Writing the way judges are taught to write

The Federal Judicial Center published its Judicial Writing Manual in 1991. As Michael G. Walsh explained in the August Practical Lawyer, lawyers could profitably follow some of the Manual’s advice. It urges judges to write clearly and accurately. It also encourages them to feel pride of authorship in their opinions, a pride that Walsh says lawyers, too, should feel in their written work. That pride, he argues, will go “a long way toward insuring excellence in writing.” In addition to judges and lawyers, judicial clerks will also find some useful nuggets in Walsh’s article.

(jdf)