ASPEN (OURSEBOOK SERIES The H A N D BO____, for the NEW -LEGAL WRITER JILL BARTON RACHEL H. SMITH .. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business .. ' ,I v The Handbook for the New Legal Writer I.. J Editorial Advisors Vicki Been Boxer Family Professor of! .Aw New York University School ofl.Aw Erwin Chemerinsky Dean and Distinguished Professor of! .Aw University ofC alifornia, Irvine, School ofl.Aw Richard A. Epstein l.Aurence A. Tisch Professor of! .Aw New York University School of! .Aw Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow The Hoover Institution Senior Lecturer in I.Aw The University ofC hicago Ronald]. Gilson Charles]. Meyers Professor of! .Aw and Business Stanford University Marc and Eva Stern Professor of! .Aw and Business Columbia I.Aw School James E. Krier Earl Warren Del.Ano Professor ofI .Aw The University ofM ichigan I.Aw School Richard K. Neumann,Jr. Professor ofI .Aw Maurice A. Deane School of! .Aw at Hofstra University Robert H. Sitkoff John L. Gray Professor of! .Aw Harvard I.Aw School David Alan Sklansky Yosef Osheawich Professor ofI .Aw University ofC alifornia at Berkeley School ofL aw I j Copyright© 2014 CCH Incorporated. Published by Wolters Kluwer Law & Business in New York. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business serves customers worldwide with CCH, Aspen Publishers, and Kluwer Law Internacional products. (www.woLterskluwerLb.com) No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or utilized by any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information about permissions or to request permissions online, visit us at www.woLterskluwerLb.com, or l written request may be faxed to our permissions department at 212-771-0803. To contact Customer Service, e-mail [email protected], call 1-800-234-1660, fax 1-800-901-9075, or mail correspondence to: Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Attn: Order Department PO Box 990 Frederick, MD 21705 Design and book composition by Keithley & Associates, Inc. Printed in the United States of America 1234567890 ISBN 978-1-4548-3144-0 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Barton,Jill, (professor) author. The handbook for the new Legal writer/ Jill Barton, Professor of Legal Writing, University of Miami School of Law, Rachel H. Smith, Professor of Legal Writing, University of Miami School of Law. p. cm. - (Aspen coursebook series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4548-3144-0 (alk. paper) 1. Legal composition-United States. I. Smith, Rachel H., (professor) author. II. Title. KF250.B38 2014 808.06, 634-dc23 2014008446 . ~ SF I CPreodrtuifcite Ldin Ce Chaoninta inosf ACt ulesatsotd y 20% Certified Forest Content www.sfiprogr,a..m....o,r,g. 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MediRegs products provide integrated health care compliance content and software solutions for professionals in healthcare, higher education and life sciences, including professionals in accounting, law and consulting. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a division of Wolters Kluwer, is headquartered in New York. Wolters Kluwer is a market-leading global information services company focused on professionals. ... .. .. - To our anchors: Rudy, Dan, and Eric Summary of Contents Contents Xl Preface XVll Acknowledgments XlX part I Reading and Writing Like · Lawyer 1 chapter 1 Introduction to Legal Writing 3 chapter 2 Reading and Understanding Authorities 5 Bostock-Ferari Amusement Co. v. Brocksmith 9 Sample Case Brief 2.1 13 chapter 3 It Depends on the "Anchors" 14 chapter 4 Understanding Hierarchy of Authority 18 chapter 5 The Format for Legal Analysis 27 Knapp v. Ball 28 part II Objective Writing 31 chapter 6 Constructing CREAC in Objective Documents 33 chapter 7 Writing an Objective Conclusion 34 chapter 8 Writing an Objective Rule Section 40 chapter 9 Writing an Objective Explanation Section 46 chapter 10 Writing an Objective Analysis Section 54 chapter 11 Writing an Objective Conclusion 65 part III Putting the Legal Memorandum Together 67 chapter 12 Incorporating Your CREAC into a Cohesive Document 69 chapter 13 Create a Template for Your Memo 70 chapter 14 Outline and Draft Your Facts Section 73 chapter 15 Draft a Roadmap for Complex Memos 75 chapter 16 Create a Cohesive Document 77 Example Memo 16. 1 80 Example Memo 16.2 83 part IV Writing Tools ,for the New Legal Writer 89 chapter 17 Introduction to Grammar, Punctuation, and Style 91 chapter 18 Grammar Basics 92 IX