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1L Resources, Tips and Tools: Legal Writing & Analysis

This guide describes print and digital resources to help 1Ls succeed at Brooklyn Law School.

Introduction

There are two main types of legal writing:

  • Balanced analysis of a legal problem or issue
    • Examples: Inter-office memoranda and letters to clients.To be effective, a lawyer needs to be sensitive to the needs, level of interest and background of the parties to whom a memo or letter is addressed.
  • Persuasive argument
    • Examples: Appellate briefs and negotiation letters written on behalf of clients. When presenting documents to a court or to an administrative agency, a lawyer must comply with style requirements of the court or agency.

Tip: Black's Law Dictionary (12th ed. 2024) is available on the public access table (first floor), on a table in the Nash Reading Room (3rd floor) and in Westlaw.

Legal Writing

New Edition of Textbook Co-authored by BLS Faculty:

Additional Textbooks:

Guides, Handbooks & Manuals:

Study Aids:

Selected Essays & Speeches:

BLS Code of Academic Responsibility Section G.

Unless a BLS instructor has expressly permitted it, the use of ChatGPT or any similar technology to generate required or graded work product represents an integrity violation of the BLS Code of Academic Responsibility.  Please consult Section G. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GENERALLY PROHIBITED of this Code.

Plagiarism: Definition, Suggestions to Avoid Allegations of Plagiarism & BLS Code of Academic Responsibility Section B

"plagiarism (pla´ j • riz´ • m) n. Taking the literary property of another, passing it off as one’s own without appropriate attribution, and reaping from its use any benefit from an academic institution."

"Avoiding allegations of plagiarism requires knowing when to cite. Here are important rules and suggestions to follow when working with authority:

1. Acknowledge direct use of someone else’s words.
2. Acknowledge any paraphrase of someone else’s words.
3. Acknowledge direct use of someone else’s idea.

Careful scholarship, which is especially important in an academic setting, requires adhering to two additional rules:

4. Acknowledge a source when your own analysis or conclusion builds on that source.
5. Acknowledge a source when your idea about a legal opinion came from a source other than the opinion itself."

- Excerpts above reproduced from pp. 2 & 4 of Law School Plagiarism v. Proper Attribution, a publication of the Legal Writing Institute.

In the BLS Code of Academic Responsibility, please consult Section B. PLAGIARISM, UNAUTHORIZED COLLABORATION OR USE OF MATERIALS, and UNAUTHORIZED RECORDINGS.

CALI Lesson: Plagiarism

Plagiarism in an Online World - Staying Out of Trouble

Minneapolis, MN : Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction

Approximate completion time: 45 minutes

  • This lesson will explain what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid plagiarizing.  It also will offer opportunities for students to test their understanding of plagiarism.

Legal Analysis

Textbooks:

Critical Reading Guides:

Other Study Aids: