Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Your Legal Case

More than your creativity, legal writing needs clarity and precision. When writing for your legal case, simplicity can be overwhelming because in the race to be ahead and different, people often forget to present facts in a simple way. Writing legal case summaries is about following simplicity, and keeping it hard can make the entire court brainstorm more; and reading between the lines is not included in the profession and skillset of the judge. 

Even though legal writing involves the simplest structure, format, and sentences, people tend to make mistakes, and we will discuss just about it. Here are some of the legal writing mistakes you have to avoid:

Avoid Writing in Passive Voice

Writing your legal case in passive voice can result in ambiguity, and it often causes confusion in the court about who performed what actions, and ambiguity is not entertained in courts. Using the active voice promotes precision and clarity and tells the court directly about the case, and gives room for arguments. Writing “plaintiff is demanding compensation” instead of “compensation is demanded” has a clear meaning.

Avoid Using Ambiguous Pronouns

Using ambiguous pronouns is indeed one of the common legal writing mistakes, but it should not be committed. The pronoun used in a sentence can refer to more than one person, which can leave the judge and the opposition wondering whom you are referring leading to confusion and misinterpretation.  It is always advised to use named nouns instead of pronouns when multiple people are involved to offer clarity. 

Avoid Using Pointless Wordiness

Your legal writing is not a literature thesis that you need to decorate using heavy jargon and a number of words that are not familiar in court. Also, some words are interpreted differently in the legal context and may sound entitled or arrogant, and they can very much divert the cause of the case. Always use simple words to convey your thoughts and demands, and there is no harm in using the same word 30 times if required, instead of using different synonyms for it.

 Avoid Using Wrong Homophones

Despite you being a word wizard, using a wrong homophone is common, but the same can’t be bypassed when it comes to legal writing. Wrong homophones are not merely grammatical mistakes but change the meaning of the entire sentence. Like you may be using “insure” instead of “ensure” or “there” instead of “their,” and the list is unlimited. Always cross-check such homophones and look for the meaning to confirm you are using the right one. 

Avoid Incorrect Formatting of Citations

While it is important to use citations in your legal writing, formatting them incorrectly is not seen as good and lessens the credibility of your case. Common formatting citation mistakes involve incorrect use of the short-form citation, not making the citations “italic,” incorrect abbreviation, and mentioning the exact sources. To avoid these citation formatting mistakes, use some good sources and a guide on the same. 

There can be more to the list, and you must research them before you start legal writing. When you avoid the common mistakes, the chances of making a good impression become obvious.