.

Reimagining the Legal Writing Program

For several decades, a debate about the goal of legal education

has been raging in the Philippines. On one end, law schools should
prepare their students for the practice of law. For its proponents, it is
absurd to turn a blind eye to what the profession actually demands.
Imagine a professional school--where students spend much time,
eftort, and money-that does not produce practice-ready graduates.
On the other end, law schools should see to it that students should
pass the bar examination. Advocates of this view argue that it is
futile to equip students with knowledge and skills needed in practice
if they cannot join the profession.
The question appears to be settled by the enactmentof
Republic Act No. 7662 or the "Legal Education Reform Act of 1993."
Section 3(a)(1) of this law expressly provides for the statutory goals
of legal education. Clearly, the first and foremost objective is "to
prepare students for the practice of law." Practically speaking,
however, "[w]hen an institution of learning and training has, as
its main clientele, law students who would be future applicants
for a government licensure examination, it is sheer irresponsibility
if that institution's students are not even fit to pass the very
licensure examination meant to determine who would be authorized
and qualified to exercise such profession. Such an irresponsible
institution deserves no less than being closed down."" With both
sides invoking almost equally valid arguments, the debate rages on
to date.
Realization of either objective necessarily requires different
sets of knowledge, skills, and policies. If the goal is to ensure that
students would pass the bar examination, then the law curriculum

should reflect the enumeration of subjects tested there.

necessarily
If the objective is rather producing practice-ready graduates, then a
minimum core of subjects would suffice. The rest of the curriculumm

Cesar Villanueva, Defining the Gravamen: The Bar Reform Movement, 48

ATENEO LAW JoURNAL 624 (2004).
 A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO
LEGAL WRITING
I -Reimagining the Legal Writing Program
should obviously be devoted to
practical training courses. Teachi
methodologies (and consequently, learning strategies) will ing
well. The traditional Langdellian-Socratic Method is vary ensuring that the drugs to be taken are not expired or that the hands
predomino
in Filipino law schools because of its strong correlation of their would-be surgeon are precise. For lawyers, the main tools are
with bar the remedies provided under the law. Yes, a lawyer of a prospective
examination success. Conversely, if law schools are practioe
oriented, then more experiential methods will be employed litigant needs to be attentive to ensure that legal remedies have not
prescribed (the equivalent of expiration among medical drugs). But
Notably, however, both sides of the debate confront more than that, a lawyer should ensure that in one's submissions,
a
common problem. According to retired Justice Arturo Brion. mo words are chosen or not chosen with surgical precision. As United
bar examinees "cannot write passable English," which nany States Court of Appeals Chief Judge Elijah Prettyman would put
rises
disastrous levels" when coupled with the lack of competence in to it, "the lawyer's greatest weapon is clarity, and its whetstone is
law a
In fact, the Supreme Court Office of the Bar Confidant succinctness." The challenge for lawyers is to say what one means. A
stated that "incorrect English is a more serious problem
explicitlv lawyer (or a law student) must be able to turn one's abstract thought
than the accurately into visible written words. Knowledge of the substantive
lack of precise knowledge of law and has been the cause of
failure rates."4 Meanwhile, former Ombudsman Conchita high law and mastery of the procedures to enforce the law may become
Morales concluded that bad grammar of Ombudsman
Carpio- useless when a lawyer is unable to properly communicate them,
as well as their poor writing skills "contribute to
lawvers especially in the written form. Similarly, correct understanding of
the delay in the
the law is insufficient to make a law student or a law graduate pass
disposition of pending cases filed against erring government officials a final examination or bar examination,
and employees." This deficiency in legal writing,
therefore, afflicts respectively, when it cannot
be articulated. Legal writing is, therefore, important.
law graduates and lawyers alike. But why is
legal writing that
important? It is for this reason that we embark on this mission to
produce
this book. Assisting, primarily, law students
It is said that there (and young and battle
are two
professions placed on a pedestal tested practitioners as well), it aims to this
nip
by manyFilipinos as noble: legal and medical. In a way, the two deficiency
in the bud
through the following:
are superficially distinct but
fundamentally similar. The difference
between life and death may lie in the hands of doctors and 1. By aligning the content with the
requirements of
lawyers. the
Life does not always mean physical life, for it
may refer to its quality,
Legal Education Board (LEB). Section 58 of LEB
to living with dignity, and to
living meaningfully. To sustain life, Memorandum Order No. 1 (s. 2011) describes the course
doctors use medicine or surgery. That is and enumerates the minimum
why patients are careful in "An introduction of legal
topics it should discuss
writing techniques; it involves
applied legal bibliography, case digesting and
Compared to other identified predictors (e.g., student learning
strategies, analysis, legal reasoning, and preparation reporting
of legal
curriculum, institutional responses) which have weak opinions or memoranda.
examination achievement (see Madelene Sta. positive correlations with Dar
Maria,
Cruz, Louie Montemar, Charisse Yap-Tan & Justin
Marshall Valencia, Christopher 2.
Sucgang, A baseline study o By anticipating the proposed revisions in the
Philippine legal education [2010] [unpublished
Coordination Office, De La Salle Manuscript, University Researen curriculum. The LEB, through the Curriculum model
University]). Revision
Arturo Brion, SC justice wants Committee, is expected to
promulgate a
GMA News Online, 16 June
Bar passing rates of law school made
puDi curriculum for the basic law degree. This revised model
2016, available book, through
at
https://www.gmanetwork.com/n the content, structure and
news/nation/570224/sc-justice-wants-bar-passing-rates-of-law-schools-made-pu
story/ accessed on 29
December
Office of the Bar
2020. almost all the proposed presentation, incorporates
changes.
Confidant,Bar Bulletin No. 4
and Rules of Con duct 3.
to the 2019 Bar
Examinations), 30 July 2019, available (Guide By discussing the covered
and methodically. This book topics thoughtfully
bh/
files/bar-2019/bulletin-06.pdf
Michael
accessed on 29
at
https://sc.judiciary.govP
December 2020. intends to approach the
Philstar.com,
Punongbayan, Bad grammar
hampering Ombudsman,
foregoing topics systematically and seamlessly,
20 July 2013, tble r n
available at
g at
cases at
Cases
Ombuds mind the usual taking in
background of and challenges encountered
headlines/2013/07/20/991171/bad-grammar-hampering-cases-ombudsman. https://www.philstar.com
 APPROACH To
M U L T I D I S C I P L I N A R Y

A LEGAL WRITING

bar
law
students, a s
well a s inees and
examino.

by first year
practitioners.

even
freshly minted
topics intimately
rol..

additional lated
4. By incuding Such as 1Ssue spotting and
to Legal Writing. Topics
in English writing, ef
nglish writing, effecti d
problems
avoiding plagiarism
common

analysis,
prompts, and
to en
written
response to thesis writing
are incorporated
ensure
application to of the course.
presentation
comprehensive
examples. Analysi
using carefully curated Analysis
5.
5. By Court c a s e s and other lerol
and critique of Supreme
documents are essential
aspects of every topic. Throu
blending of conceptual and practica]
these, there is proper
discussions.
exercises into all topics .
6 By incorporating practice
function not only as a textb0ok
This material intends to
we added practical
but also as a workbook. To this end,
exercises that you can immediately use to test your

understanding of our discussion.

7. By approaching Legal Writing from a multidisci-
plinary perspective and diverse background. We
are all educators and are fond of research work. Two of
us are law instructors and licensed professional teachers.
One has a psychological background and has earned his
Master of Laws from the United States, the other has a
Doctorate in Applied Linguistics and became a Foreign
Language Teaching Assistant in the United States, and
the other, bridging these two disciplines, obtained her
Master of Arts in Teaching English Language and is a
lifelong student of law. Hence, we present Legal Writing
not only from a purely legal perspective but also
the lens of throug
English studies and Applied Linguistics, or
which this course is
merely a subset.
Ludwig
said that "theWittgenstein,
the great
limits of my philosopher of language, On
Indeed, our prowess, our language are the limits of my worlu
education and the effectiveness, and our success in lega
profession
proficiency in the English are, to a great extent, functions or ou
through this book, we can language
applied to law. We hope thae
plaguing law students and help address this perennial
bar examination proble"
lawyers. takers, and eve
 Fundamentals of Legal Writing

Law school is a marketplace.' However, the

goods subjects
of exchange, usually not material but intangible, are
as
opinions, claims, and arguments. As law school will always involve
expressed
iceas, words will definitely matter. In the previous chapter, you
learned about grammar and sentence construction. But strictly
following all grammatical rules and knowing how to write good
sentences will not suffice. While we live in a Twitter-crazy, sound
bite-frenzy, shorter sentences-loving world, ideas, especially legal
ideas, require further elaboration, which a single sentence alone
cannot deliver. The legal universe most of the time cannot be
simpliied as if one is marking a point on a line. It has general rules
and exceptions and nuances. As such, the legal universe appears to
be the line itself, from the various points constituting it people can
draw their arguments. That is why, we also discussed the basics of
developing paragraphs toward the end of the previous chapter.
In this chapter, we will discuss how the delivery of legal ideas,
particularly in legal writing, relies heavily on the role of organization
and some standard principles. Legal analytical thinking requires
organization skills in writing and constructing arguments, where
Words, phrases, sentence structures are properly arranged to achieve

1Ogic, coherence, readability, and impact. The former is discussed in

the first half of this chapter, while the latter is presented in the
second half

A. Organization in Legal Writing

Proficient writing coupled with organization of ideas

proper
Separate great writers from bad writers. n the legal realm,
Organization of ideas is an essential writing skill used to draft
to negotiate terms and conditions.
d l n g s , to persuade others, or

Conquer Law School,

49 (2017).
m Lopez, The Study of Law: How to

8T
 APPROACH TO
82 A
MULTIDISCIPLINARY
LEGAL WRITING
IV-Fundamentals of Legal Writing 83

to develop coherent s t .
Oftentimes. lack of focus or failure Duaofs of cohesion can be seen in the smooth flow of sentences
or themes is the most troubling problem that readers en re connectionof
o the ideas. In order to achieveit, several studies
the
Thus, the arrangement of ideas, details, descriptions, inciden.e
nts
and

whic were proven effective, namely:

evidence in a perceptible order is likewise
essential in legal i and cited
techniques

iting the use of pronouns to refrain from the use of specific

1. Elements of Good Organization words repeatedly,

Elements of good organization include being logical the use ofAransitional devices to connect sentences with
sequentiawhile providing good division of the topics to be discus linked ideas, and
Beinglogical/means that information is presented in a pattern the use of keywords in tying up the idea of the entire
carefully arranged ideas, with the layout of content addressin one paragraph.
point at a time. On the
other hand, being/sequentia/allows readan
to make sense of how each event unfolds. In order to
ensure
ers
To illustrate, let us readlanalyze an example of bad
organization, use the following questions as guide: ong organization:

Are the ideas arranged in a logical order? John and Jane were a married couple. John had an

Does it have adulterous relation with Martha. Jane caught John and
o an identifiable introduction, body, and Martha in fagrante delicto, Jane shot John nearly killing
conclusion? him out of extreme jealousy. John after four years decided
Does it provide to file an action for legal separation against Jane because
a
strong thesis statement with factual
support? Jane attempted to kill him. Mutual guilt of the parties
made the judge dismiss the case. The validity and sanctity
Is it organized around a central theme? of marriage are protected by the Philippine Constitution.
Did it contain the elements of The marriage is an inviolable social institution and the
persuasion? marriage is protected by the court.
Does it follow a
certain kind_ofpattern just like a
chronology, cause and effect, or point-by-point analysis? In the example above, bad organization in legal writing
appears in the repetition of nouns used in the sentence, the lack of
Unity, coherence, and çohesio are also some featureso
organization in writing. In a/unified text, all the supporting transitional devices to link it, and the keywords that can be used to
are
relevant to the main idea., Interrelated concepts of 1deas make the idea of the paragraph concise yet complete. Below is our
and
cohesion present when/sentences are linked/
are coherence proposed improvement in the organization of sentences:

well-defended, and the points are properly arranged. arguments

While they a John, a married man, had an adulterous relation with
interrelated, cohesion and coherence are
distinct from each otn Martha. In one occasion, Jane caught the two in flagrante
Coherence pecurs when the ideas delicto. Armed with a gun, Jane shot John in a fit of
or idea level. Proofs of coherence are conécted at the'concep extreme jealousy, nearly killing him. Four years after the
arguments. On the other hand, include organized points andSi
at the sentential level. fcohesion is the connection 0t 1u
incident, John filed an action for legal separation against
Jane on the ground that she attempted to kill him. The
judge dismissed the action on the ground of mutual
guilt of thee parties. This decision is anchored on the fact
Laura
Webb, Why Legal Writers that the Philippine Constitution protects marriage as
LeGAL EDUCATION 315 Should Think Like Teachers, 67
(2017). JoU
Purdue Online at http8://owl.purdue.edu/owl/graduate_writing/thes
available Writing Lab,
and Flouw, Thesis and zation
Dissertation, Paragraph Org
nd See Alief
Noor Farida Rosyidi, Students' Writing Quality: Its Coherence and
dissertation/paragraph_organization_flow.html accessed on 15 December z0
Cohes
oLOn, 14 JoURNAL OF LANGUAGE AND LrrERATURE (2019).
 APPROACH TO IV- Fundamentals of Legal
A
MULTIDISCIPLINARY

