drafting process so as to determine the terms they do not
understand.
Basic Rules of Plain English
1. Use everyday English.
2. Use short sentences
3. Use simple sentence structure. (Avoid redundant words such as null and void) word wasting
idioms such as , in the region of (In or about), or due to the fact that (use because)
4. Use correct grammar and proper punctuation
5. Logical structure
6. Use first and second pronoun. i.e ( I and you, respecitively)
7. Arrange words with care.
8. Avoid archaic words. (lawyerisms, such as hereinafter, aforementioned, res judicata).
9. USE GENDER SENSITIVE LANGUAGE.
LEGALESE
Google defines legalese as the formal and technical language of legal documents.
Some of the characteristics of legalese include.
1.Use of archaic words
2. Use of Latin words
3. Use a lot of formalism
4. Using a lot of redundancies
5. Very long sentences
6. Use of a lot weak passive words
7. Unnecessary long words and phrases
GENDER NEUTRAL LANGUAGE
Gender neutrality refers to the process of thinking and writing legal documents such as statutes, rules, policies
and regulations in language that is not gender discriminatory.

Gender neutrality helps to eliminate the use of sexist language that promotes unnecessary and irrelevant
distinction between the sexes.
Sheila Michael in the 20th Century championed for the use of the abbreviation Ms. In place of Miss or Mrs that
showed a distinction of ht e gender of women.
There are at least four good reasons for making the effort to use gender-neutral language:
Fairness,
Clarity,
Precision, and
Reader reaction
GENDER NEUTRAL CONTD.
Instances of sexist language.
The use of the word ‘Man” such as Chairman, watchman, policeman
The use of the pronoun ’he’- reference, the Bible. (Remove the pronouns, Use he/she or use
them in plural)
Sexist modifiers, female lawyer, male nurse, male nanny, female conductor. (Just Lawyer, nurse)
Other sexist language such as using the precedent Miss, Mrs or Ms. Always use Professional
titles such as Doctor Milanu Justice Ann Omollo
TOPIC 2: EFFECTIVE WRITING
PSYCHOLOGY OF WRITING
In the legal context, like any other form of writing, experience is the best
teacher.
It is always best to carry out research before embarking on writing instaed of
vice versa or doing the two activities simultaneously.
The psychology of writing requires that a person gives themselves ample time to
engage in the writing process.
Additionally, a person ought to be in an environment that is conducive emought
to allow the writing process to be free flowing.
General Principles of Effective Writing
General principles for effective writing
 Good writing is effective communication.
 Remember your audience.
 Remember your purpose.
 Follow expected format of document.
 Professionalism and competence are reflected in both content and presentation of writing.
Outline and writing Plan
A good legal writer ought to have a writing outline which points out what ought to be covered within
the whole document. An outline helps to prevent repetition, back-tracking and the ultimate
achievement of a logical structure.
Techniques of outline or plan involves
1. Read through all your research.
2. Don’t overlook obvious ways of organizing.
3. Talk to a colleague.
4. Consider the reader and purpose.

The technique of drafting a document involves the following: Optimum conditions, begin with what
you know and take your time
Drafting a Document
After drafting a document, you ought to carry out the following activities,
Revising; Which involves, seeing again to ensure that the message is delivered as intended, the
target is achieved and the thought process follows the outline that has been set out previously.
Unity and coherence has to be achieved.
Editing: Logical Structure, Sentence structure as well as the verbosity and unnecessary word
choice.
Proofreading
Produce final Draft.
EFFECTIVE PARAGRAPHS
A paragraph is a series of sentences that are organized and coherent and are all related to a
single topic.
The paragraph explains the main point in a sub-division of sentences
TOPIC SENTENCE
A well organized paragraph always develops a single controlling idea, which is known as a topic
sentence. A topic sentence has several functions: A topic sentence substantiates or supports the
thesis statement. It unifies the content of a paragraph and directs the order of the sentences. It
advices the reader on the subject to be discussed and how the paragraph will discuss that
subject. Most topic sentences are placed at the beginning of the paragraph. Occasionally it may
follow the sentence paragraph
Functions of a Paragraph
1. Helps writers organize writing.
2. Helps readers see and understand the organization of the writing.
3. Helps writers stay in control of their writing.
4. They are like boxes in which to sort out information.
5. They make writing a manageable task.
6. Helps readers absorb information in manageable bits.
7. Allows readers see significant groupings of ideas.
8. It is more than a matter of logic and organization. It is also a matter of reader comfort and
aesthetics.
Paragraph Blocks
Many paragraphs may not have topic sentences or concluding sentences yet work out well.
Why? Because they are part of a larger organizational element – the paragraph block.
A paragraph block is a mini-composition. It begins with a paragraph or two. The middle is usually
several paragraphs.
The end is a paragraph or two. Beginning paragraphs are general statements that introduce the
topic of the paragraph block.
The middle paragraphs contain sub-points – the specifics that support the topic paragraphs. The
concluding paragraphs bring the discussions back to the broad topic but in a way that advances
the line of reasoning.
Connections Between Sentences
Sentences ought to be connected to achieve the concept of unity and coherence and for a
whole document to have a logical structure.
The words used to connected sentences are referred to as transitions. They include the
following.
1. Generic Transitions; They introduce a word or a sentence to help a reader to understand the
relation of new information. Examples include, However, in addition, therefore, as a result.
2. Conjunctions/Coordinating transitions; They are used to link two independent sentences for
instance, She is a good lawyer, but she does not like litigation. They are represented by the
acronym FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So)
3. Subordinating transitions: Used to show that the meaning of one sentence depends on
another.
Subordinating Transitions
Subordinating transitions are used when reporting facts of a case.
If the Subordinate Conjunction is between two phrases, which can stand alone as independent
sentences after the removal of the subordinate conjunction, then do not use a comma to
separate the phrases.
If the subordinate conjunction is placed in front of the opening phrase, then place a comma
between the two phrases that are being connected.
A comma must not be placed after the subordinate conjunction.
Examples, because, despite, even though, therefore, However.
THE END
REVISION NEXT WEEK.