---
title: Legal Writing
description: This topic covers the principles of drafting clear, precise, and persuasive legal documents. Learners will understand how to write legal briefs, memoranda, contracts, and client correspondence using professional terminology and structured legal reasoning.
category: business-entrepreneurship
subcategory: legal-career-skills
difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced
url: /subject/legal-writing
---

# Legal Writing

This topic covers the principles of drafting clear, precise, and persuasive legal documents. Learners will understand how to write legal briefs, memoranda, contracts, and client correspondence using professional terminology and structured legal reasoning.

## Available Resources

3 Books • 4 Websites

## Websites

### 1. Adams on Contract Drafting

Kenneth Adams's blog and article archive on contract language, from the author of A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting. Readers learn to recognize ambiguous drafting conventions, such as misused shall and efforts provisions, and replace them with precise, modern usage.

**Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://www.adamsdrafting.com/

**Tags:** contract-drafting, legal-writing, contract-language, plain-language

### 2. law.cornell.edu

Cornell Law’s Legal Information Institute (LII) offers free, searchable primary legal materials—such as Supreme Court opinions, the U.S. Code, the Code of Federal Regulations, and the Constitution—and practical legal-research guides and tutorials for students and researchers.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://law.cornell.edu

**Tags:** websites, law-legal-studies, legal-career

### 3. nolo.com

Nolo is a legal information site offering plain-language articles, guides, and affordable do-it-yourself legal forms for individuals and small businesses. It covers business law topics such as forming an LLC, contracts, employment, and intellectual property, with templates, checklists, and state-specific guidance.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://nolo.com

**Tags:** websites, business-entrepreneurship, business-fundamentals

### 4. purdue.edu/owl

Purdue OWL is a comprehensive online writing resource offering free, in-depth guides on academic writing, grammar, and style, with extensive citation guidance (APA, MLA, Chicago). It includes handouts, exercises, and sample papers to help students improve writing for assignments and research.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://purdue.edu/owl

**Tags:** websites, personal-development, communication

## Books

### 1. Legal Writing in Plain English

**Author:** Bryan A. Garner

Garner's practical guide to clear legal prose, organized into short sections with exercises on structure, sentence length, word choice and document design. Readers learn to cut legalese, write tighter memos and briefs, and draft contracts that clients can actually understand.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0226284182?tag=edmonddante07-20

**Tags:** books, law-legal-studies, legal-career

### 2. The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style

**Author:** Bryan A. Garner

Garner's reference manual covering punctuation, capitalization, numerals, citations, word usage and document formatting for legal writers. Readers learn to resolve style questions consistently in briefs, memos, contracts and correspondence, and to apply editing conventions expected in law firms and courts.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0314168915?tag=edmonddante07-20

**Tags:** books, law-legal-studies, legal-career

### 3. Writing and Analysis in the Law

**Author:** Helene S. Shapo, Marilyn R. Walter, Elizabeth Fajans

First-year legal writing textbook covering case analysis, synthesizing authorities, statutory interpretation, and drafting office memoranda and appellate briefs. Readers learn to structure legal analysis, organize arguments around rules and precedent, and write documents in the forms practicing lawyers use.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1599414244?tag=edmonddante07-20

**Tags:** books, law-legal-studies, legal-career

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