LEGAL WRITING
Writing asur tve CIS3"
/faftmn
the court should
social
i n s t i t u t i o n . Thus, Using Claiming that his lewd acts
an
inviolable
and sanctity of
marriage. analogy exempting perpetrators fromare not punishable is like
uphold the validity criminal liability.
General Concept
in Outlining The hook sentence is
2.
you should organize atement, which links usually followed by
writing approach, the former to transitional a
the
To achieve a
methodical

constructing an outline.
Outlines ppoóvidethe skeletal hackground ontopic, which later on is thesis. This provides
the
our ideas by guides in detailing logical
effective ideas in the body using transitional supported by subordinate
foundation. They
also s e r v e as
specific.statements devices.
ofideas-advancing from generalto The The absence of a thesis
development conclusion_or recommendation.
the train of thought of the
statement makes it
then eventualy ending in a outlines, where words writer since the difficult to follow
following are the types ot
outline: (a) topic
sentence outlines, composed of
nicsine. Unfortunately, most students sense of direction
is
and phrases a r e used as entries; (b)
where paragraphs
hat a thesis really is-treating it have a
misinterpretation of
paragraph outlines, more of a
complete sentences; and (c) outline usually
of particular atatement works as an
interpretation of any
topic sentence. A
thesis)
are used as entries. While the use a

outlines are highly preferable

e1le which is the central idea of the question, subject, or
preference, sentence
topic sentence states the main idea of essay. On the other
depends on your
the hand, a
in most cases.
that
naragraphs rely on the points raised from paragraph where the
the thesis
In preparing for the outline, begin
answering questions Tn some instances, statements.
statement) in the
a
thesis statement is also
will lead to a strong thesis statement. A(thesis summary of the issues but it
actually dissects misinterpreted asa
makes thepurpose/of your writing crear tothe
readers. speciic manner. issues in the a very
introduction reader know what
your
and lets
ltstatg[ what your argument is throughout that entire éssay. It Below is a sample of a regular
you are going to discuss
or prove sentence outline by a law
which makes an asáprtive claim student
ISComposed of a hook sentence,
to the thesis statement
and shows the I. Introduction
about a topic. It connects
shows varied ways to introduce a
A.
importance of the topic.5 The table Extrajudicial killings in the
when the President Philippines have become
thesis statement using a hook sentence.
began advocating his fight on rampant
the war
against drugs. This is the killing of
authorities without the sanction persons by government
Using a of sale from a of any judicial
What is the difference of a contract or legal process. proceedings
rhetorical contract to sell?
B.
question Thesis statement:
invoked if the person
Extrajudicial killings in the Philippines
should be prohibited
Using a The Emergency Rule cannot be and punishable for
being violative
which he of the Constitutional
who is invoking it found himself in danger right
to due process of law and equal
startlin himself ereated through his own negligence." protection of the laws.
statement
1.
Using Almost two-thirds of American adults at
some point in
Extrajudicial killings are violative of the Constitutional
their life lived in a home with at least one gun." right to due process of law.
statisties
2.
Extrajudicial killings are violative of the Constitutional
right to equal protection of the law.
Grab Readers
Suzanne Davis, 7 Sensational Essay Hooks That
SucCESs, 8 May 2019, available at https://www
Attention, AcaDEMIc WriTING accessed on 17 Decembe
academicwritingsuccess.com/7-sensational-essay-hooks/

2020. and Experiences d

1990).
Valenzuela v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 83122, (19 October at
httnCes of US Adults, THE Pew RESEARCH CENTER (22 June 2017), available
'Kim Parker, Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Ruth Igielnik, J. Bxter Olipahnta
the Athu
p:l/www.onppewsocialtrends.org/2017/06/22:
unslaccessed 22/americas-complex-relationship-with
Look at 17 December
Anna Brow, America's Relationship with Guns: An In-Depth 2020.
 IV Fundamentals of Legal Writing
APPROACH TO
36
A
MULTDISCIPLINARY

LEGAL WRITING
87

facts, issues, and the ruing. In most cases, additional parts

II. Body Paragraph re included,just like thenature of the case before writing the facts
Extrajudicial killings are violative of the Constitutional,right the doctrineoI
an
the case
usualy written after the ruling
of law.
to due pncess
The Bill of Rights grants the right to due process of la
With tons of cases to be read and
ummarized for the usual
ocitation, writing a case digest is not an
easy task for many
under Art. 111, Sec. 1. clas onts, Thus, mastery of the case digest structure
law b e t t e r could result
2.
Persons who are suspected to be involved in the salle
purchase. or use of illegal drugs are being mercilessly
in a understanding of the legal provisions, principles, and
i n case law.
doctrines applied
killed without judicial trial.

The accused are not able to defend themselves and do Nature of the Case
3 not have the opportunity to present their case through
a.

evidence before the Court who will decide their guilt. This identifies the form of action, the type of
relief sought.
proceeding, or the
4 Public officials aregiven
power
the
beyond their authority
of
to judge for
themselves guilt the accused without b. Facts of the Case
the presence of evidence or going through the proper
legal process. This narrates a quick background of the case. The
dispositive
B. Extrajudicial killings are violative of the Constitutional right| facts and relevant events are the ones included; there is no need for
to equal protection of the laws. a thorough or detailed summary. The skills in
paraphrasing and
1. The Bill of Rights grants the right to equal protection of
summarizing are needed to describe clearly the nature of the issue
the laws under Art. III, Sec. 1.
| that was brought for the court to decide on. Moreover, the
history of the case may also be discussed here.
procedural
Persons who are alleged to have been involved in the
use, purchase, or sale of illegal drugs are accorded C. Issue(s)
the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilIty
beyond reasonable doubt achieved through the due This portion identifies the
process of law. of the court. Most students will
questions presented for the resolution
write this starting with a whether
II. Conclusion or not
(WIN) question, that question answerable with a "yes" or *"no."
A Extrajudicial killings committed by public officials in the
Philippines should be punishable for being violative of the d. Ruling
Constitutional right to due process
of the law. of law and equal protection This summarizes the court's rationale behind its decision.
This portion is difficult to write clearly and properly because the
. The legislative department should
officials who commit pass a bill punishing easoning may be scattered all throughout the case. Moreover, the
extrajudicial killings. pecial application of the law and other justifications of the court are

3.
y anchored on more than one principle, and synthesizing its
application to the
Outlining Redefined in Case issues is quite challenging.
In
legal writing,
Digests
as in case outlining
briefs where the may also exist in a different form,
most
carefully ordered and important
summarized. Most details in a case a re

digests, outlining in this

structure is famously known three
se
as
c
usually divided into
 IV- Fundamentals of Legal
88 A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO Writing 89
LEGAL WRITING

Below is an example of how outlining is applied in case brief

fs
recognize-t
Saothanit-is-to.define. To begin with, legal writing should
n,
and clear.
direct, Jsing familiar and concrete
and words,
empBoying these words in a common speech are means
bepl to
US u. Siy Cong Bieng et al.
(30 Phil. 577)
ion and ambiguity. Concrete examples
avoid confus

abstractions withsimple, clear, and irect words.

can illustrate
Facts: Co Kong, while in charge of appellant's store and acting as
his agent and employee, sold, in the ordinary course of business, coffea
which had been adulterated by the admixture ot peanuts and other 1. Clarity
extraneous substances. emphasiz
Clarity implies a
specific message or goal at a
Issue: Whether or not a conviction under the Pure Food and Druao wather than try1ng to achieve too much at once. The purposes
,
Act (No. 1655) of the Philippine Commission can be sustained where it i t y are making understanding easier, giving a complete and
appears that the sale of adulterated food products was made without a r thought by means of ideas that enhance the meaning of the
gulty knowledge of the fact of adulteration? message, and using exact, appropria and concrete words.
Legal
writing
characterized by clarity will ensure that people will not
Ruling: Yes.
read between the lines and make assumptions on their own just to
While it is true that as a rule and on principles of abstract justice, written.
understand what
was
men are not and should not be held criminally responsible for the acts
committed by them without guilty knowledge and criminalor at least evil The following are the suggested steps in order to achieve clarity
intent. the courts have always recognized the power of the legislature, on
in writing:
grounds of public policy and compelled by necessity, "the greater master
of things." to forbid in a limited class of cases that doing of certain acts, omit unnecessary words;
and to make their commission criminal without regard to the intent of
avoid the use of jargons;
the doer.
It is notorious that the adulteration of food products has grown make the proper word choice;
so enormous as to menace the
to proportions health and safety of the
people. Ingenuity keeps pace with greed, and the careless and heedless practice the use of active yoice; and
consumers are exposed to increasing perils. To redress such evils is a usestrong, precise verbs.
plain duty but a diffcult task. Experience has taught the lesson that |
repressive measures which depend for their efficiency upon proof of the In law school, there is no need for highfalutin words.
dealer's knowledge or of his intent to deceive and defraud are of little use Occasionally, however, there may be a need to use legal jargons Or
in
and rarely accomplish their purposes. Such an emergency may justity egaleseNevertheless, the goal is always to deliver messages
legislation which throws upon the seller the entire responsibility of the Plain, concise, and clear English.
purity and soundness of what he sells and compels him to know (People
. Kibler, 106 N. Y., 321, cited in the case of US u. Go Chico, 14 Phil. 133).
a. Omit Unnecessary Words
Example 1: Omit words that mean the same.
B. Principles of Legal Writing
This bill seeks to provide stronger better quarantine
The challenge in legal writing or
lies in many factors like word protocols should there be another pandemic
choice, proper tense, concrete illustrations, among others to produce In
health emergency to
affect the Philippines.
strong and effective statements. Thus, quality in writing is easie public this legislation to protect
ght of the importance of eprtemte
ES Citizens from the spread of contagiots

LAw Rev. 599

LUS B. ReYEs. THe Revised PENAL CoDE: 134 UNTv. PA.
CRIMINAL Law BooK ONB ARTICu hard Hyland, A Defense of Legal Writing,
1-113, 53-54 (2017). (1986).
 90 A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO IV-Fundamentals of Legal Writing
LEGAL WRITING 91

infectious diseases,immediate reviewed passage of i d Using Archaic Jargons That

b. Are Often
this bill is earnestly sought. This bill is mainly a Employed in Court Decisions or Rulings
sotely based on Senate Bill No. 1573 which mandated
the Department of
ofco
technical
terms like a legal
jargon is meant to
Health to give out necessary encapsulate the entire idea in justa number of words. On one hand.
essentiameasures in improving the government
response to any public health emergency. legal jargons highly
is ged to "nail" answers in the
using
Kam questions. On the other hand, archaie jargons lifted from
Example 2: Reword but retain the meaning of the statement
ment. jurisprud are stronglydiscouraged. Not only are these wordings
more appro)
opriate to be used by the higher court but also the contextt
Original: Even assuming that the fog caused injury ofarchaic wordings is "frowned:at' in present times. This is because
toX, Y had no duty to prevent that injury because this archaic jargon negatesthe intention of making the writing more
it was idiosyncratic and Y could not have been harder for the readers to
akable"; making it connect with the
expected to foresee such injury. to a note scholar in legal
text. Thus, according writing, archaic
Improved: Assuming the fog caused an injury to X, jargons
should be avoided because it is annoying." Such formalisms
Yis not liable because it was a fortuitous event. are
unnecessary
and wordy.

Example 3: Combination of both Here is a list of some archaic jargons law students should avoid:

Original: The Court examined a number of cases Above-mentioned Hereby Therewith

and stated that there appeared to be only a limited
number of instances in which there would exist a torementioned Heretofore Whereat
duty to disclose the illegal conduct of persons who, Herewith Wherein
Foregoing
through political campaigns, seek election to a public
office. Henceforth Thereafter Whereof

Improved: The court examined a number of cases Hereafter Thereof Whatsoever

and stated that there were instances that there is a
duty to disclose illegal conduct of politicalcandidates. Another scholar gave more examples and suggested their plain
Exercise: Omit unnecessary words in the paragraph. English counterparts:2
Make the sentences concise to achieve clarity.
Legalism Plain English
Under the law, the conjugal spousal partnership shall be liable for all As to about, of, by, for, in
debts and obligations contracted during the marriage by the intended
and designated administrator-spouse for the useful benefit of the Bring an action against sue
conjugal spousal partnership of gains, or by both the husband and
wite,
orby any of the husband and wife with the consent Herein in this agreement
of the other husband
and wife.10
In the event that if

Thereafter later

(2006).
LeGALESE, 65-69
10FAMILY CoDE, art. 121. SEPH KIMBLE,.LIFTING THE FoG OF

Garner, supra note 2

 92
A
MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO
LEGAL WRITING IV-Fundamentals of Legal Writing
Meanwhile,
necessary
there are
legal
Hence, you mayjargons
and
useful. that are
in your statements. retaim the use of undoubtedly
these
ince any
judgment for support 1s
always subject to
jargons modification.18

Examples: fse: Omit the archaic

jargons found
(1)
If the final
h . Make the sentences concise
paragraph. Mai to achieve
in the

judgment of annulment or clarity.

declaration of absolute nullity of
in the civil
registry, the subsequent marriage
is not
recorded The
marriedcouple May and Juan
ond to dissolve their conjugalwho
had tied the
knot decided to
the former marriage of either of partnership in a
Rar this reason, they made a decision to execute a voluntary
public means.
spouses shall be null and void3
(2) A compromise agreement is herefore they declared in tne agreement that they as a couple had no
binding even if not submitted forvalid, dohts and that each
one
or them would thereatter be free to acauire or
and conclusive, enoSe of any property witn independent means from
or even if judicial
executed without the assistance approval4 this declaration, they made a decision to live apart.
the other. After
of labor
officials.1
(3) The burden of proof belongs to the C. Use the Proper Word Choice
asserting the claim. plaintiff
Ensure that each word in
sentence should function to
a
add,
Related to legal jargons describe, or modify the word before and after it. In effect, the main
Latin maxims These are
are
established universal principles of
law and moral philosophy. message is highlighted by avoiding theuse of excessiveandneedless
Oftentimes, the maxims are used
to gapture theintended meaning words.
of the legal
statement. Organizing your thoughts right before you scribble something
will help you eliminate the tendency of scribbling so many down
Examples: words with an unknowing direction. Think of gommunicating
the
(1) What the law prohibits is a judgment based main idea first then provide for substantial and supporting
exclusively or mainly on a respondent's confession. If a statements.
confession defeats the action ipso facto, any The following expressions are some words that are lengthy and
who opposes the
respondent should be made more specific:
operation will immediately confess
judgment, purposely to prevent it.1
(2) Abandonment per se does not result in the Wordy Specific
Undoubtedly; no doubt;
termination of parental authority; the consent of such There is no doubt that
doubtless
parent is still necessary in adoption proceedings."
The question as to whether Whether; the question whether
(3) The provision for a common fund for the benefit
of the child cannot be considered final and res 1s essential that it must be shown It is essential to show
judicata
n a manner that constitutes fraud in a fraudulent
manner

ordinarily does not happen

a0es not happen in an ordinary way
13FAMILY CoDE, art. 53. wh to modifications
nere are lots of modifications Subject
Olaybar u. National Labor Relations Commission, G.R. No. 108713 (28
October 1994). nterest that is dictated by law legal interest

15Eurotech Hair Syotems Inc. u. Go, G.R. No. 160913 (81 August 2006).
1De Ocampo u. Florenciano, G.R. No. L-13653 (23 February 1960).
"Cang u. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 105308 (25 September 1998).
18La
Lam u. Chua, G.R. No. 131286 (18 March 2004).
 IV Fundamentals of Legal Writing 95
MULTIDISCIPLINARY
APPROACH TO
A
94 LEGAL WRITING

Exercise: Use the proper

the parag,
word chojeé in the paragraph,
Example
concise to
achieve clarity. orders may still be modified by the
Make the sentences Interlocutory
courts. passive)

The Supreme Court should make an adjudication on the rights of can modify its interlocutory orders. (active)
Japanese law This
accordance with the Courts
succession to John's estate in orceful
considered as a Chinese citizen in China
because although he w a s
for a long time in T Advantages of Using the Active Voice Cneise
a Japanese under the
laws of Japan, he stayed dcimit
rather than in China. This solution that the court should at i.
than the passive voice since it contains clear and
with the theory of effective nationality soluti TIse the active
to be able to conform This results in an easy flow of reading. Active voice
ordained by the Hague Convention. definite doers. semantic loads with just a number of words that create
carries
also statement. The following examples show how
eater impact in any
strong, direct, and clear tone.
Prefer the Active Voice Than the Passive Voice voice can help achieve a
d. active
shall require the payment
"Active voice means that a sentence has a subject that acte The local civil registrar
law o r regulations before the
has a Subject or doer that performs of fees prescribed by
upon its verb."3 The sentence
issuance of the marriage license,21
the action. Meanwhile, intheusing thepassive voice, the subject is the
subject becomes "acted upon." affirmed the decision of the
recipient of the action;20 The Court of Appeals
trial court.
Examples: Action
The active voice is more forceful and concise.
The crime was witnessed by Mary Jane. (passive)
The reason he left college was that his health was

Mary Jane witnessed the crime. (active)

impaired. (passive)
Failing health compelled him to leave college.
Examples: Description
The witness was overcome by fear when she saw the
(active)
perpetrator of the crime. (passive) o The active voice is more definite.

