Navigating this Blog

There are countless ways to style legal writing. In this blog, you will find various approaches to legal writing that I have found to be effective. Take it all with a grain of salt.

I hope some of this helps. Good luck!

Facts

When drafting your facts section:
  • Be succinct, but include all of the relevant facts, including facts necessary to provide the reader with sufficient context.
  • Generally, organize your facts chronologically.
  • Avoid being argumentative in your facts section
  • Do not leave out any key facts, even if they do not support your argument.  This is an objective memo designed to honestly assess the legal issue.  You will not help anyone by artificially strengthening your argument by avoiding "bad facts."
  • Keep the governing legal standards in mind when drafting your facts section.  The legal issues at hand largely inform which facts are most relevant.
  • If useful, break up the facts section by using thematic headings, particularly where the facts section is lengthy.
  • Some attorneys prefer the facts to be broken down into numbered sentences so that each fact stands out clearly.