4 Important Elements of Legal Drafting
Legal drafting is a niche process that calls for the expertise of a seasoned attorney and impeccable writing skills. As legal drafts are the cornerstone of any litigation, legal firms always rely on experienced hands to write these documents. In essence, legal drafting is all about being legally correct and staying relevant to the subject matter. In addition to this, the one skill that matters the most in legal drafting is the ability to write concise and lucid copies. In this write up we will discuss the four most important elements of legal drafting and what impact they make on the whole legal process. Legal firms specializing in legal drafting services can also gain a lot by reading this exhaustive piece.
The four most important elements of legal drafting that add a lot of value to your legal drafting services are Understanding of audience, Clarity, Chronology, and logic. Let’s discuss these attributes one by one.
Understanding the audience :
This is the most important element of legal drafting for the simple reason that unless you understand who you are addressing, you cannot convey your message to them. In any legal matter, it is the lawyers, the jury and the parties involved in litigation that constitute your audience. While for attorneys and jury your approach remains the same, it changes drastically in case of parties. While in some cases the parties could be an insurance firm and its client in others it could be the state government and a person accused of driving under the influence of alcohol. So, as a legal drafting specialist, your tone and choice of words should make sense to every party. For this reason, you should spend some time to understand your target audience.
Clarity :
In a legal draft, every word counts; so your choice of words should not only be precise, but it should also convey the message with clarity. Another important thing that hinders with the clarity of the document and the draft is the use of ambiguous words and phrases. For example, if you are referring to the speed of a vehicle, you should give the exact speed rather than using words like fast and slow. This is because what is slow for you, can be fatally fast for a pedestrian. If you are not an expert on clarity or any other aspect of legal drafts, outsource legal drafting services to a specialized vendor.
Chronology :
While drafting the details of an event, chronology assumes more significance than any other thing. It should be accurate and in a logical sequence. For example, if you are detailing a robbery in the draft, it should either start from the events preceding the actual act or from the actual robbery down to the situation before it. In case the timing and days are of any significance, write down everything with precise details. If possible use military timing such as 0800 hours etc.
Logic :
Whatever you write in your legal draft should be logical and easily comprehensible by your target audience. If the case has to eventually go to the jury, it becomes all the more important to present the details in a logical sequence. This is for the simple reason that the jury does not have time to go through intricate paras to understand the logic behind the details.
By keeping these elements intact in your writing you can become a successful legal drafting service. The good thing is that these elements are not very difficult to master; you just have to keep them in your mind and very soon it would become a standard practice for you.
Hope That Helps :)