The witness was afraid upon seeing the perpetrator The goodness of the judge was appreciated. passive)
of the crime. (active) of the
The victim's family appreciated the goodness
In order to develop the habit of using the active voice, you should judge. (active)
focus the actor, the action, and the object of the action. State first
on
Voice
the then ii. Disadvantages of Using the Passive
actor
want to
the action using the word that best expresses what
say. Thereafter, state the object to whom the action bold, and less concise.
you 1s
Passive voices tend to be less direct, less
directed. It is best to ask yourself this
the voice of the sentence: Who is
guide question to determ Using this voice has these three disadvantages:
doing what and to uwhom? time to understand the
Using the passive takes
more

entire idea.
his
speedy disposition of
case
A person's right in the
the 1987
guaranteed under Section 16, Article III of
Catherine Traffis, Active 1s
vs. Passive Voice, 27 January 2020, Constitution.
avallao
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/active-vs-passive-voice/-accessed
2020. on T3 ecember
20]d. FAMILY CoDE, art. 29.
 96 AMULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO IV- Fundamentals of Legal Writing
97
LEGAL WRITING

O In passives, the agent is usually omitted, so it will srould disagree and argue in
court. It must be identified
an unclear or
Cre
ambiguous idea on who is responsiblecreate by the students betore any discussion could follow.
The applicable or relevant law or rule in simple terms.
It has been held that a
presumption may stand
lieu of evidence and support a finding or : including the general rule and its exceptions shall be
n
decision. nointed out in the second phase of the discussion. It is
The absolute nullity of a previous followed by the application ot the facts to the elements
invoked for purposes of remarriage
marriage may ho of the applicable law. This is expressed by the ability to
on the basis
final judgment declaring such previous marriagesolely
void.
of a formulate arguments tor the plaintift and the defendant
Passives tend make writing boring and
to using key facts to determine if they fit the elements to the
pompous. relevant law. A prediction is to be made in the final stage
The arrest cannot be assailed
by the defendant as to how each issue was decided in the ruling.
during the appeal. Claims that he was denied due
since he was arrested without any warrant process Use passive/when you arE unsure who or to whom to put
of arrest
that he was not afforded a and
preliminary investigation is the biame.
untenable.
The evidence was destroyed during the course of the
iii.
Advantages of Using the Passive Voice trial.
You may have noticed that Presentation of the deposition as evidence was done
passives are "constants" in legal
textbooks. Opting to use the passive is not a without the consent of the family.
discarded idea but
rather a choice that law
students should use in moderation due to The goods were not delivered safely to their r pient
a number of advantages depending on prompting the latter to file a suit against said parties.
your purpose in writing"
These are the following:
O When the object is the one to be given more stress and Exercise: Read the following sentences.
and
Applying the
emphasis rather than the agent. This happens in legal
discussion on the advantages of both passive active
Writing when discussing the evidence in a case which is voices, decide whether there is a need to retain the sentence
or to change from passive to active or vice versa.
supplementary to the crime committed.
Substantial gaps in the chain of custody of the seized . The promissory note signed by D in favor of C stipulates that he
drugs were raised as questions of doubt regarding the would pay the obligation before the date of maturity. Change
authenticity of evidence was presented in court. 2. A loan of P50,000 was obtained by D from R bank. Chnge
The right to redeem must be embedded in contract
a 3. Payments from C have been received by S. Chang
of sale at its
perfection.
*The
testimony of the sole witness was recognized by the court.
Passives help in building coherence within a
When an old information is paragrapn. 5. ns
property received by the creditor in substitute
of the

of the
already given at the beginning amount due.
was

sentence, using the same word again can be avoided &nge

by using the passive verb. 8. in any ortaibusiness
een Corporation is prohibited from engaging of five (6) years.
An issue is defined as a OCeupation whatever in the Philippines for a period
point of legitimate question
or a matter over which two that principle under which
parties and their lawyers ublic policy has been defined as being restricted for the good of the
reedom of contract or private dealing is

KITTY LoCKER AND SrePHeN KYo

community.
CRITICAL SkiLLs 271-281 (6TH ED., KaczMAREK, BUsINESS COMMUNICATION BUILDI
2014).
 98 A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO IV Fundamentals of Legal Writing
LEGAL WRITING 99

8. Obligations created by contract have the force of law diplomats

etween the Biden's Biden's diplomats tried to
contracting parties.
P r e s i d e n t

normalization of
the
worked with
relations
for
China.
normalize relations with China.
9. Judge V. was charged with gross ignorance of the law for ho
prepared and ratified a document extrajudicially liquidatinas
conjugal partnership of the complainant and his wife. the
T t h e better version or the n r s t pair of sentences, a specific

10. There was no claim or pretense that anything was said by eitL replaces the adverb and nonspecihc verb of the poor versioD.
party about terminating or rescinding the contract. er
t only does the second version enminate one word, it sounds/more
Inthe second pair.of sentences, the
direct
t
and powerful. poor version
s the noun perform the action, although the action is the function
e. Use Strong, Precise Verbs
of a verb.
This is best carried out by avoiding nominalizations and More suggestions to improve your writing are presented below:
minimizing the use of linking verbs.
Useless-ion Wordds Better Wording
Avoiding Nominalization in Legal Writing
Nominalization is the grammarian's way of saying that you Are in mitigation of Mitigate
took a perfectly good verb, turned it into a noun, and then you had Conduct an examination Examine
to
add helping verbs to get the same meaning across. This
frequently Make an accommodation Accommodate
appears in writing, which includes a tendency to use nouns,
adjectives, adverbs, and clauses to do the work of verbs. Make a provision for Provide for
Using this in writing looks tiring to the writer and redundant Describe
Provide a description of
to the reader. It also contributes to the
"stuffy" type of legal writing.
The long way of nominalization uses weak verbs and abstract nouns Take into consideration Consider
ending i-ion) The short way uses a single direct verb that makes
your writing much less abstract. Therefore, it becomes much easier Nonetheless, there are two exceptions where nominalization
for your readers to visualize what
you are talking about. may be appropriate, namely:
Consider the following examples: When referring -ion words as a procedure (e.g.,
mediation,

negotiation, reconciliation)
Poor
Betrer
Before attendance on the
day otBefore attendance on Examples:
the arraignment, the defendant's the day ol accordance
The dismissal of the case is not in
counsel was given confirmation the arraignment, the defendant's
of authority to counsel confirmed authority to with the law.
enter into a
with the
settlement agreement. enter intoa settlement agreement.
There is substantial compliance

The defendant made a referral requirements of the law.

will now
to John Doe, a financial
so that he
planner,
could provide my
The defendant referred my client
to John Doe, a financial
Reconciliation between the spouses
revival of their previous
client with advice in planner,
so that he could advise my client
esult in an automatic or instant

investments. making regime.

about investing. transformation,
(e.g.,
used as general explanations
when
legalization)
 100 A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO IV-Fundamentals of Legal Writing
LEGAL WRITING
101
Examples:
In
E x e r c i s e :
Minimize
be-verbs and linking verbs by using
estoppel by silence, there must be fraudulen verbs that are able for each sentence.
representation or wrongful concealment of fa s t r o n g

known to the party estopped. Mario, a Afteen-year-old, 1s exempted by the court from iminal
because he acted
without disce
The transformation of the property was done with liability
consent from the owner.
Campos
Darticipation in the assault and he is a co-principal in
has p a r
2. the crime committed.

Exercise: Omit the nominalizations

following sentences. found in is the one
who made the sale and he is sayingthatit
the Teo
and hospital expenses of his wife
to pay for the medical
Ta secure a debt, Torre was adIe to execute a mortgage on a parcel of
1. The extinguishment of the
obligation
affects both the vendor and the vendee since
due to
the loss of the
thin registered land: favor of Victorio.
their obligations aa
reciprocal. The creditors are done in listing their names in the petition.
2. Mary made an attachment to the document as
requirements. part of the
2. Conciseness
3. It was agreed that the resolution of the
discretion of the court.
partition is left to the Concise writing requires specific words, where each word in
functions to add, descr1be, or modify the word before
a sentence
Before the expiration of the contract, the parties should return what and after it. Being concise, therefore, results in communicating
was due.
what you want to convey in least possible words. In effect, the main
. There was direct confrontation done by the message is highlighted by avoiding
the use of excessive and needless
owners to the people in
occupation of their property. words. This type of communicative strategy will make writing more
appealing and comprehensible while decreasing the redundancy of
ii. the words. Below are some examples:
Minimizing the Use of Linking Verbs
A case was filed by Bryan in order to protect his
Be-verbs naturally lack force in making a strong statement. f
interests in the land. (wordy)
you overindulge in the use of linking verbs, writing becomes inert,
fat ane duttA technique to minimize the use of linking verbs is to Bryan filed a case to protect his interests in the land.
/úse action verbs that are commonly used in law. (concise)
Consider the examples below: Glue Words
a. Working Words Versus
In order to have a goad sentence construction, you must
Weak S Better aiscern between two kinds of words: the working/words and the giue

In the complaint, there is a claim The plaintiff claimed in the Words. Working words carry the meaning of the sentence; these
by the plaintiff that she was complaint that the defendant and adverbs
are cOmposed of nouns, verbs, descriptiveádjeçtives,
seduced by the defendant before seduced and promised to marry the words togetner
the latter gave promises to her.
anner.23 Glue words are the ones hólding
marry sentence, tnese
at
her. orma proper, grammatical adjectives,
demonstrative
pOSltlons, conjunctions, articles,
Apardon was given by the offended The offended party
party to the accused before the
pardoned u1s
accused before criminal action
institution of the criminal action. instituted. ENGLISH 7-11 (5H ED., 2005).
WRITE IN PLAIN
23RICHARD WYDICK, How To
 V Fundamentals of Legal Writing
102 A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH T0
LEGAL WRITING 103

distributive adjectives, adverbs of degree, time, location, affirmatio sentence

containstwenty-four (24) words but
ion, "his the meaning while
This
the remaining (13) are only eleven
and negation. glue words. .Let
balance. In this sentence, we
eliminated prep
There should be more working words than
glue wordst ive form for the subject. Then, applying the
maintain substantial context of thesentence. In instances when thi and made
we omit "for the reason
is not possible, working words should at least be equal to glue worde
principle o f concis

bur (4) glue words.

The of. ending is
to balance the sentence out.
ords 10working w o r d s

With more working words, your sentences will have 1ore

The trialjudge's ruling was prejudicial error because
cross-examination on vital issues,
substance and will enable your readers to easily grasp your meaning it cut off
How does this work? Consider this example:
b. Keep It Short and Simple (K.I.S.S)
It is submitted that the petition may be granted provided Phrasing your sentences includes deciding how to properly
that it is clearly for the best interest of the child. hreak the sentences. Always maintain an average sentence length
Sentence length determines the
20 Words."
In the example, the number of working words is seven (7) while that is, advisably around
readability of a written work. To reiterate, a sentence must contain
the number of glue words is fourteen (14). There are definitely more
more essential or content words rather than connecting or glue
glue words than working words.
words. In most law books, lawyer-writers tend to have this habit of
fusing so many details in one whole, lengthy sentence. The legalese
Working words
disease results in squeezing all the exemptions and qualifications in
submitted best a single sentence. Thus, the usual problems associated with legalese
petition granted clearly interest child
are as folows:

O Sentences are long, sometimes very long because the

Glue words
writer tries to make all relevant points go in one sentence.
t that the may be provided Sentences lack punctuation or use too much punctuations,
that t is which normally do not follow the basic rules of usage.
for the of the
to
There is too much information due to the tendency
To improve this sentence, we can eliminate reread to understand and to catch all points.
unnecessary glue
words with the meaning retained and some words that can structures. As a
result,
equate There are many confusing sentence
to the effect of the eliminated that ruin the
word. Thus: nere are many clauses and different syntax

Organization and flow of thoughts in a paragraph.

