Why Must Read Typography for Lawyers 2nd?

In the introduction to this book, the ultimate authority in legal writing, Bryan Garner, advocates for simply calling this book "Butterick." He's right: Butterick rightly belongs in the legal pantheon that includes LaFave, Imwinkelried, and Hart & Wechsler. The difference, though, is that Butterick is essential for any lawyer, in any practice. Our profession seems to forever be looking backwards, and nowhere is this more evident than in the typography of legal documents. Monospaced fonts, double-spaced text, too-small margins -- the list is endless. Looking at the average piece of legal writing is to take a step back into a time where the only alternatives were longhand and typewriters. Legal reading is already too often a bore. There's no need to make it worse by making your reader's eyes suffer through fifty pages of twelve-point Courier text. We can't change the archaic court rules that frequently require us to format our documents in ways that make it harder on the judges, but we can, and should, work within those rules to make our documents shine. Butterick offers a variety of suggestions on how to give your legal documents an extra, professional touch. He recommends fonts and margins that will make your writing easier to comprehend. He digs into seemingly every key on your keyboard, explaining how it should be used. He effortlessly guides you through using your word processor's ability to style paragraphs to make life easy on you. All his suggestions can't be summarized; you'll have to read the book. I assure you that it's worth your time. But what really makes this book stand out is its ease of use. There are handy reference tables so you can quickly put the character you need into your document. The typesetting of the book is, unsurprisingly, extraordinarily useful. You can flip through the book while glancing at the side margins to find what you're looking for, if you haven't already gone to the index. If you've got a question about typography, then he's got an answer for you at your fingertips. For any lawyer who takes pride in his or her writing, this book is a must-own. It's not enough to write clearly and persuasively when, through judicious use how those words are placed on the page, you can get your points across even more clearly and effortlessly. Butterick will show you how.