Legal writing can be very different depending on whether it’s for school or for actual legal work. It’s important for law students to know these differences so they can write in a way that fits each situation. Below, we’ll look at how academic legal writing differs from practical legal writing in various ways.

Purpose of Writing

• Academic Legal Writing:

  • This type of writing is mainly for sharing ideas in scholarly settings.
  • It looks at theories, critiques laws, and discusses tricky legal ideas.
  • Writers aim to help improve legal knowledge and usually get published in law reviews and journals.

• Practical Legal Writing:

  • This writing is all about solving problems right now.
  • It’s important to be clear and precise so that clients, judges, or coworkers can understand the legal advice or analysis.
  • Common work includes writing briefs, memos, and contracts.

Who’s Reading It?

• Academic Audience:

  • This group includes scholars, lawyers, and law students.
  • They expect strong arguments backed up by lots of research and citations from legal cases and academic works.

• Practical Audience:

  • This group includes clients, judges, opposing lawyers, and other legal professionals.
  • They need facts and legal analyses presented clearly so they can make decisions easily.

Style and Tone

• Academic Style:

  • This is usually more formal and can be complicated.
  • It often uses specific legal terms and detailed theories.
  • Writers might use long discussions and footnotes for references.
  • Sometimes, the writing uses passive voice to keep things objective.

• Practical Style:

  • This style needs to be simple and easy to understand.
  • It uses plain language to explain legal ideas without making them too complicated.
  • Being brief and clear is essential, avoiding extra technical words unless necessary for the audience.
  • Active voice is often preferred to make the writing more engaging.

Structure and Organization

• Academic Structure:

  • Usually follows a typical research paper format:
    • Introduction: States the main idea and what will be discussed.
    • Literature Review: Talks about existing research and finds gaps.
    • Analysis: Looks closely at legal ideas, using case law and statutes.
    • Conclusion: Summarizes findings and may suggest future research topics.
  • The flow of ideas is logical, with each part building on the last.

• Practical Structure:

  • Generally designed for quick understanding:
    • Heading: Clearly states the subject.
    • Introduction: Briefly presents the issue and why it matters.
    • Statement of Facts: Lists relevant facts about the legal issue.
    • Legal Analysis: Applies the law to the facts, often using IRAC (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion).
    • Conclusion/Recommendations: Summarizes findings and suggests what to do next.
  • The focus here is on clarity, allowing readers to quickly get the important points.

Research and Citation

• Academic Research:

  • Needed involves looking at a lot of literature and primary and secondary sources.
  • Relies on scholarly articles, books, and legal databases.
  • Uses footnotes or endnotes in specific formats like Bluebook or ALWD.
  • Must show understanding of many legal theories and interpretations.

• Practical Research:

  • This is more immediate, focused on specific legal problems.
  • Involves looking at case law, statutes, regulations, and administrative rules.
  • Citations usually point to specific laws or cases in a simpler format.
  • Emphasizes using up-to-date and relevant information for legal arguments or strategies.

Making Arguments

• Academic Argumentation:

  • This involves looking at different viewpoints, including counterarguments.
  • Encourages deep thinking and combining legal theories and ideas.
  • May seek to introduce new ideas or question accepted beliefs.

• Practical Argumentation:

  • Aims to persuade a specific person (like a judge or client) about a legal outcome.
  • Focuses on clear arguments based on established laws and principles.
  • Requires showing how conclusions logically follow from known facts and laws.

Revisions and Feedback

• Academic Revisions:

  • Typically involves peer reviews, focusing on argument strength and originality.
  • Writers go through multiple drafts and detailed editing to improve clarity.

• Practical Revisions:

  • Often includes feedback from supervising attorneys or clients, focusing on effectiveness.
  • The revision process is usually quicker, aiming to refine the legal analysis and improve communication.

Ethical Considerations

• Academic Ethics:

  • Focuses on the honesty of the research process, giving proper credit, and avoiding plagiarism.
  • Encourages truthful and careful analysis of legal scholarship.

• Practical Ethics:

  • Follows professional codes of conduct.
  • Requires confidentiality, honesty, and responsibility to clients or the court in how legal arguments are made.

In conclusion, although academic and practical legal writing both aim to improve understanding of the law, they differ in purpose, audience, style, structure, research, argumentation, revisions, and ethics. Knowing these differences helps law students and professionals communicate better within their fields, making it easier for them to stand up for justice and follow the law.