Petition may be granted only for the best
reading, break une
interest of the child. Wnat may be the solution for this? Ifyou
are
writing,
made. If you
are
nce
Let us take another example from Professor
down into the number of points
stick to ghe point may
be
sentence
broken

Wydick: per sentence. A lengthy should be punctuated

O at least two or different sentences, which

The rulingby the trial properly. Let us have some examples:
the reason that it cut off
judge was prejudicial error for
to issues that were vital.
cross-examination with respeCu

24 Supra.
Garner, supra note 28.
 104 A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO
LEGAL WRITING
IV
Fundamentals of Legal Writing
105

Poor
Inproved
C o r r e c t n e s s

3.
refers to t h e adherence to grammatical
rules, such
It is submitted that the marriage It is submitted that the Correctness modals, as well as ensuring the same form and
is valid since it was not the fault is valid. The fact
to recover from
that A woge ideas.
of A that she was able to recover as
her illness is able
parallel
for
from her illness given that she is her faut. In order no function
to
already terminally ill who had marriage as a marriageclassify
in the Use P r o p e r Tense

decided to contract marriage when mortis, the law does articu

rieulo a.

the law does not require the party that the Céicking to one tense is n e e d e d
wnen narrating a chronological
party the quire
who is at mixed tense in a paragraph is
who is at the point of death to die of death to die noin some cases,
however,

immediately after the celebration immediately ter

the celebration of the mar aft ant.
evetdable.
In
The caution here is to clearly assign the right tense to
of marriage in order to be classified riage. unavoadescribed or the events narrated; otherwise, there might
t h econtext described

as a marriage in articulo mortis.25 o s s i b i l i t y of

confus and misinterpretation.
be a

When there is a situation that | In the event that us take a look at the dissenting opinion of Justice Alfredo
one Let
one spouse is incapacitated or is incapacitated or unaseto Benjamin S. Caguioa:
otherwise unable to participatee participate in the
in the administration of the of the conjugal administration "Jurisprudence tells u s that
since knowledge refers to a
properties, the
conjugal properties, the other other spouse may assume of a fact andsic], therefore,
mental state of a w a r e n e s s
spouse may assume sole powers of administration. These powers the mind of an accused and
powers courts cannot penetrate
of administration wherein these do not include
powers are limited and do not
he power of
thereafter state its perceptions with certainty, resort
disposition or encumbrance as to other evidence is necessary.
Hence the intent to
include the powers of disposition these must have the
encumbrance which must
authority of possess, being a state
of mind, may be determined on a
or the court or the written document case-to-case basis by taking into consideration the prior
have the authorityy of the court or of the other spouse. In the absence
o r contemporaneous acts of the accused,
as well as the
the written consent of the other of such authority or consent,
spouse and wherein the absence
the surrounding circumstances. Its existence may and
disposition or encumbrance shall
thereof of such authority or be void. usually must be inferred from the attendant events in
consent is proven, the disposition each particular case."28
or encumbrance shall be declared
by the court as void.27 Master the verb tenses by reviewing the dedicate section too
this in the previous chapter.

Exercise: Shorten this paragraph by omitting unnecessary Exercise: Apply correctness by changing the erroneous
words o r changing redundant ideas. tenses found in the paragraph.
pCOVnk
Because AlIDS is very serious and incurable sexually
a
transmissioe absence of direct.evidence to determine who provoking confiiet, the
disease, the spouse may go to court and file for an action for nature of the order
ot the annulmen nas held that it shall be presumed that,, in the insult was
marriage on this ground even if it was stated or not that the person who was deeply offend by the
things, the one
was concealed or not
such la or
who believehe has a right to demand explanation of thepEeato
concealed from the spouse, as long as the disea
not
was present at the time of the marriage and this will deem the marr nsult, one who also strike the first
and the blow wheñ hE WAs
voidable even though the sick satisfied with the explanation offered."
spouse was not aware that he had u
disease at the time of
marriage.
23 Pe 2020) (Dissenting8
U.
Cabading, G.R. No. 236259 (16 September
2Loria Felix, G.R. No. L-9005 (20 June 1958).
v. Caguioa, J).e
2"FAMILY CoDE, art. 124, par. 2. 29TT States u. Laurel, G.R. No. L-7037 (15 March 1912).
 A P N R O A C H

T IV- Fundamentals of Legal Writing

MULTVDISCIrLINARY
A
1 F G A L W R I T I N G

107
106
in Legal Documents
Found Authorization
Use Operative language.

the use of operative

is the Those situations in which a party is
not obliged to do that thing. The modalalowed
isAs
b. t e n s e s

als ha
of or modals
to do
Related to
the prope
use

d o r u m e n t s .
tHelping
B5elow
verds
1s the
discussi.
sion situations: "may is used something
in the but is
l8nguage
found i n legal
when
used in
legalese.
categories
of çonditions
to express a possibility that
following
functions different

The manatrix elow The company

specihc in
something may be done may
ts used
purchase further
i m i t a t i o n s .

of how modals
SIe

authorizations.
and
the
previous
chapter: products.
m
discussed
O D H g a t i o n s ,

modals b. to indicate that one has a The parties to

this
the
contract
varnous

presents
discretion to do that thing assign the
benefits under may
C o n d i t i o n s
contract. this
Example The parties intend that the
Purpose
The consent
of A bank must be
to indicate a wish signature of this
contract may
before the terms of this C signal the
beneficial beginning
done
be
must
obtained of a
When
something
else may
be
agreement may be implemented cooperation between
mutually
tefore
omething them.
done icondition preredent)
may renew be
This agreement d. ta indicate a
party's discretion A may use
ot
one
period of two years to do something the office premises
the
performance
for a further
When
inked to the carried out
to X having
- -

subject
obihgatuonis

af another in this
duties specified in section 9 to e. May notindicates that a X may not
the use the
performanoe
expressions such as
of Y. party does not have
discretion office
context. condition
the
satisfaction

to do something.
premises.
that. on
provided
frequently
subject to
are
that or

Limitations
Obligations While limitations may take a No later than 3
Shall and Must number of forms (e.g., temporal, February 2006
Will and Shall geographical, as to scope of By 3 February 2006
will refers Shall indicates an obligation
to do activities, applications and
..within_days
In the third person,
will go m e a n s
something ("X shall pay the rent"). responsibilities), time limitations
("he not to are perhaps the most
Shall not indicates a duty
to the future

he intends to go) whereas shall shall not pay to encountered of these. frequently
indicates an imperatiye ("he
shall | do something (X
to Y...).
go means that he is obliged
documents
go). Therefore, in legal Must is a good replacement Exercise: Supply the
drafted in the third person for shall when expressing tne
sentence based on its correct modal that will suit each
obligations are often expressed
imperative ("If X becomes a party purpose.
using shall to this agreement, he shall [must| 1. The consent
Y.. "). lt can of RCBC Bank
Shall is frequently overused to immediately pay to transfer be obtained before the share
indicate the future. This should be also be used to indicate a condition proceed.
10r 2. The
avoided. The correct modal is will. precedent ("in order to quality parties intend that this
Deginning of a long and fruitfulagreement.
signal the
this position, Xmust.. .). cooperation between them.
3. The seller
than December deliver the goods to the buyer no later
15, 2020.
It is
contemplated that the parties agree to further
purchases of Product A in the future.
 IV- Fundamentals
APPROACH
To of Legal Writing
MULTIDISCIPLINARY 109
A 1.EGA. WRITING
108

the
d. Avoid Double Negatives
Therefore,

business secret.
constitutes
a
third
parties. Oftentimes, writers use double or multiple
point that they commitnegatives with
information
disclose it to too much emphasis to the
of law, it
.This

that area
distributor
relevant
expertise
in
errors when mixing negatives in one grammatieal
statement. Take a
not have
b. Since the firm does examples below: look at the
have received
handle this case. soon
as we
vendors as
the
ontact
Incorrect
We
the relevant infornmation. be Correct
to be paid The witness can't hardly
of the level
of fees p o s s i b l e that
performance
when she was put on the
speak|
stand.
The witness can hardly
The q u e s t i o n and it is of t h e
remuneration when she
parties was
agreed
between the form part
also
put onthe stand.
related bonuses You cannot not go and file a You should go and
complaint at the police station for file
package. at the
police station
a

for
complaint
physical injury. injury. physical
Avoid Faulty Parallelism

ideas so that a smootH

Use parallel
phrasing
for parallel
principle
of parallel Notably, using negative forms 1s
tax1ng than
will follow. The S i m i l a r c o n t e n t and forms because the meaning gets mixed. A using positive
transition of thoughts of technique you can use is to
that e x p r e s s i o n sf u n c t i o n . This enables the recast this negative statement intO a
construction requires and positive one without
f u n c t i o n should
be similar
in form
meaning.
the meaning. changing
words to form
associate the
r e a d e r to include adding an

Techniques in making
parallel
transtorming
constructions

the words into Confusing Direct

before the words, No
o r preposition expressions such more than one
lawyer may be
articie
function, and usingcorrelative
but also, either, or. allowed to enter the Only one lawyer may be allowed to
the same torm and but, not only,
or, judge's office enter at a given time.
others, both, and, nor, at a given time.
as, among
third.
frst, second, and A credit cooperative member
incorrect structure of mixed who
The examples
below show the
modifier (adverb has no fewer than 30 A credit cooperative member who
consistent double years of | has at least 30
It is later cured by years of credited
a
modifers. credited service but has not
yet service under the age of 60
+adjective). attained the age of 60 years old years
and is not | old may voluntarily retire even if
eligible for retirement he is not yet
eligible for retirement.
Correc may not voluntarily retire
Incorrec early | To do this, he must file a
to
without filing a written application with the board. written
first
The incapacity must be proven application with the board.
The incapacity must be proven to| existent, medically
that time, proven be undeniably
have eisted at and permanently incurable.
by medicine, and permanently | proven

incurable. Exercise: Get rid of the double

sentences to come negatives found in these
there an enumeration Not only were the limitations up with positive statements.
Not only was
also several
of limitations, there were several enumerated, but
restrictions imposed. restrictions were imposed. nere is no issue of
material fact that Jane cannot establish that Mark
owed her a
duty to prevent the injury she claims to have suffered.
The child is lacking in
parental The child is lacking in pare e insurance plan shall not be treated as one not satisfying the
care, also lacks sufficient food
as nutrition, and also lacks the
care, in sufficient nutrition, and rements solely because the illegitimate child is not entitled to
| basic education. receive any.
needed basic education.
 IV- Fundamentals
APPROACH
TO of Legal Writing 111
MULTIDiscrLiNARY
A LEGAL WRITING

110
at the victim and Whilcon before he shot
the victim. His
act was deliberate and intentional.31
of complex
a lot
Coherence by
4. contronted

idea flows How loose sentences are constructed

discourse.
readers
are
cohesion, he usually appears in this
In legal
With to quickly manner. As in the example above, an unskilled writer
arguments.
enablhng readers
lengthy next, sentence,
a lot of compound
may produce
1ssues
and
s e n t e n c e
to the
between
each

become structuresutilizing connectives like "and" or

from one connection
together, or but" but using less frequentiy
smoothiy
understand
and grasp
the
paragraphs,
when
inked

derive from the which, when, and where.

relauve pronouns, such as who.
and that readers
Clauses,
s e n t e n o e s ,

knowledge read more and to

the to
This supports

them to
be
motivated

appreciation Apart from its triteness, the paragraph above is poor

cohesive.

enabling resulting
n a deeper
of the sentence structure. If the writer inds that he because
prior
sentence

the pages; has written a

going
through series of sentences of the type described, he should
continue

the unity of recast enough

work. are
of the words to remove the monotony,
of the
wTitten
in legal writing replac1ng them by simple
the role of coherence a n d the umber of supportive sentences, by sentences of two clauses joined by a
neriodic sentences of two clauses, by sentences, loosesemicolon,
Central to
by
the
relevance ofdescription,
principles.
the sentences.
or
of three clauses-whichever best represent the real relationsperiodic,
that exist among Cumulative of the
chains Loose or thought. Below is our suggested improvement:
Succession
of
Avoid the
Accident and negligence are
intrinsically
cannot exist with the other.2 The formercontradictory;
Sentences cohesion is t h e succession
in one
must be avo1ded as a cumulative is a fortuitive
One thing thatA loose
known
sentence,
also
and is followed by
[sic] circumstance, event, or happening while the latter is
clause
of loose sentences. main the failure to observe, for the
which begins with
a
clause. These
phrases protection of the interest
sentence, is that the main of another person, that degree of
clauses that
modify clause. Although care, precaution, and
phrases and or independent
vigilance which the circumstance justly demand and
on the main or
sentences, a
add
information
for loose o r
cumulative
without which such other person suffers
positive praises
a r e given
the w r i t t e n work
concise
conduct of the appellant after the
injury. The
will make
u s e of loose
sentences

c u m u l a t i o n of
thoughts. Many
will shooting belies his
repeated
and in claim that the death of the victim was accidental
but empty in meaning tedious.
monotonous and
that he was not
claiming
that reading such
will become negligent. In support of this conviction,
agree the appellant even uttered invectives at the
victim and
Whilcon before he shot the victim which made his act
Example: clearly deliberate and intentional.
contradictory
Accident and negligence are intrinsically
former is a
cannot exist with
the other. The b. Use Connectors to Infuse Legal in
and one
happening and
the Provisions
fortuitive [sic] circumstance, event,
or
of the
Writing to Arrive at a Sound Legal Reasoning
latter is the failure to observe,
for the protection
interest of another person, that degree of care, precaution, n considering
is
the role of coherence in legal writing, point to a

and vigilance which the circumstance justly

demand ana enton how much of the law applied in order to provide
was
a

injury. Tne ud legal reasoning. Judicial decisions

serve as guides constant
without which such other person suffers
n e s e apply the provisions, doctrines, or principles to cases
conduct of the appellant after the shooting belies his clain
Clded. Aids for good legal writing are dependent on how sultaDie
that the death of the victim was accidental and that
was not negligent. The appellant even uttered invective
Ce and s eople v. Fallorina, G.R. No. 137347 (4 March 2004).
Robert Alexy and Aleksander Peczenik, The Concept of Coner 32Id.
Significance for Disaursive Rationality, 3 RaTo JURIS 130-147 (1990).
 TO IV- Fundamentals
M U L T I D I S C I P L I N A R Y
APPROACH
of Legal Writing
112 A LEGAL WRITING
113

