CONTENTS -- FOREWORD -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- INTRODUCTION Getting and Keeping a Competitive Edge -- WRITING LIKE A LAWYER -- WRITINGÌS A TOUCHY SUBJECT -- FOCUS ON DENSITY -- ATTORNEYS AND WRITER'S BLOCK -- MIN(D)ING THE FIELD Appellate Judges Speak Out -- MANIPULATING LEGAL SENTENCES First Aid -- THE LONG SENTENCE -- LEFT-HANDED SENTENCES -- MARSHMALLOW CONSTRUCTIONS -- CASES AND CITATIONS WITHIN THE TEXT -- COORDINATION AND SUBORDINATION Defining Relationships -- EXAMINING OTHER PROFESSIONAL PROSE -- EMULATING THE PRO'S PROSE Stylistic Consciousness -- DELIBERATE SENTENCE STRUCTURE -- BEWARE OF AMBIGUOUS MODIFIERS -- MANIPULATING LEGAL ORGANIZATION Structure Is Meaning -- ORGANIZATION AND THE DEDUCTIVE THRUST -- QUICK TRICKS FOR ORGANIZATION -- MANIPULATING WORDS Bigger Isn't Better -- JARGON Manure, Margarine, and Moderation -- BOILERPLATE Empty Formalisms -- GENDER-NEUTRAL LANGUAGE -- THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT -- PUNCTUATING FOR CLARITY The Poetry of Punctuation -- ALLOWING COMMAS TO CREATE MEANING -- SENTENCE PUNCTUATION GUIDE -- ÏQUOTATION MARKS?" She Queried- or, The Arbitrary Rules Surrounding Quotation Marks -- THAT SOPHISTICATED SEMICOLON -- COMPOUND ADJECTIVES AND NOUN STRINGS -- ADVICE AND REFERENCES So Go Be an Expert -- TESTING YOUR BASICS -- GRAMMAR RULES VERSUS SUGGESTIONS -- ADVICE TO PARTNERS ABOUT ADVICE -- REFERENCE BOOKS FOR LEGAL WRITERS -- INDEX.