UNIVERSITY OF THE CORDILLERAS

COLLEGE OF LAW

Legal Writing
I. LEGAL WRITING
A. DEFINITION Legal writing is the kind of writing used by lawyers, law
professors, judges, and other workers in the field of law to express legal
rights, obligations, and opinions.
B. TYPES Legal writing may be informative, persuasive, or functional.

1. Informative writing conveys information on an issue involving the law

or a persons legal rights. This type of writing does not take sides. Its
goal is objective communication by predicting the laws path vis--vis
a set of facts regardless of who is involved.

Examples: Memoranda, letters to clients, and statements of facts in

brief.

2. Persuasive writing convinces the reader to accept a certain

viewpoint. Here, the writer argues for a particular side or perspective.
He is expected to use available legal tools to support his thesis. These
may be pieces of evidence offered in court, sections of the law,
decisions of the Supreme Court, or opinions of legal authorities on a
subject.

Examples:

Academic

legal

writing,

motions,

pleadings,

and

argumentation of the brief.

3. Functional writing is designed for a specific use or result in law.

These are deeds, wills, contracts, or drafts of laws and ordinances
which legally bind those involved. Some specific format, ceremony, or
legal requirement may be present in this type of writing. It need not be
analytical or persuasive. It is enough to be accurate, complete, and
understandable.
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II. TWO (2) BROAD CATEGORIES OF LEGAL WRITING

A. LEGAL ANALYSIS

1. Predictive Analysis

A predictive document deals with a legal question in three (3) ways:

a. Analysis The facts and law are analyzed and studied closely.
The facts are then applied to the law (or jurisprudence), and they
are interpreted according to the meaning of the law.
b. Prediction The outcome of the legal question, whether positive
or negative, is predicted.
c. Recommendation The writer, based on the facts and the law,
gives his advice or recommendation as to what is the best line of
action under the circumstances.

Examples: Opinion memorandum written for senior partners, and

legal opinion letter for clients.

The opinion may be in favor or against the question raised by the

client.

Predictive documents belong to the informative type of legal writing.

2. Persuasive Analysis

A persuasive document attempts to persuade a judge, arbiter, or any

other deciding authority to decide the case in favor of the writers client.

Examples: Pleadings, motions, and briefs.

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B. LEGAL DRAFTING

This is the functional type of legal writing.

Here, the writer creates a

legally binding document, or uses templates available as legal forms.

Examples: Contracts, deeds, wills and testaments for private persons,

and laws, regulations and ordinances which bind the public in general.

III. DEFINITION OF TERMS

A. Memorandum literally to be remembered. It is a paper that explains
and summarizes specific points of law for a judge, for another attorney, or
for a client.
B. Pleading This is the formal presentation of claims and defenses by the
parties to a lawsuit. It is a specific document by which the allegations of
the parties to a lawsuit are presented in proper form; specifically, the
complaint of a plaintiff and the answer of a defendant plus any additional
responses to those papers that are authorized by law.
C. Motion A written or oral application made to a court or judge to obtain a
ruling or order directing that some act be done in favor of the applicant.
The applicant is known as the moving party, or the movant.

Examples:

A motion to dismiss asks the court to dismiss the action

because the initial pleading, or complaint, fails to state a cause of action or

claim for which the law provides a remedy.

A motion for summary judgment, also known as a motion for

judgment on the pleadings, asks the court to make a judgment solely on
the facts set forth in the pleadings, without the necessity of a trial. A court
will grant this motion when the material facts of the case are not in dispute
and all that remains to be determined is a question of law.

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D. Brief A document drawn up by a lawyer for a party in a lawsuit, or by

appearing pro se concisely stating the following:

1. Issues of a lawsuit;
2. Facts that bring the parties to court;
3. Relevant laws that can affect the subject of the dispute; and
4. Arguments that explain how the law applies to the particular facts so
that the case will be decided in the partys favor.
E. Appellate Brief A writing that must be filed with an appellate court so
that the court may evaluate whether the decision of the lower court should
be reversed because of some error or impropriety that occurred during the
trial. A statement of the issues presented for review, a summary of how
pertinent laws affect the facts, and a statement of the relief being
requested are essential elements of an appellate brief. The appellees
brief will argue that the lower court acted properly in the judgment and
request the affirmance, while the appellants brief will attempt to convince
the court to reverse or vacate the lower courts judgment because it acted
improperly.#

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