In the example
below, notice premise, is to
support_your arguments with related jurisprudence
devices are.
jurisprudence, agree and decisions arising from such.
the
cohesive o r
transitional

lifted from
different
ot psychological
nc
the ideas, although the appheation
When analyzing and
how
each other in the
d i s c u s s i o n of stating cogent arguments,
With persuasiveness are applied. Below1s the discussion articles of
inequality and its
grounds.
psychological
its elements and steps, as well as the ofpersuasiveness
reasoning
used for
per se.
does not
constitute

of the FC.
It m u s t persuasion. successful
Sexual infidelity the i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o t h e r s p o u s e is
within of the
incapacity unfaithfulness
which makes
a. Persuasion
be shown
that the persomality
disordered
ofa the essential As generally defined,
persuasion
manifestation
a discharge is an
him/her completely
unable to
merely due to his
and not someone to accept your points or
attempt to
convince
marital state flesh and opinions. It is
intended
to shape
obligations of the
child of
his/her own
another person's perception of a
or her ardent
wish to have
inequahty
a
cannot likewise particular issue. In the legal
context, persuasion is an attempt to shape another person's
blood.5 Thus, psychological
abandonment.
It s
not enough to about a legal position. Persuasive writing is attitude
essential in the practice
from responsibility
be presumed
failed to
meet his of law.38 It enables one to make strategic decisions
and lay out the arguments in order to ensure that how to present
spouse it i s essential on
prove that
a
Moreover,

convincing and memorable as possible." However, statements are as

married person.
and duty as a of doing so due
be incapable
be shown to At best, strong persuasive
that he must
not physical, illness. writing should maintain a balance between style and
to some
psychological,
sexual infidelity
or perversion o r should, therefore, avoid stressing excessive points credibility. It
such
circumstances as

grounds for legal

separation and do not readers' confidence in the arguments. Too much that might destroy
abandonment are
psychological ncapacity
within other hand, makes the writing dull. In order objectivity, on the
themselves constitute to achieve effective
by
of the Family
Code. Neither would persuasiveness in legal writing, words should be subtle,
the contemplation
irresponsibility be equated and toned.
Persuasiveness could be moderate,
emotional immaturity and
setting the tone, doing an analysis, andachieved through steps like
with psychological incapacity.5 supporting the argument.
i. Setting the Tone
5. Cogency
of creating desired
effects."a6 The desired Setting the tone requires thinking about the
"Writing is the act
about the merits of your Carefully consider the word choice, terms, and phrases language.
that will
effect is to convince and persuade people affect or inftuence
in legal writing that provides
a
your reader. Inasmuch as they convey images,
argument. Cogency is a principle an argument is cogent
if words are powerful. The use of both the active and passive voices,
definition,
lausible rationale for ideas. By is determined carefully discussed in the previous chapter and section, is important
it isstrong andtrue. The strength of cogent arguments in law. To
and when reiterate, emphasis on sentence structures should be
by this: whether they are backed up by true premises, concentrated on who the focus or the Subject of the sentence is. In
their likelihood or probability is very high. A way to apply cogeney
addition, using(concrete facts as compared to
in legal writing, that is, to establish the truth of the arguments Creates clear andmemerable descriptive ianguage
images to the reader's mnd. ror
l e , a description of a teen can be improved by stating his or
g e , academic accomplishment, or any related concrete fact that
Carating-Siayngeo u. Siayngco, G.R. No. 158896 (27 October 2004). Contribute to a later understanding ofthe surrounding context.
Republic Quintero-Hanano, G.R. No. 149498 (20 May 2004)
v.

SDedel u. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 151867 (29 January 2004). 6

WrrrING
JOHN TRTMBLE, WRITING STRATEGIES IN
WITH SrYLE: CONVERSATIONS ON THE ART or
* MICHAEIL SMITH, ADvaNCED LEGAL WRITING: THEORIES
AND
(2000). THE FERSUASIVE WRITING 3 (3t ED., 2013).
NANCY CAVENDER AND HowARD 39Id.
UsE OF REAsON IN EVERYDAY LIFE KAHANE, LoGIC AND CONTEMPORARY
(13" ED., 2018).
 To
APPROACH
IV-
A
MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Fundamentals of Legal
114 LEGAL WRITING
Writing 115
when addng
emphasis learly identifying the
words often
come
to play
when two
similar
supplementary subject, whether
Descriptive
of
overemphasis
as
reworded
hook will help discussion on the it is a
person or thing. A
not to the point
adjectives
are merely
enlighten you. chapter
using more action verbs Comprehensible of legal
a
gain, side-by-side
or
paragraph.
w h i l e creating

a
by stylistics in this
adjectives
stand
d i f f e r e n t position
in the
descriptions may
paint
atrong statement. As rather than input is clearly shown
Dut
placed in a of the t a c t s . The goal of
the ahould not be the discussed in the nominalizations to provide
a specific action. be-verbs. Rather, it previous chapter, these verbs
overemphasis
effect, on a
concetrate conclusion
a dramatic rather than readers
come to a
should be
picture if verbs
difterent

persuasive
writing may
be
to the
defeated
facts given. A good
argument begins by
pertaining to
w i t h o u t regard
himselfor
herself. of adultery."
defendant
is guilty
It can
an
confidence. This turning skepticism into
confidence is founded
The readers arrive the core of feeling of a
Take the
sentence:
information
to aid
the
persuasion. An upon the
argument expresses type of reasoning,
be improved by
building up An 1mproved
version will or
problem and
supports it position on an issue
a

c o n c l u s i o n in light of the arguments.

to form a n illicit
relationshin
o
to
analyze and evaluate with reasons and evidence.
at a
this: "The
defendant
decided
home late.
She did this for whether to a
accept a
arguments will help in making Being able
go like
w i t h her colleague
and s t a r t e d getting
marriage
until h e r husband
found
should appeal strictly claim or not.
to reason Simply put, sound decision a
a

during the
course of her ditterent
hotels during the elements: claim, support, reasons, because it contains the
argument
bookings in
months
of numerous

The table evidence, and following

solid evidence

when she said

she was at work
examples:
below defines
these elements
counterargument.
time
and
presents specific
ii. Objective Analysis
fundamental step in order to Element
is another and gaining efinition
Objective analysis c a s e objectively

effectively persuade.0
Analyzing the
d o n e h r s t a s part of
Example
should be
claims
This is the writer's I believe that the
from several means using the Claim (or Thesis
perspective in legal writing
strategic writing.
Being objective One should also be or Proposition) position on an issue or government should
to effectively persuade. and counter- problem. increase the minimum
argument
strongest weaker arguments wage to help ordinary
on where to place the them.
strategic de-emphasize Workers.
that will
arguments in a manner

document involves setting the persuasive Allotting part of the

Drafting a legal not m e a n national budget to
persuasive does This refers
mentioned earlier, being to any
tone. As
tone in order to minimize increase minimumn
rather using subtle material that serves
overemphasizing but Sentence
to prove
wage creates more
hyperboles. Support claim. In
of many adjectives, adverbs,
or a
the use
a r e necessary an argument, support
opportunities for
since they
structuresand voices should be observed should
workers to help
theme of the arguments. As such, they usually consists of their families and
for weaving the these reasons and evidence.
readers. The theme around in the process be
immediately become obvious to the more motivated and
sentences should be unifying and not confusing.
productive at work.
Being thoughtful and deliberate about the sentence structur These are declarations The low minimum
will also help because this will determine the focus of the sentence made to justify an action, wage incapacitates
decision, or belief (e.g., most breadwinners
Reasons "My reason for thinking to provide for their
Kathy Stanchi, Teaching Students to Present Law PersuasG,
Using
14
that we might lose families due to the
the case is the lackof increasing inflation
Techniques from Paychology, 19 PERSPECTVES: TEACHING LeGAL REs. & W
147 (2011). witnesses."). rates.
MARY-BETH MovLAN AND ADRIENNE BRUNGESs, PERSUASIVE LEGAL V*
 TO IV-
MULTIDISCIPLINARY
APPROACH
Fundamentals of Legal
116
A LEGAL WRITING Writing 117
i.
by tho Deductive (or
These are sprcifhe
As reported
Philippime Statistics
In this kind of Rule-Based) Reasonin
references, quotatons,
Authority, the country's af facts and the reasoning, you need to look at
law that
facts, examples, and headline inflation
verdict. The applies to the facts to the specific set
opinions t h a t s u p p o r t accelerated to
October 2020.
2.5% in
the law, rule,conclusion
or
is
usually
legal principle. reached eventually
by analyzing and reach a
ma
a
claim.
Evndence
most common and Deductive applying
reasoning is perhaps
mastery of the rulesimportant type of
Evidence
statistus,

of
consist
the
also
reasoning
analytical abilitybecause
e p o r t s of personal and your it tests
set of facts.
to apply them your
vews

or ihe
e x j e i e n c e ,

to a
of experts.
If the minimum wage According to
Richard
increases at this point three parts: (a) a set of Neumann, this form of
result that occurs when allelements collectively calledreasoning has
argument
an
This is
of crisis, more people
made to oppose
will be unemployed term that determines elements are present; and a test; (b) a
&nother angument.
whether the result (c) a causal
because struggling
discretionary, or
declaratory."
is
mandatory,
however, cautionedprohibitory,
A gand argument

Counterarument Rnticipstes opposing

businesses will stop
rules have "one or more
He,
hiring, retrench
exceptions that, if present that some
cisims and provides
employees, or shut
result, even if all the elements would defeat the
0Ounterarguments to
of this reasoning, take this are
present." For a simple
disprove or
answer
them. down their companies. case scenario:
aliquor store sells to a minor and barring application
act, then the there is a law any exception, if
liquor store is prohibiting such
simplistic but also basically guilty. This type of
syllogistic. reasoning is not only
b. Reasoning In
of
applying many cases, the
and answering
law exams, the process
fundamental. law ambiguity of facts or whether or not
applies to them, or whether
In recitations
and writing is
or not the
reasoning in persuasive speech
of o u r everyday thinking
which used are just some of the retroactivity of laws can be
legal
the "reñinements"
It has complex cases where challenges in this type of reasoning. In
the lawyer's job is to judges
is another.12
Legal reasoning different from are faced with
two versions
form of expert reasoning of the
makes one
own rules,
and own acceptable
data. Legal
his client's interests; organize the facts in a way that will facts,
its own terminology.
examining a set of facts and figuring out
what although is still the law that will best fit
which facts are relevant.
it
reasoning begins by determine
rule-based reasoning to Nonetheless,
selected and rejected as part
of with an intense
Iníormation is
happened and why.
coherent story. The
framework that governs
come out victorious.
application
approach the issues, lawyers will of
the process crestinga
of contains the rules, laws, eventually
arguments comes from legal reasoning for it Let us illustrate this.
doctrines that every decision must
be justified with. The law says that a
principles, and modes of by any person in which marriage contracted
It is a sine qua non that aids in decision-making. Four (4) consent was obtained
relevant in law recitation and bar exam answers annulled.4 At the time of the by fraud may be
legal reasoning are (C) spouse Lani that he has marriage, George concealed to his
in the Philippine setting, namely: (a) deductive, (b) analogical, AIDS.
counter-analogical, and (d) policy-based. You can use any
of these o
have her marriage annulled.Therefore,
Applying
Lani can ask the court
the exception pointed
modes to explain a judgment or arrive at desired conclusions. out by Neumann to the above case, if the wife
Knowledge the facts constituting the fraud, still
of afterward, with full
with him,
then the marriage may not be freely cohabited
annulled."

STRAmB 4®RICHHARD NEUMANN, JR., LEGal REAsoNING AND

`TRATEGY, AND STYLE (2005). LEGAL WrITING: STRUCTURE,
Phoebe Elleworth, Legal BOOK O r THINKING

Reasoning, in THE CAMBRIDGE HANDBOOK O AMILY CoDE, art. 45(3) in relation to art. 46(3).
AND REASONING 685-704
(K. J. Holyoak and R. G. Morrison Jr., eds.,
2000 0FAMILY CoDE, art. 45(3).
 IV-
MULTIDISCIPLINARY
APPROACH
TO
Fundamentals of Legal Writing
A LEGAL WRITING
121
120
opinion know how to style
which he
has an
sentences. Styling
engaged but
as to with through syntax or word sentences involves
Greek syntaxis, a verbal noun The term "syntax' is from the fronting
directly o r assoCiation order.
is not observation,

which he e d u c a t i o n , experience. Ancient

qualified.51

amd may be which

on
is c o m p e t e n t that an expert or "setting out
together."55 literally means "arrangement'
based
specialty,
his opinion
Appeals,*
the court ound
to testity
in the deals with how sentences are Branching out from stylistics, syntax
that
n
K a m o s v.
Court of
pulmonologist,
is not
qualified
counter-analogical arrangements of elements in constructed
a
sentences
and how to employ
possible
who is a then u s e
can i n d i c a t i o n in
witness, The lawyer In styling sentences, these are some
n o reasonable
familiarity with points to remember.
anesthesiology.
fneld of was
that there
by stating w i t n e s s e s possess sufficient He can o Key positions in styling
argument specialties.
and the very end. sentences are the very
R a m o s that
the expert
applicable
to the
physician's Jurisprudence
found beginning
s t a n d a r d of
care
client's case,
that in his
surgeon To emphasize
the where a n orthopedic a main point, put it at the
then proceed
to argue
Clinic is
applicable
in a
medical
malpractice paragraph or sentence. beginning of the
in Frostv.Mayo a
neurologist
surgeon's opinion
against To emphasize
allowed to testify word
orthopedic
a
was
the
considered
that
n e e d not
come from a
sentence.
or
phrase, put it at the end of the
The court
action. decompression
"immediate
need for
o n the
specialist in neurosurgery.
o Strategically placingthe most controlling idea at the
beginning to form cumulative sentence directs the course
iv. Policy-Based Reasoning with which the reader is to read and
reached by connecting
the of the sentence.
appreciate the rest
reasoning is the principle
using this This is also
A
conclusion

a n existing
state policy.
the legality of any Placing key ideas at the end stresses their importance,
facts of the
case to for denying thus forming periodic sentences. Periodic sentences
good is a basis law encourages
the
the public the
contain powerful 'impact' words and phrases at the end
that injury to public policy, argue that
transaction. By lawyer c a n
act, c o n t r a c t ,
or
illustrate, a of a sentence. End sentences emphatically.
of the public
good. To breach of promise
to marry,
promotion
that punishes customs, or A weak sentence is one in which the controlling idea is
thereis no law to morals, good
although is contrary buried in the middle of a long rambling sentence.
d e f e n d a n t ' s act
that was
act
actionable if the
still an
the s a m e is be supported
Hence, it may This is
public policy. o r injury
to his client. to the 1. Emphasizing a Point in a Sentence
caused damage or property
willful and advanced money
had
that his client To etfectively emphasis, position the main message the
by the fact
use
the faith of the
promise to marry.54 of the sentence or
defendant upon way you want to communicate at the beginning
words and phrases at the
Capitalizing on Syntax
paragraph. Also, put powerful "impact"
Legal Stylistics: end of a sentence or paragraph.
C. a message
to channel
select the best way in 1 s
A skilled writer
can
information
how to put the most
important Example:
by understanding in recent financial trouble, has
proper place in a sentence. The company, albeit clhent and
evey most important
discourse because Deen-financially speaking-our all
unavailable in legal at our disposal,
Poetic license is the powers
within all
anchored on facts, law,
and logic. To organn nust
they should be given,
statement has to be
ideas, you the support they need.
sentences while putting forward important
clearly
(2001).
TO SYNTAx, 1-9
DTIMOTEO AqUINO, ToRTS AND DAMAGES, 208-210 (2019).
55ROY
INTRODUCTION

