Congratulations, Richard Neumann and Sheila Simon!

Richard K. Neumann, Jr. (Hofstra University) and Sheila Simon (Southern Illinois University) are co-authors of a new legal writing book called, oddly enough, Legal Writing.  It is published by Aspen Publishers (part of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business).  It looks great.  The features in it that I didn't expect to see are short chapters (for example, chapters of only 6 or 8 pages) that I think many students will find quite easy to read (and re-read).

I got my copy in the mail yesterday, just before boarding a train from Chicago to Carbondale (so that I could do some more spying on Sue Liemer while she is on sabbatical!).  And now I have a copy signed not only by Sheila, but by her daughters Reilly and Brennan to whom Sheila dedicated the book.

The book is impressive, and I think that it will find many classroom adoptions in the coming year.  Congratulations again to Richard and Sheila.  Click here for more information.

Here's the table of contents:

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Writing and Professional Work Part I: Legal Rules and Their Sources Chapter 2. Inside a Rule of Law Chapter 3. More About Rules (Including Where They Come From) Chapter 4. Inside a Statute and Outlining One Chapter 5. Inside a Case (a Judicial Opinion) Chapter 6. Briefing a Case Chapter 7. Policy and Why Courts Care About It Chapter 8. Selecting the Most Appropriate Cases, Statutes, and Other Authority Chapter 9. Working with Cases Chapter 10. Working with Statutes Part II: The Process of Writing Chapter 11. Getting to Know Yourself as a Writer Chapter 12. Inside the Process of Writing Chapter 13. How Professional Writers Plan Their Writing Part III: Office Memoranda Chapter 14. Office Memorandum Format Chapter 15. Predictive Writing in an Office Memorandum Part IV: Organizing Analysis Chapter 16. CREAC: A Formula for Organizing Proof of a Conclusion of Law Chapter 17. Varying the Sequence and Depth of Rule Explanation and Rule Application Chapter 18. Advanced CREAC: Organizing More Than One Issue Chapter 19. Working with CREAC in First Drafts and in Later Drafts Part V: Working Effectively with Details Chapter 20. Organizing a Paragraph Chapter 21. Writing an Effective Sentence Chapter 22. Effective Style: Clarity, Vividness, and Conciseness Chapter 23. Citing Authority Chapter 24. Quoting Effectively Part VI: The Shift to Persuasion Chapter 25. What Persuades a Court? Chapter 26. Writing a Motion Memorandum Part VII: Telling the Client’s Story Chapter 27. The Statement of the Case in a Motion Memo or Appellate Brief Chapter 28. Developing a Persuasive Story Chapter 29. Telling the Story Persuasively Part VIII: Making the Client’s Arguments Chapter 30. The Argument in a Motion Memo or Appellate Brief Chapter 31. Point Headings and Subheadings Part IX: Appellate Briefs and Oral Argument Chapter 32. Appellate Practice Chapter 33. Writing the Appellate Brief Chapter 34. Making Policy Arguments Chapter 35. Questions Presented Chapter 36. Oral Argument Appendix A Sample Office Memorandum Appendix B Sample Motion Memorandum Appendix C Sample Appellate Brief

(mew)