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Lifting the Fog of Legalese: Essays on Plain English »

Authors: Joseph Kimble
ISBN-13: 9781594602122, ISBN-10: 1594602123
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Carolina Academic Press
Date Published: December 2005
Edition: (Non-applicable)

Author Biography: Joseph Kimble

Book Synopsis

Professor Joseph Kimble, a leading expert on plain language, has collected in this one book many of his published essays. They will interest and inform judges, lawyers, law students, legal scholars, and anyone else who engages in legal writing.

This book is unique. No other American book combines the strong evidence and myth-busting arguments for plain legal language with so much practical advice and so many useful examples. And no other book is more likely to open lawyers' eyes to the emptiness of legalese-the style that has afflicted legal writing for centuries.

Law Institute Journal

The collection [of Kimble's essays] will satisfy his many fans and introduce those new to plain language to a master of the skill. . . . This is a thoroughly enjoyable book, and its lessons are invaluable.

Pt. 1	Arguments and evidence
	Strike three for legalese	3
	The straight skinny on better judicial opinions (part 1)	15
	The great myth that plain language is not precise	37
	Don't stop now : an open letter to the SEC	49
	The struggle against suspect arguments	53
	You be the judge	59
	You be the judge (again)	63
Pt. 2	Some advice and some more examples
	The elements of plain language	69
	First things first : the lost art of summarizing	73
	The straight skinny on better judicial opinions (part 2)	89
	How to mangle court rules and jury instructions	105
	How to write an impeachment order	125
	A crack at federal drafting	135
	The lessons of one example	145
	A modest wish list for legal writing	151
	Plain words	163
App. 1	A litany of complaints	175
App. 2	A plain-language bookshelf	181

Subjects

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