ROBERT VAN ALIN, JR. AN

52G.R. No. 124354 (29 December 1999). 5 Td.
Frost u. Mayo Clinic, 304 F. Supp. 285 (D. Minn. 1969).
5 Wassmer v. Velez, G.R. No. L-20089 (26 December 1964).
 TO
IV
Fundamentals of Legal Writing
A P P R O A C H

MULTIDISCPLINARY
123
L E G A L W R I T I N G

A
122

suspended after a
the main
message: hnancial
trouble?
criminal action has commenced, the civil Remember to end
Determine
is in
recent
been commenced57.
action is suspended.
the company
client? your sentence
Is it that
important
most
is our
If by no amount of
An act of God
emphatically.
they
company

Is it that
the all the support is
be given foresight or care, an an
company
ssh
hould
accident could have accident, which no Starting with
the the subordinate
Is it that amount of foresight
been reasonably
need the company should be or care could conjunction "if"
is t h a t expected to be have makes the statement
obviously t h a t the senten been reasonably
The main
message
As such, we
submit presented the accident conditional and
need. beginning of th expected to prevent,
support they 1dea
at the is an act of God,
negates the purpose
given all the the inmmediately. Thue.
due directly or
better phrased
by putting 1t hu being directly due or of the sentence
exclusively, in
understand

may be reader will

s o that
the exclusively to natural explaining a term
paragraph need. Eaen natural causes
the all supPport they causes without human
without human with a definition
be given
should uble, we should intervention58.
f i n a n c i a l troub being lifted from
The c o m p a n y
have been
in r e c e n t a s thevy a re
intervention. a provision which
disposal a re
ugh they
thoug powers
at o u r

them with al the client. provides no

help most important
inancialy
speaking-our exception. Present
the term "act of
Sentence God
Word in a in a cumulative way
Emphasizing a
2. for clarity.
it at the end of the sentence
word or phrase, put There is a right to If one of the
To emphasize a parties In this
rescind the obligation in the reciprocal sentence, the
on the part of the dependent clause
obligation fails to
Example:
client w a s denied due to the party who is injured
comply with what (If...him) should
be given emphasis
to a fair trial of my if one of the parties
The right is incumbent upon because it talks
handling of the
case.
in the reciprocal
incompetent police him, there is
obligation fails to
a right of a conditional
the sentence is "denied." Thus:
to rescind on the part statement where the
Here. the most powerful
word in comply with what is of the party who was independent clause
incumbent upon him59
of the case, the right injured. is entirely dependent
Due to the incompetent police handling on.
to a fair trial of my client was denied.
Subsequently, An additional Strategically placing
discussion to the sentences the agreement condition that the most controlling
Let us now apply the foregoing was ratified by
which we deem as weakly styled. security should be idea at the beginning
the committee: an given for the payment to form cumulative
additional condition of the loan within six sentence directs the
Weak Sentence Better "Styled Explanation that security should months was imposed. course with which
Sentence be given for the Subsequently, the the reader is to read
payment of the loan agreement was and appreciate the
In the same offense, Criminal and civil Position the main
within six months was ratified by the rest of the sentence.
both criminal and action arising from message where
civil actions may arise the same offense you want to
imposed, however. committee.

and may be instituted

may be instituted communicate-at

separately; however, separately; however, the beginning of

prosecution for civil after a criminal the sentence or L-26737 (31 July 1969).
action is Cted in Corpus et al. v. Paje, G.R. No.
action has been Ltd., 284 F.3d 949 (8th Cir. 2002).
paragraph. Cited in Brown u. Gorstew,
CrVIL CODE, art. 1191.
 APPROACH
TO
IV-
Fundamentals of Legal Writing
MULTIDISCIPLINARY

124 A LEGAL WRITING

125
sentence and
message
1n
them a i n
o u t the
main the message property relations
Exercise: Figure
structure by placing between the spouses property relations it
apply the
emphatic but not the
marriage between the spouses requires singular
a

in cumulative form. bond which but not the verb.

from the both spouses
result in
bond which marriage
balances
from loans obtained to not be
both results in
due obligations, able to remarry.
with unpaid to settle his
spouses to not be
The respondent.
persistent
in refusing able to remarry.
has been
banks,
despite demand.
To see more
examples of
common
a
paragraph submitted by law student mistakes, let us examine
a
teach. Let us
point out and discuss the from where we
currently
errors.
in
the m a i n message
by placing According to a
report published
four married woman by the Philippine Statistics Office in
emphatically
Exercise: End 2018, one in
in
periodic form. by their partner or husband. It the Philippines have been assaulted
was also
evidence was
denied due to Statistics Office that spousal violence recorded by the Philippine
right to present
substantial
supportive
prescriptive
period for filing. violence women aged between 15 to 49 is the most common form of
The
reckiess disregard of
the
based from a preliminary result from the experience. The findings were
the lawyer's
health survey, which found that 26% of 2017 national demographic and
in that age
experienced physical, sexual, or emotionalwomen group have
violence by their husband or
In
partner. 2019, Kana Takashi of Maya: The Feminist
her experience as a child whose Collective shared
parents divorced when she was little. She
said that in her case, the
"unhappiness"
divorce was only temporary. While there brought
about by her parents
in Legal Writing is no
D. Common Mistakes
to hard for the kids, it is a far cry better than question that divorce is
rules is a n
essential key raising your children in a
Application of linguistic into chunks violent, abusive, angry, or deeply resentful marriage, Takashi added.
segmented In the Philippines, physical abuse is a
different realms of thought ground to legal separation but
understanding
in the combination
of words affect the linguistic not for annulment. However, it should be filed
within five years of the
Errors
of language. meanings. These occurrence of the cause. Also, legal
structure expected to convey
interconnected
separation only dissolves the marital
actual u s e of language. obligations and property relations between the spouses but not the
present in o u r
linguistic s t r u c t u r e s are always marriage bond which result for both spouses to not be able to remarry.
stretches of
context. Large Divorce can address these issues.
The same can be said in the legal
structuring and grammatical
legal discourse also follow grammatical the next discussion
will
rules. Taking these things into perspective, 2. Incorrect Use of Pronouns
tackle the common mistakes found in Legal Writing.
incorrect use of the
recurring mistake in writing lies in the
A

verbs, as well as the error in

1. Subject-Verb Agreement ronoun "one" and its corresponding
f the the plural form of "woman."
One of the most common disagreement o
mistakes is the
verb from its antecedent subject. Consider the sentence beloW
Explanation
Errors Found Correetion
of the
Legal separation only Legal separation only The
antecedent

the
dissolves the marital dissolves the marital verb "result" is
word "bond"; hence,
obligations and obligations and
 TO IV
Fundamentals of Legal
-

APPROACH

A
MULTIDISCIPLINARY

LEGAL WRITING
Writing 127
126

A motion to
Bxplanatiou dismiss
Correction

such as each,
jurisdiction over the person the
of the
on
ground of lack of
Errors Found
four
married
Words,

either, one, everybody,

The case was
resolved in favor
defendant...
One in
One in four married
women has been.. and anyone, when It was of the innocent party.
have been .

used as subjects,
incumbent upon the
woman

regularly take diligence... plaintiff to exercise due

singular verbs. A petition for
certiorari under Rule
Court is limited 65 of the Rules of
to correction of
errors of
grave abuse of discretion jurisdiction
amounting to lack
or

Prepositions jurisdiction. . or excess of

Incorrect lUse of
3
using
prepositions
and in capitalizing
Nonetheless, we note that there are no clear rules
Common
mistakes in
students' essays. Prepositions with respect to prepositional to follow
usually seen in many ofthe and o t h e r words in the phrases.
many non-native speakers do have
As such, it is a
reality that
letters are
between its object problems remembering which
describe the relationship prepositions to use. This is true when it comes to the
sentence. prepositional phrases: in regard, with regard, and following
Explanation Many students and even professionals commit as
regards.
Correction
and saying these three. In numerous mistakes in writing
Error Found
This is the correct occasions, you can hear local
The findings speech mistakenly putting an "s" on the word regard even though it
The findings were and acceptable is accompanied by with. Let us
basedfrom
were based on a
grammar form
for clarify their respective uses
preliminary result.. .
peliminary result this phrasal verb for Regard can be classified both as a noun and a verb.
it relates something
to a circumstance, Regard as averb means to consider or think of someone or
situation, or
something in a specified way. When regard is classified as
supposition.
a verb, write "regards" or "as regards to."
Regard as a noun means best wishes or attention or
concern for something. When using the noun regard,
Phrases
The Problem With Prepositional write it in the singular and apply the same when using
that are with regard" and "in regard."
in the ieglese, there are many prepositional phrases
There
unavoidabie and that cannot be substituted by other words.
are legal prepositional phrases that are considered constants. Below Examples:
are some examples of common usages of prepositions and lega A striking comparison was made with regard to the analyses
prepositional phrase. of both cases.
The parties to this agreement. .. of properties
ules of co-ownership in regard to the partition
in equal shares to both
An Snall govern and shall be distributed
arrangement between the buyer and the seller. common law spouse.
The filing should be done he is eligible
within 15 days. for adoption of an alien,
Demands should be given AS regards the applicationof
by written notice. if he is at least 27 years age.
The
defendant was charged with...
FAMILY CoDE, art. 147. of 1995).
Adoption Act
BRIAN GARNER, "THE REDBoOK:
A MANUAL, ON
LeGal. STYL.E 209 (5° 2013) 62Rel
REr. Acr No.8043 (Inter-Country
 APPROACH
7O
IV
MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Fundamentals of Legal Writing
-

LEGAL WRITING
A
128 129
example to show
use
another

of the
mon 6. The Use of Subordinate
forward, let
us

Moving
Writing.
This time,
it i s a digest
s t u d e n t from:
co

Intod The use of the

Conjunction
m i s t a k e s in Legal a n o t h e r law
by we subordinate conjunction "because"
written if aced in the middle is more
of Appeals*
academi

Court of the sentence rather

U.
of the sentence. Not that than as the
teach start using it as the first word of the
res it wrong, but this is more sentence
companions
nely applicable in a
on-academic essay. Although conversational
and his
1949, lntod
of writing or in a form
Sometime in February to accompany them
asked Mandaya told Mandava
of
example gave emphasis to the
the sentence in the
Tubio snd Daligdig He at most important
Pangsinan.
Bernardina
Palangpangan. h iustify the action, there are still other remedies portion
in order to
the house of a dispute betwo
to be
killed because
a
of land because" as the start of the sentence.
to avoid the use of
wanted Palangpanga thenm otherwise he would also be
to accompany
them. He told Mandays accompanied Intod's groun
threst in his hte, he and
killed Beca use of the At that instant ror Found
them the iocstion of Palangpangan s room. Correction
pointed to
to Palangpangan's room. Howeva ww.
the group ired several gunshots Because of the threat in his life, Due to the threat in his
was in another city and hen
unknown to the accused. Palangpangan he accompanied Intod's group and life, he
home then occupied by her son-in-laW
was
and his tamily. No one was
pointed to them the location of
accompanied Intod's group and
when the accused sired the shots. No one was hit bv +ho pointed to them the location of
in the room
Palangpangan's room.
gun fire. The Regional Trial
Court convicted Intod of attempted murder Palangpangan's room.
which the Court of Appeals afirmed. Petitioner seeks the modification of
the juagment by holding him liable only for an impossible crime.
7. Incorrect Use of Punctuation Marks Related to
Conjunctive Adverbs
in this narration, several errors are easily observable-the Examples of conjunctive adverbs are however, nevertheless,
harmony in tenses, the use of the subordinate conjunction "because,"
otherwise, thus, furthermore, moreover, and consequently. From the
and the use punctuetion marks related to conjunctive adverbs.
of examples given, conjunctive adverbs function not only to modify
the meaning of the initial independent clause but also to connect
5. Tenses That Are Not Harmonized
Ina nerration
two independent clauses. Punctuation marks like semicolons
the tenses. it is
of past
events, it is important
to be careful with and commas are placed before and after any conjunctive adverb
necessary to make the tenses agree with each connecting two independent clauses.
since this is already a decided
case. Since the
other
already ocurred, the use of the past tense incidents or events had Another error seen is the nonplacement of commas to separate
in the entire paragrapn
should be applied to
harmonize the tenses
a
conjunction from the phrase.
relating to the past.
Error Pound rrors ound Correction
Petitioner seeks the Correction He told Mandaya to accompany
of the modifcation He told Mandaya to accompany
judgment Petitioner
liable only for byan holding him the judgment sought the modification nem otherwise he would also be them[;] otherwisel] he would also

time, impossible lhable only for by holdingcrime.

him killed. be killed.
an
impossible However[L) unknown to the accused,
lowever unknown to the accused, was in another city
Palangpangan
pla
a n g a n was in another
city| was then occupied by
then occupiedand her home and his family.
e r home was her son-in-law

