Description
Book SynopsisIn Point Taken, Ross Guberman delves into the work of the best judicial opinion-writers and offers a step-by-step method based on practical and provocative examples. Featuring numerous cases and opinions from 35 prolific judges - from Learned Hand to Antonin Scalia - Point Taken, explores what it takes to turn great judicial writing into great writing. Guberman provides a system for crafting effective and efficient openings to set the stage, covering the pros and cons of whether to resolve legal issues up front and whether to sacrifice taut syllogistic openings in the name of richness and nuance. Guberman offers strategies for pruning clutter, adding background, emphasizing key points, adopting a narrative voice, and guiding the reader through visual cues. The structure and flow of the legal analysis is targeted through a host of techniques for organizing the discussion at the macro level, using headings, marshaling authorities, including or avoiding footnotes, and finessing transition
Trade ReviewIf I were a judge, I'd make this required reading for my law clerks. Point Taken is an invaluable resource for any judge who cares about the craft of writing opinions." -David Lat, Managing Editor, Above the Law
In Point Taken, Guberman has done both the wonderful and the impossible. He's done a wonderful job synthesizing the craft of writing judicial opinions. His insights and techniques are extraordinary, and he demonstrates great discipline in presenting a menu of approaches rather than dictating a particular style. He provides a superb tool for judges and arbitrators (and, yes, law clerks) to do their jobs better while cultivating a style that suits them. He also achieved what I thought was impossible: he transformed legal writing into a guilty pleasure. The book is fun, which is rare for any work that teaches so much." -Noah Messing, Lecturer, Yale Law School and AAA Arbitrator
Table of ContentsIntroduction ; Part I. Set the Stage: The Opening ; Part II. The Tale: The Facts ; Part III. The Meat: The Legal Analysis ; Part IV. The Words: Style "Must-Haves" ; Part V. The Words: "Nice-to-Haves" in Style ; Part VI. Dissents: The Road Not Traveled ; Part VII. Appendices ; Biographies ; Practice Pointers ; Index
