Legal Writing in Context

Readers of this textbook will learn to think deductively and analogically, to distill the holdings of multiple cases into a coherent legal rule, and to craft a compelling narrative, among other skills. All the nuts and bolts of effective lawyering are here. But this new edition also helps students understand how context (historical, societal, and personal) can play a role in legal analysis and gives students tools for how to find and use that context.

Professors Susan McMahon and Sonya Bonneau have mined the writings of legal academics, lawyers, judges, psychologists, and philosophers to produce a text for legal writing courses that teaches students practical writing skills, uses theory to explain why those skills are effective, and primes students to understand the influence of context on legal thinking.

The teacher's manual, which includes not only suggestions for effectively teaching these materials but also class exercises, sample syllabi, and annotated examples, is available at legalwritingincontext.com.