Dy her family.
son-in-law and his

69G.R. No. 103119

(21 October 1992).
 APPROACH
TO
MULTIDISCIPLINARY

LEGAL WRITING
IV- Fundamentals of Legal Writing
A
131
130
review
let
important
us
oblem,
probi ow i. Use a comma
this used
used or
misusedint between adjectives preceding a
1st frequently
relation
to frequently
noun.
most
In punctuations

functions
of
Examples:
school.
In the case of foundings, abandoned, neglected, or abused
Comma children and other children in similar
a. uation next to a
period. Despite situations, parental
is a widely
used p u n c t u a
instances hen
when comma are authority shall be entrusted in summary judicial proceedings to
A heads of children's homes, orphanages, and similar institutions
comma
still many
there are
its common
use,
commas
appear
sense] selessly
scatte
tered all duly accredited by the proper government agency.
In ss doing. tual regard to its rules
misused. without actual regard
document
throughout
the segregate so ideas that The legal researcher gave a factual, informative presentation
ofthe or the
function is toantecedent. In short
comma
ords during the conference.
The primary
modifr the subject Commas
can clearly and is a writer's i
sentence
l in strategically
provide order any
to
below excludes +h iv. Use a comma to set off words in an appositive. An
sentence. The ist basic
elements in a appositive is a noun phrase that adds information
srranging an elementary practice to use thia
uses of commas
as it has been to the subject.
on ful dates, addresses,
as Wel as, month and vean
punctuation
WTtten together. Examples:

Acomma between a subject andits verb is erroneous The accused, a doctor in the barangay center, conceived
i
the idea of killing his wife and carried out his plan at
Wrong Correet nighttime.
The defendant, a security officer, justified his actions of
Understending the use of "void" Understanding the use of "void"
and "voidabie", is necessary yet and voidable" is necessary yet self-defense.
confusing for frosh confusing for frosh.
quotation that blends into
v. Use a c o m m a to set off a
in the case at bar, the court, held In the case at bar, the court held the rest of the sentence.
that Y. has a better right to the that Y has a better right to the
ownership the houSE. ownership of the house. Correct
Wrong
of
While our law recognizes the While our law recognizes the right
ii. A comma is the custody of her child,
used to separate words and a parent to
a series. phrases i right of a parent to the custody must not lose sight of the
ot her child, Courts must not Courts that "in all questions
Examples: lose sight of the basic principle basic principle education, and
on the care, custody,
that "in all questions on the care, children, the
latter's
Waiver is prohibited and Custody, education, and property property of
and
be when
contrary to law, publicmay declared null morals,
and void paramount."L]
it is
latter's welfare welfare shallbe reasons, even
a

customs. order, public policy, morals, or good nildren, the that for compelling
O be paramount." and that
shall child under seven
may be
ordered

Under Article Compelling reasons even a| from the

mother.
218 of the ordered separated
its under s e v e n may be
administrators,
and Family Code, the scno 1 a

nstitution engaged inteachers, adividual, entity, or separated from the mother.*

or the
authority and child care shall arental
have specia
responsibility over the minor
supervision, instruction, under their
child un
or
custody. G.R. No.
L-26953 (28 March
1969).

Medina v. Makabali,
 TO
MULTIDIScrLINARY
APPROACH
IV- Fundamentals of Legal Writing
A
LGAL WRITING
133
132
adverb th Amere threatening or
set otf an
intimidating attitude, not
outward and material aggression, is not unlawfulpreceded by an
commas
to
vi. Use
emphasis. aggression.5
ix. Use a comma when
joining two independent clauses
Examplcs with a coordinating conjunction
however, it is a n established
rule +h..
or, nor, yet, or so).
(such as and, but,
law punishing it.
criminal cases,
In
when there
is no
crime
IS n o
Examples
guardian of the Constitutio will
the ultimate
The cvurt. a s
r e a s o n a b l e circumstance, the
d" In habitual delinquency, the offender is either a recidivist or one
n e v e r shun.
under any
of the Constitution, which it is tassked who has been previously punished for two or more offenses.6
upholding the majesty
to defend. There was no showing of a prior intoxication nor was there any
to secure the afñdavit should not, therefore, affect thhe witness who saw the plaintiff and the defendant together.
Failure
validity of the marriage. X. Use a comma to separate the two parts of a
cannot recover moral damages
Even assuming that the plaintff compound sentence when the second part of the
for the breach, nevertheless,
she
can recover compensatory sentence introduces a new idea or when clarity is
for medical and hospitalization expenses as well as needed.
damages
attorney's fees.
Examples:
vii. Do not use a comma in the second part of a For years the company had been planning to expand globally,
compound predicate. and the executive committee has decided to go ahead and
committed to conceal these plans.
Wrong Correct Explanntion
There were three companies bidding on the contract, but it
was

A good brief should
address all the
issues, and analyze
them intelligently.
After surgery to his
ankle in May 2019,
Lne assistant was
first given light-duty
A good brief should There should be no decided that these applicants were unsuitable.
address all the issues comma before "and"
and analyze them because brief is the word or phrase,
xi. Use a c o m m a after a transitional
intelligently. subject of analyze.
a n introductory phrase,
and a subordinate clause.
After surgery to his
Examples:
ankle in May 2019, the There should be no
evidence that the act would
cause
assistant was first given comma before "but"
Significantly, there is no

assignment as a light-duty assignment because assist is destruction of the house. (transitional word)
production planner, as a
production planner the subject of was
defendant pleaded "mistake of fact" as

but then was laid off but then was laid off in laid off. In the appeal, the
in June 2019. June 2019. defense. (introductory phrase)
ambiguity, it must
the question of
When the court addresses (subordinate clause)
on the
intention of the parties.
vii. Use a comma to set IOcus
off a contrasting idea.
Examples:
Legal writing should be clear, not wordy. REVISED PENAL CoDE, art.
13.

PENAL CoDE, art. 14.

REVISED
 TO
MULTIDISCPLINARY
APPR0ACH
IV - Fundamentals of
A LEGAL WRITING
Legal Writing
134 135
elo..

to set
off a
dependent
or a ii. Use a
semicolon to
sentence
give equal position join two or more
coma

xii. Use a that begins a nce.

prepositional
phrase or rank. ideas or to
Example
Examples: or a s an accomplice A
narty-list representative must be
Although the suspect
was thougnt his eeks to
party he seek bonafide member of the
a

counsel ean still prove his

innocence.
represent, he must have a track record of
advocacy in such party.8
of his whereah
In fact. his counsel
can present
evidence
abouts
iji. Use semicolons to separate items
that evening. in
with different descriptions. a series
comma to distinguish indirect from diron
t
xii. U'se a
Example:
speech.
Theprosecutor called on the following witnesses: Dr. Chua, the
Exampies: DSychiatrist, Ms. Torres, the nanny; Jane Ang, the counselor;
Justice Joseph said, "The law is a jealous mistress and requires and Detective Revilla, the investigator.
long and constant courtship. This is not to be won by trifling
favorites but by lavish homage. C. Parentheses
Justice Sarmiento dissented, stating, "I am agreed [sic] that While parentheses should be used in moderation since in
the existence alone of checkpoints makes search done therein, Linguistics words that are enclosed in parenthetical expressions are
unreasonable and hence, repugnant to the Constitution."s7 not counted as elements of the sentence, these serve a variety of
uses.
. Semicolon
The main i. To add information
point of
semicolon in a sentence is to link two
a

independent clauses that are closely related in thought without Example:

using any conjunction. The list below presents the uses of semicolons.
A divorce obtained abroad is proven by the divorce decree itself
Use semicolon to replace
a which is the best evidence of a judgment (Rule 130, Sec. 3,
conjunctions when
connecting independent clauses. Rules of Court).
Example: ii. To interject a qualification
The couple is preparing the Example:
absence of legal requirements for the
impediments is going to speed up themarriag policy (valued
at P200,000), A
can

proce lt the policy is a valued

recover only P50,000.

G.R. No.
203766 (2 April
67 Valmonte v. De Elections,
Villa, G.R. No. 83988 38 Aton
Inc. v.
Commission
on

(29
September 1989).
aglaum,

2013).
 AMULTIDISCIPLINARYAPPROACH TO
IV- Fundamentals of Legal
LEGAL WRITING
Writing 137
136
or ambiguous
clear up
indetinite
ouns vii. To state an
exception
ii. To
Example:

Example: for
decision for +1
the periodic
appealed
the court's
fo The marriage between the adopter's previous or former
The plaintiff of Pl8,000)
allotted for the medical and the adopted is not within the ambit of the spouses
Article 38(5) if the marital bond is terminatedprohibition under
(payments
payment
victims.
of the not by reason of
expenses
death (i.e., by reason of a final
judgment of annulment or of
iv. To
introduce acronyms or
later
shorthand absolute nullity)."
that will be used
expressions
d. Brackets
Example: Like parentheses, brackets should be used sparingly. However,
The Supreme Court
explained in the Philippines School of
for short) case the reason uwh these serve a variety of uses.
Business Administration (PSBA
can be held
liable as an obligor for the breach i. Use a pair of brackets to show the deletion ofa
the school
contract.®
part of a word.

v. To introduce other words or synonymous Example

terms As with Cantor and Orcelino-Villanueva, "[t]he is
majority
gripped with the apprehension that a petition for declaration
Examples: of presumptive death may be availed of as a dangerous
In some cases, the Supreme Court uses the term "legal cause" expedient."72

"proximate legal cause")

"
as an
(or "effective legal cause or
character
alternative to the term "proximate cause.""o ii. Use a pair of brackets around any
add in a quoted material.
that you change o r

Civil rights may be further classified into the rights of

personality (sometimes called human rights), family rights, Example:
and patrimonial rights. Article 42 of the Family
Since the undisturbed subsequent
the "children of such marriage
Code is valid until terminated, relations of
vi To interject a brief definition and the property
shall be considered legitimate,
will be the s a m e as in valid
Che spouse[s] in such marriage
Example
marriages.3
Marriages in articulo mortis (or at the point of death) are
exempted from
requiring a marriage
under the Family Code. license for their va

(Leonen, J.,
February 2016)
"FAMILY CoDE, art. 38(5). (10
69
84698 (4Philippines
199194
School G.R. No.
February 1992). of Business Administration u. Court of Deals, G.R. iNo.
72 Re Sareñogon,
DissentinOLtc u 436 (2017).
T0TiMOTEO AqUINO, TORns App ting). FAMILY
RELATIONS,

AND
DaMaGES, 334 (2019). 73 EL
uMER RABUYA,
PERSONS AND
 TO IV
MULTIDISCIPLINARY

LBGAL WRITING
APPROACH
Fundamentals of Legal Writing
A 139
138
nckets in a quotation
close In a n
article .
ntitled "Morale," the writer told of
pair of eex situations that1tend to challenging
ii.
Use a
editorial
comment,
interpolation, substitutio.
an
correction,
lanation,
hat bad.
tempt some people into
doing something
original text.
in the
was
not
8. Incorrect Use of Conjunctive Adverb "However"
This conjunctive adverb has different functions in
Examples: not ex c o n t r a c t , te.
to wit: (a) as a legal writing,
nector which connects two sentences in order to
delicto [in tort),
arose ex
The action how contrasting
S h o
ideas; (b)
as an
aside; and (c) used to mean "in
contractj. whatever manner".or "by whatever means.
affidavit stating that they nave
affidavit
exercise a n
must
The parties five years [and are without legal Cenerally, the State cannot be sued. However, with its consent
for at least the State can be sued. (connector)
lived together
marry
each other].
impediment to
The complainant failed to attend the hearing. Her counsel,
e. Quotation Marks however, was able to attend. (an aside)

quotation marks to emphasize a word o Complainant said that she will assist the Court however she
i. Use
group of words. can. (by whatever means)

Example 9. The Problem With Substitution

"a voluntary and intentional
Waiver is defined as
While a goal in using substitution is to stop receiving
relinquishment and or
abandonment of a known existing legal words is rather legitimate, in legal writing, however,
the same
right, advantage, benefit, claim,
or privilege.7 substitution is often misused. The following are the usual problems
with substitution:
ii. Use quotation marks to quote a passage of fifty
(50) or fewer words. Poor Sentence Better
Problenm Solution Sentence
Example: We won the We won the
marriage Multiple Break it case in the
The Santos ruling suggests that "a subsequent Synonymns down and case in the first
contracted in bad faith, even if it is contracted after a court instance, but the first instance,
tend to use one word but it was
declaration of presumptive death, lacks the requirement or confuse to be able
suit was further
a well-founded belief that the spouse is already dead, an, argued on appeal further argued
the reade to follow on appeal. We
therefore, "considered bigamous and void."76 and we suspect
especially the sentence the litigation
suspect the
ifthey are progressivelv on for a
c a s e " may go on

ii. Use quotation marks in enclosing titles of related. You and clearly may go
for a number of
number of years.
used different
movies, songs, poems, among others. years.
words making
Examples: the layman
The movie "Bar misled or
Boys" offers a glimpse on a law students life. confused.
Sometimes, we
repetition.
4BrYaN GaRNER, LEGAL, here, that is, reader is
that in that way the
violated
WRTING IN PLAIN ere are rules of legal style we feel here in
Cruz & Co., Inc. v. HR ENGLISH, 162 (2001). (16 need to sacrific small a m o u n t
of style if
cannot use
the p r o n o u n "it
March 2012) Construction Corporation, G.R. No. ehe why we
1 info
ore informed. You may b e wondering
7Santos v. Santos, G.R. No. Second word to substitute for "case.
187061 (8 October
2014).
 APPROACH To
TO
MULTIDISCIPILINARY

IV-
A
LEGAL WRITING

Fundamentals of Legal
140 Writing
141
Ben didn't Ben didn't
Revaew you provide provide
Unclear workto pot consideration to
antecedent
brought t h eenors Jerry for the
ice consideration
Jerry, however,to
companys seat
in which the
cream, yet he
Jerry was issues in the
about bya
wating
was pretty clear
pretty clear meeting were
about how much
about how much dealt with in a
it should be. the ice cream prompt matter.
In fact, it
should be. passed
resolutions that
a shareholders'
dundant
The shareholders'
meeting was held TheRedrafting: meeting would
tet cen be normally be
at the company's
seat in which the
shareholders
meeting was
considered
for hours in
afung
issues in the held at the less than 30
shareholders
company's minutes which
meeting were seat. The led my client to
dealt with in a issues tabled believe that the
usng
prompt matter, for discussion shareholders'
in fact, the were dealt with meeting was
deiniaons
shareholders' in a prompt improperly
meeting passed matter. n fact, concluded.
resolutions that resolutions were Definitions
a shareholders' passed that The
meeting would would normally shareholders
normally consider | be considered meeting (SM)
for hours in for hours in was held at the
less than 30 company's seat
less than 30
in which the
minutes which minutes. This
1SSues in the SM
led my client to led my client to
were dealt with
believe that the believe that the
in a prompt
shareholders' shareholders'
matter, in fact,
meeting was meeting was the SM passed
improperly improperly resolutions that
concluded. concluded. a shareholders'
meeting would
Relevant
normally
Substantive
consider for
Forms: The hours in less
shareholders than 30 minutes
meeting was which led my
held at the client to believe
that the SM
was improperly
concluded.

