How Pre-writing Regimens Can Improve Legal Writing

Mercer University alumnus Zachary Andrew McEntyre became a partner with King & Spalding LLP in 2015. While with the firm, Zachary Andrew McEntyre has made contributions to a distinguished legal writing Burton Award winning article.

Legal writing is a discipline where lawyers meld critical facts and legal theory together to effectively communicate cases to a target audience. The skill’s complexity requires artistry and wisdom in a manner far removed from other types of writing. In fact, some law students who enter law school with creative or journalistic writing experience may find legal writing tedious and repetitive.

Creative writers and journalists take a more individualistic approach to writing, and the strict legal structure will likely fall outside of their typical experience. However, practicing lawyers claim that pre-writing tools and regimens, like outlines, can drastically improve one’s legal writing. Additionally, dividing legal writing into sections and sub-sections can help direct organized legal writing, and the signposts in and of themselves can make it easier for readers to assimilate the content.

Zachary Andrew McEntyre
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