“Why do I want to write like a

lawyer when lawyers are known

as terrible writers? ” (Legal
Research and Writing, Murray
and DeSanctis)
Lawyers’ writing are popular for being
prolix, overly complex, obfuscatory, and
disingenuous.

Sad to say, as early as law school, students

tend to adopt this method of writing,
thinking or believing that it is the best
way to persuade.
This situation is unfortunate
because it affects one’s ability to
communicate facts, findings and
advice in a clearer, logical and
more comprehensible way.
 The need for brief, concise and clear
writing is bolstered by the fact that readers
value clarity and conciseness over novelty
or eloquence. What readers need to
appreciate and understand one’s work are
thorough reasoning, relevant logic, and
clear writing.
Remember, however, that brief,
concise and persuasive legal writing
still needs to accurately explain the
law, the facts, and the legal
reasoning linking those facts to the
law. These, therefore, should be the
primary components of your work!
Good legal writing requires a nexus
between the facts and the law being
applied. This connection is made
possible through our legal reasoning.

Differently put, without employing

accurate legal reasoning, there can be
no connection between the facts and
the law being applied.
 The CREAC formula provides a
systematic and logical way of presenting
legal reasoning.
CREAC FORMAT
C Conclusion
R Rules
E Explanation of the Law
A Application of the Law
C Conclusion
(Romantz and Vintzon)
After using the CREAC format, the legal
writer should now address the
arguments of the adverse party. The
primary goal is to refute these
arguments. Remember, however, that
there is always a danger in responding
too much.
You must be able to motivate the
readers to act in your favor. You need to
present arguments in favor of the action
you want and to refute the arguments
against that action, while at the same
time keeping your writing clear and
confident.
 Basic Rules of Grammar and Style

1. Subject/Verb Distance. A
sentence is easier to understand when the
subject and verb are close together.
Intervening words, clauses, or phrases disrupt
the action and make the sentence difficult to
understand.
 Ex. Joshua, annoyed and displeased,
punched James.

This should be revised as:

Annoyed and displeased, Joshua

punched James.
 Ex. The claim that the presumption of
regularity applies because the chain of
custody was not broken and the warrantless
arrest was valid is supported by the facts.

This should be revised as:

The claim that the presumption of

regularity applies is supported by the facts.
The chain of custody rule was not broken,
and the warrantless arrest was valid.
 2. Sentence Length. The
length of the sentence will vary according
to the nature of the information it must
convey. Short sentences are easier to
understand. If you find that your
sentences are too long, eliminate extra
words or break the sentence into shorter
sentences.
 Ex. The information should be quashed
because the search warrant is defective, and
there is nothing in the records which will
show that the warrantless search and seizure
is justified by the circumstances.

This should be revised as:

The information should be quashed

because the search warrant is defective. In
addition, the circumstances did not justify a
warrantless search and seizure.
 3. Sentence variety. Did
you notice that when your rough draft
is completed, some of your sentences
tend to convey the same thing? Don’t
worry, there are several ways to vary
sentence openings and sentence
length, and avoid excessive words,
phrases and clauses.
Examples of redundant words:

alter/change end/result
merged/together and/moreover
exact/same null/void
cease/desist few/in number
sole/exclusive descend/down
full/complete specific/example
due/owing join/together
true/correct each/every
 The following is a list of common
wordy phrases and their concise
substitutes.

Wordy phrase Concise substitute

Along the lines of like

At the present time now
By means of by
Due to the fact that because
For the reason that because
In as much as since
In order to to
In the event that if
In the vicinity of near
Until such time until
 The following is a list of common
wordy phrases and their concise
substitutes:
Change this To this

on the grounds that because

for the reason that because
inasmuch as because
insofar as because,
so far as
due to the fact that because
based on the fact that because
in view of the fact that because
owing to the fact that because
in spite of the fact that although,
despite
in the amount of for
a majority of most
a number of some, many
as of this date today (or specify
date)
until such time as until
in due course after (or rewrite)
Change this To this

prior to before
in advance of before
subsequent to after
at the conclusion of after
in this day and age now,
today
at this point in time now
at the present time now
at the present point in time now
time period time,
period
at an early date soon
as soon as possible (specify date)
during the course of during
during the time that during, while
in order to to
so as to to
so as to be able to to
with a view to to
for the purpose of for, to
by means of by
by virtue of by
through the use of by, with

both of them are both are, they are

both of these are both are, they are

relative to regarding, about

as regards regarding,
concerning, about
pertaining to about
in regard to regarding, on,
about

in respect to on, about

in connection with about, concerning

in spite of despite
in support of to, for
in the event that if
in a situation in which if, when, where
in instances in which if, when, where

in the region of near, close to

in the vicinity of near, close to
in (close) proximity to near, close to

in the area of in
in the field of in
in terms of by, through
(or rewrite the
sentence)

together with with

the question as to whether whether

he is a man who he
she is a woman who she
is indicative of indicates
make reference to refer to
have the capability to can
make a contribution to contribute
take into consideration consider
make a connection with connect
with reference to of, on, for, about
with regard to of, on, for, about
with respect to on, for, about
with the possible
exception of except
of the understanding that understand that
of the opinion that think that
of the belief that believe that
cannot help feeling can only feel
cannot help but feel feel
 Sometimes, we fail to replace a
noun with a pronoun. One way to
shorten sentences is replacing a noun
with a pronoun.
 4. Sentence fragments.
During the editing phase, look out for
sentence fragments. These are
incomplete sentences because they lack
a subject, a verb, or both.
 5. Active/Passive Voice. The
word voice refers to the relationship of the
subject and its verb; voice is either active or
passive. Voice tells the reader whether the
subject of the sentence is the actor or is
acted upon (receives the action).