Ifthis is done, then it would

to the case or produce an
appeal? Remember that ambiguous ning. Would it"
meaning. pertain
plain English prefers Wou ance
clarity over
 O IV-
MULT1DsCiINARY
APTROACIU
Fundamentals of Legal
142
A L E G A L W R I T I N G

Writing 143
Commence
Diseasei*

Legalese
W i t h the
T0. Being
Infected

Court
sUggested
to avoid Constitute Begin
205
guideline,
the
Supreme
words,*
Tne
1st ot w o r d s a r e
Deem Makeup
Ina
and use.
instead.
sinpler During such time as Consider
SOme
words,
During the course of While
copied below:
wil work us well During the month of Mav During
Avoid this Effect settlement In May
Give
Enough
Entered a contract to Settle
Aord
Adeguiate amount
Give
Envisage Contracted
Eventuate Think, see, regard
Afford Total

Ageregate Give, divide Exclusively Happen

Allacate Enough
Expiration Only
End
An adequate
number o
About Filed a complaint
Aneni |Many,several Filed a counterclaim Complained
number of That applies Filed an application Counterclaimed
Applicable Filed a motion Applied
Inform Moved
Apprise |Because of For the durationof
As a consequence or About, of, by, foT, in For the purpose of During
To, for
As to Enough For the reason that Because
s u f i c i e n t number of
A Later Furnish
Ata later date Has the option of Give, provide
Reach
Attain
Herein May
Now | In this
At the present time
When Indicate Show
(agreement, etc.)
the time when
At | Now Implement, effectuate
At this point in time
Inasmuch as
Begin, carry out
From, by Since, because
Attributable to In connection with
Bears a significant
resemblance | Resembles With
In excess of
to More than
Bring an action against Sue Initiate Begin
By In lieu of Instead of
By means of Because of
By reason of In order to To
Cease Stop Instant case | Here, this case
Institute Begin
Inter se Among themselves
Jose Manuel Diokno, The legalese disease, Rappler.Com, 11 February 2012, In the event that
ease If
available at https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/the-legalese-

accessed on 12 January 2021.

In the light of the fact Because
SC Suggests Words to Avoid When Writing, 08 February 2021, au
lable
-when-
In the near future Soon
at https://www.projectjurisprudence.com/2019/10/sc-suggests-words-to-aVative In violation of Violates
writing.html accessed on 12 January 2021, citing a 2005 Guidelines on the Ae
Use of Words issued by the Supreme Court.
Is able to Can
 IV
A M U L T I D I S C W L I N A R Y A P P R ) , A C U T O

Fundumentala of Legal
-

Writing
L E G A W R I T I N G

145
144
Comply Sai
(dadjective)

The, this, that

with C'onfornms Same (pronoun)

Isin
complhance
It, them
with Believes
conformity
Isin opinion that V'iolates
Shall
Must, may, will
Isofthe Applied
Solely
Only, alone
Is violative of Submit
Subsequent to
Send, give
Made applicstion Provided
|After
Keep, continue, support
Made pr17s)0n
Allege
Sutficient

Sub suo periculo Enough

At one's
Mainta own
peril
Make allegations Examne Such That, this, those, the
ot_
Make a n
ExAMInation
Require Terminate

The majority of
End, finish
Necessitste At least
which
Most
Not less than Despite The means by How
Notwithstanding
Although Thereafter
Later
Notwithstanding the fact that Therein In it, in them,
Testify inside
Offer testumony
Daily Transmit Send
Ona dalrbasis By Transpire Happen
On or before Until such time
as Until
Because
Ontheground thatt
-
Unto To
By Use
On the part ot Utilize
Start With regard to About
Originate Ask, inquire
Make inguiry Without the Philippines Outside the Philippines
|Mention
Make mention of
Motion to vacate
Whether or not Whether
Motion for vacatur

Per annum A year E. Practical Exercises

Searched
Performed a search on
Limit This section is of the things that sets apart this book from
one
Place a limitation upon
Before other materials. Believing that the English Language and Legal
Prior to mere theoretical and

Get Writing are better mastered not only through

Procure knowledge, wee
hypothetical discussions but through experiential
Provide assistance Help have carefully crafted some practical
exercises. This way, you may

Provide protection to Protect review the previous discussions that we

had.
Provide responses Respond
Promulgate lssue 1. Use of Prepositions If
Provided that However if is correct or not.
statement
Assess whether the and
Pursuant to underline the error
|Under, by, in accordance with rections:
before the number. If not,
Reach a resolution Resolve ect, write "T"
Write the correction on the line provided.
Render Make statements
submitted by my client.
| Retain . T a g r e e to
the

Reveal the identity of Keep

Identify
 A MULTIDISCPLINARYAPPROACH:

TO
LEGAL WRITING

IV-Fundamentals of Legal Writing

146 147
d i s e u s s e d
about he damages that
th.
a ruling as
partes
The arriving cases
2 W e r e i n c u r r e d .

Complications
interpretation can arise statutory
ackadaisical
construction.
reading in the law tends
_a mere syntactical
knowledge about the its very
kno lies
construction. Diligence overlook value
incident,
had no that

The gusrd ires

therefore, require:
3 law, diligence in the study of the the study of
at hand, I
written. language it is
4 In egsrds
to
to the ma
talk in the phone.
believe it is 3. Tndefinite, Ambiguous, and Vague References
informal

nirections: On the blank before the

number, identify the error
To try to cope up with this problem of schedul by writing:
the clerk of court decid to do
hesrings. an E for error in
overtime to fix the
schedules. Subject-Verb Agreement
I for error in Indefinite
Reference
with join legal team A for
Finall, Divina agreed error in
our
ambiguous reference
and we definitely agreed to her with the decis
V for error in vague reference

Then, rewrite the sentence to correct the error on the line

The contract is the law among the two contractino nrovided. If there is no error, write C and do not rewrite the sentence.
parties.
1. The defense lawyer failed miserably in the task,
which caused him to be sacked.
SThe other party agreed on his demands.

2. Anybody who is interested to witness the trial

9. Knowledge of international law is an advantage. should sign up with their class beadles.

10. The court was acting out excess of its power 3. Camille told Jane that she had to report to her
and would itself be guilty with grave abuse of office at once.
discretion.

4. It says the warning sign that they will fine you

on

2.2. Polishing Prepositions P5,000 for vandalizing this wal.

Directions: Read the paragraph below. As you read, supply tne established homes on the
5. Illegal settlers
appropriate prepositions (e.g., in,on, at, above, of) to complee
the de Bay. This caused
idea. waterways leading to Laguna
massive flooding
rise
Scrupulous attention language details can, times,
the level. relentless quibble. the study. overpopulated,
this has led to
law, you will realize, The country is
inthe details. The boneif you haven't alreadv., that
"devil" is often 6.
the "devi widespread unemployment.
the proper and contention may rest purely
that may
prove to be
painstaking appreciation language elements

determinative, if not consequenue

tial,
 RY PPROACH O
A MULTIDISCIPLINAR

IV-Fundamentals of Legal Writing

LEGAL WRITING

148
that if ou 149
have
article
the

7. It sars
on
on
tnare ore likely
more lik to speed. been 8. The question of the
you
be level of
drinking.
agreed between the fees to be paid
that performance-relatedparties
bonuses and it is
told Cindy that she hated
Cin her new part of the possible
S
Justine
told
remuneration package. also form
hairstyle.
6. Verb Consistency
which
courtroom
was crowded
was a big Directions: Find the errors in the
tenses. Place the
9The
mistske
because of threat
of the
the threat of the
coronavi on
the line provided. corrections
1. The meeting is set later at around six in the
books out of the shelf ana evening.
10. Take the law cleanit
2. The terms of
agreement are
dependent the
demands and compromises of the parties.upon
Language in Legal Documents
Operative 3. The provisions about the
4
Directions: Select
from the table the modal that is suitable for through sea lanes does notarchipelagic passage
impair Philippine
on the line provided. sOvereignty.
Write the a n s w e r
each sentence.

4. They stop payment last 2002 and the last

cannot installment paid in January.
may
must
shall 5. The partners have to discussed matters with
mey not will regard to the merger of the firms.

be obtained 6. The private investigators wait in the lounge for

The consent of RCBC Bank
1 two hours.
before the share transfer proceeds.
7. The previous investigation had been revealed
2. The parties intend that this agreement information that the victim was killed by a
fruitful
signal the beginning of a long and hammer.
cooperation between them.
the
8. He execute a promissory note promised to pay
3 The seller deliver the goods to the buyer no indebtedness on December 20, 2021.
later than December 15, 2020. for
9. A and B entersinto a contract of partnership
agree to
and selling liquors.
4.
Itis contemplated that the parties. the purpose of buying
further purchases of Produc A in the future. not bind himself
10. The owner of the shop had
et. to pay the
5. This information constitutes business with his acquaintance
discloseseit
a solidarily
to
Therefore, the distributor obligation.
third parties.
6. Since the firm does not have relevant
that area of
exper
law, it handle this case.
e have
7. We
contact the Vendors as soon
as
received the relevant information.
 AMULTIDISCIPLINARYAPPROACH
LEGAL WRITING
IV-Fundamentals of Legal Writing
151
150
6. A v o i d i n gN o m i n a l i z a t i o n s
7. Drill on Subject-Verb Agreement
following
sentence ces to make the Drections: Write T if the sentence is correct.
Edit the
revisions
r e v i s i o n s
on
o n the lines provida Verb ce the rrection before the number. Otherwise,
Directions:

ite
Wr ite the
the
action.
hardly discriminator 1. A real
perform
the
company's
actions were party-in-interest is the party who stand to
showing that the o be benefited or
1.The
was no
injured by the judgment in a suit.
when
there Was
any type atory preference
of d i s c r i m i n a t o r y 2. Not only are contracts done with other
practicing
but contracts people
one can have with oneself is also
permitted and this is called auto contracts.
Several
members
were in ttendance, and
att
those
i
were in agreement ment that the board's action 3. Taxes are the lifeblood of the
government since
present
violative of the
bylaws. they defray the necessary expenses of its existence
was
and operation.

a lecture to the counsel, 4. What is needed right now is more corroborating

3. The judge gave witnesses.

5. IfI were the judge, I am ruling in the negative.

that the company had committed
4. The court found
discrimination a g a i n s t w o m e n .
parties are ones who are not
6. Necessary
indispensable but are joined to obtain a complete
relief.
decision aboutt which to pick
5. The parties made a
has suffered-
among the
choices in the settlement. 7. The totality of injury that my client
the pain,
the sleepless nights, the mental anxiety,
soon forgotten.
and the anguish-are not
6. The workers achieved completion of
the job.
butter are not supposed
8. The attorney's bread and
in to be subjected to haggling.
7. Atty. Usman told the witness to make changes for
or
defendants desires
her way of dressing. 9. Either the plaintiff
continuance of the trial.
sufficient
are
further number of rising plaintiffs
8. Our eaders must take action now or a 10. The to a suit against
represent all
persons
disaster is bound to happen. enough to
him. their
homeowners
have expressed
. Bill's employer asked him to make a summary of 11. A number of
petition.
the new cases. desire to sign the inconsistencies

the
alongside inadmissible

stuttering for his

12. His grounds
cited a s
10. The subpoena came as a shock to being
Linda. are
of
testimony. signature
bear the
will
page
of the
Does e v e r y
l3.
the testator?
 TO

IV-Fundamentals of Legal Writing

APPROACH

MULTIDISCWLINARY
L G A L W R I T I N G

152 153
ure to
for the
fori
major
c a u s e s

proceed
feredible witnesses. equipment from the property.
of the lack ofcr
One
is the insists upon Moreover, my client
section of fencehaving
14 the suit
wth
law deny
the allegations in the which replacement of the
your client took entire
15.
The
father-in
replacement to be at your client's down, the
complant.

expense.
Writing 7. Inthe event that there is
ofLegal
by the vendor, waiver
a
& P r i n c i p l e s
learned in
in legal writing and
Do he
provisions of the indemnity
Apply
the
principles
tollowing sentences. Do
sentences. not
forget waiver must be a
letter
confirming
produced by the vendor's the
Dire
uons:

provided
the
if needed. for the purpose of
rewrite on
the ines marks
inspection solicitor
punctuation
by the purchaser.
to use the sppropriste

have signed
this. document, you hay
7 Becsuse
Be you to sue for any breache
hes. 8. Mr. Brown hit the
given up your
right
head,but as it was
windscreen of the car with his
unhurt. composed of celluloid he was
arties that have
signed this.agreemer
Both the that the oth
2 if it turns «out
it to a n end
c a n bring
to pay its debts. 9 The first case wassettled for
not able
party is
second piece of litigation was 300,000 pesos, the
court for 340,000 pesos, whiledisposed of out of
that if Party B gets sued by anyone the price of the
3. Party A agrees agreement reached in the third suit
for a reason to do with the distribution or sale f pesos.
was 640,000
A will be responsible for
the products then Party
costs that result
from this.
any
10. The exclusion clause is
already null and void
by reason of the prior order and direction of the
sent Party B by
4 PartyA has to pay all invoices whichbythe court. This being the case, the
invoices exclusionary cause
30 days after the day the goods can have no further force or effect
are for arrive at Party A's depot. If Party A hasn't
paid the invoices in time, Party B is allowed to
charge penalty interest at the rate of 20%.

5. This agreement will last for a period of two

years from the date on which it was signed by
the parties, but unless either party ends if for
one of the reasons set out in clause
5, it will
automatically renewed for further periods of two
years.

6. My client is willing to settle this case for

80,000php, to be paid to your client, aand ts
our
client must
and immediately return the blueprints
specifications and must remove his
his
a