Legal reasoning and legal writing. Structure, strategy, and style

542 Pages·1991·51.35 MB·English

by  Richard K. Neumann

FOURTH
EDIT
LEGAL
.REASONING
V\ND
LEGAL
WRITING
STRUCTURE, STRATEGY,
AND
STYLE
RICHARD NEUMANN,
K. JR.
j^j^ Aspen Law & Business
While rewriting your work to turn it into a final draft (pp. 61-63), con-
siderthese questions and the ones on the inside backcover:
—
Organization Have you ?
. . .
10-A stated your conclusions (p. 111)?
10-B stated the rule or rules on which your conclusion is based (p. 112)?
10-G proved rules in an appropriate amount ofdepth (p. 112)?
10-D applied rules to the facts in an appropriate amount ofdepth (p. 112)?
10-E completed rule proofbefore starting rule application (p. 112)?
10-F varied the sequence of the paradigm only where truly necessary
(p. 112)?
10-G organized a multi-issue presentation so that the reader understands
how everything fits together (p. 113)?
10-H organized around tests and elements, rather than around cases
(p. 113)?
lO-I avoided presentation authority in chronological order unless you
have a special need to do so (p. 113)?
10-J collected closely related ideas, rather than scattering them (p. 113)?
—
Paragraphing Have you ?
. . .
15-A told the reader, near the beginning of each paragraph, the para-
graph's thesis or its topic (p. 201)?
15-B gotten rid of throat-clearing introductory sentences (p. 201)?
15-C given each paragraph a unified purpose (p. 201)?
15-D within each paragraph, expressed your ideas in a logical and effec-
tive sequence (p. 202)?
15-E broken up paragraphs that were so large that the reader would have
gotten lost (p. 202)?
15-F rewritten paragraphs that were so short that no thesis or topic is
developed (p. 202)?
15-G shown the reader how each paragraph is related to the surrounding
material (unless the relationship is implied by the context (p. 202)?
—
Quotations Have you ?
. . .
17-A quoted and cited every time you use the words of others (p. 248)?
17-B quoted only the essential words (p. 248)?
17-G been careful not to quote out ofcontext (p. 250)?
17-D quoted accurately (p. 250)?
17-E placed quotation marks exactly where they belong (p. 251)?
17-F been careful not to quote from a headnote (p. 251)?
See backcoverforothertopics.
LEGAL REASONING
LEGAL WRITING
AND
^g^ ASPEN PUBLISHERS, INC.
'"^^P Legal Education Division
EDITORIAL ADVISORS
RichardA. Epstein
James Parker Hall Distinguished Service ProfessorofLaw
University ofChicago
RonaldJ. Gilson
Charles J. Meyers Professor ofLaw and Business
Stanford University
Marc and Eva Stern Professor ofLaw and Business
Columbia University
James E. Krier
Earl Warren DeLano Professor ofLaw
University ofMichigan
Richard K. Neumann, Jr.
Professor ofLaw
Hofstra University
Elizabeth Warren
Leo Gottlieb Professor ofLaw
University ofPennsylvania
EMERITUS ADVISORS
E. Allan Famsworth
Alfred McCormack ProfessorofLaw
Columbia University
Geoffrey C. Hazard, Jr.
Trustee Professor ofLaw
University ofPennsylvania
Bernard Wolfman
Fessenden Professor ofLaw
Harvard University
LEGAL REASONING
LEGAL WRITING
AND
Structure, Strategy,
and
Style
Fourth Edition
Richard K. Neumann,
Jr.
Law
Professor of
Hofstra University
^p- ASPEN LAW & BUSINESS
T^^^jiP A Division ofAspen Publishers, Inc.
Gaithersburg NewYork
Copyright © 2001 by Richard K. Neumann,Jr.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced
ortransmitted in anyform orbyany means, electronicormechan-
ical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage
and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the pub-
lisher. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of this
publication shouldbe mailed to:
Permissions
Aspen Law&Business
1185AvenueoftheAmericas
NewYork, NY 10036
Printedin theUnited StatesofAmerica
ISBN0-7355-2004-6
1234567890
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-Publication Data
Neumann, Richard K., 1947-
Legal reasoningand legalwriting structure, strategy, and
— :
style/Richard K. Neumann,Jr. 4thed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical referencesand index.
ISBN0-7355-2004-6
—
1. Legalcomposition. 2. Trialpractice UnitedStates. I. Title.
KF250 .N48 2001
808'.06634—dc21
00-054275
&
About Aspen Law Business
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AWelters Kluwer Company
www.aspenpublishers.com

for
Richard K. Neumann, Sr. and
Marjorie Batter Neumann,
who taught everything
on which this hook is based