The general rule is that you should draft

sentences using active voice. When the
active voice is used, the subject of the
sentence is the actor.
Active Voice:
Assistant City Prosecutor Magnolia Nestle filed the
Information against Eman Gaman for the crime of rape.

AAA accused Ran Dulph of the crime of rape.

Passive Voice:

An Information for the crime of rape was filed by Assistant

City Prosecutor Magnolia Nestle against Eman Gaman.

Ran Dulph was accused of rape by AAA.

Why should active voice be preferred than passive voice?

Active voice is easy to understand and is more

powerful. It is easy to understand because the doer of
the action is mentioned at the beginning of the sentence
before the action.

Since the readers already knows the doer of the

action, the reader does not have to read the entire
sentence again.

Active voice is more powerful because, at the

outset, it identifies the actor as the performer of the
action. It therefore emphasizes the actor’s actions.
 6. Paragraph length. Most
paragraph topics can be covered in six
to seven sentences, although a
paragraph may be as short as one
sentence or as long as ten sentences.
Determine a paragraph’s length by keeping
in mind the goal of covering the topic of
the paragraph clearly and completely.

Keep in mind that extremely long

paragraphs may cause confusion to the
reader and may also be difficult to
understand. A series of very short
paragraphs, on the other hand, may lack
transition and distract the reader.
Therefore, excessively long and short
paragraphs are not recommended!
 7. Word selection, usage,
spelling, capitalization, italics,
abbreviations, and numbers

Have your dictionary and

thesaurus ready to check on word
selection, usage, spelling,
capitalization, abbreviations, and
numbers.
Should numbers be spelled out all the
time?

The Bluebook says that we should spell

out numbers zero to ninety-nine.
Numerals should be used for numbers
that are more than two words long.
 8. Nominalizations. A
nominalization is a noun created from a
verb.

Ex.
Verb Noun
Determine Determination
Realize Realization
Possess Possession
 Nominalizations weaken a sentence
by taking the action away from the actor.
They make the sentence passive and less
forceful.

Ex.
He came to the realization that he
committed a crime.
Should be revised as:
He realized that…
 Albert came into the possession
of the …

Should be revised as:

Jun possessed the…

 9. Archaic words and verbiage
in legal writing. Archaic terms are
words or phrases frequently used in
the past that are being phased out by
modern legal writing. The present
focus is the use of plain English. Some
of these archaic terms are, aforesaid,
hereinbefore, hereinafter, henceforth,
and the said party.
 10. Sexist language. In modern
writing, using gender-specific language
is frowned upon and not appropriate,
unless it refers to a specific person and
the gender is known.

At present, gender-specific terms are

changed to gender-neutral terms.
Examples
Gender-Specific Gender-Neutral

chairman chairperson
wife/husband spouse
forefathers forbears
housewife homemaker
mankind people, human beings
workman worker
anchorman anchor
congressman representative
Some commonly misused
terms
a. Advice/Advise. Advice is a
noun. Advise is a verb.

b. Affect/Effect. Affect is a
verb meaning “to influence.” Effect can
either be a verb or a noun. As a verb,
effect means “to bring about or cause”;
as a noun, it means “result.”
 c. At about, at around. If
the period of time is not certain,
remove the at. Use “About 3:30 p.m.,
he … or Around 3:30 p.m., he … At
denotes an exact period of time.

d. v. versus vs. Both are

correct.
 e. In behalf of; On behalf
of. Both are correct.

f. Among/Between. Use
among when referring to three or more
things; use between when referring to
two.
 g. And/Or. When the word and
is used in a list of words, all of the items
listed are included and required.
 When or is used, all of the items listed
are not required to be included.

The use of and/or should be avoided

like the plague because it creates an
ambiguity.
 h. Each other/One another.
When referring to two nouns, use each
other. When referring to more than two
nouns, use one another.
 i. Lie/Lay. Lie is an intransitive
verb that means “to rest or recline.”
An intransitive verb is a verb that
does not take a direct object. Its
forms are lie, lay, lain and lying.
 Lay is transitive verb that means
“to put or place.” (A transitive verb
takes a direct object). Its forms are lay,
laid, laid, and laying.
 j. Like/As. Like should be used as
a preposition; it should be followed by a
noun or noun phrase. As acts as a
conjunction or a preposition in a
sentence.
 k. Shall/May. Shall is used to impose a
duty that is mandatory. The performance of the
duty is not optional.
 The word may indicates that the
performance of an act is not mandatory. The
performance of an act is optional.
l. You can remove the article the
when the name of the party is omitted
in the pleading.

Ex. Appellant was about to shoot the

victim…

Plaintiff, by counsel, respectfully

states:
References
1. R.A. Abad, The Fundamentals of
Legal Writing (1st ed., 2004).
2. M. Santos-Ong, Philippine Legal
Research (1st ed., 2007).
3. P.P. Ng, P.U. Po and P.G. Po, Legal
Research and Bibliography (1st ed., 2007).
4. W.H. Putnam, Legal Research
(2006).
5. W.H. Putnam, Pocket Guide to
Legal Writing (2007)
 6. C.P. Nemeth and H.I. Haywood,
Learning Legal Research (1st ed., 2005).
7. M.D. Murray and C.H. DeSanctis,
Legal Research and Writing (2006).
8. D.S. Romantz and Kathleen E.
Vinson, Legal Analysis (1998).
9. Bryan A. Garner, Legal Writing in
Plain English (2001).
10. Kenneth J. Vandevelde, Thinking
Like A Lawyer (2011).
11. Steven D. Stark, Writing to Win:
The Legal Writer (2000).