One occasionally meets a lawyer who claims, “Oh, I’m no stylist. I leave style to others. I’m just interested in the facts and the law.” This view is founded on a basic misunderstanding. Style isn’t something extraneous to legal writing—it’s intrinsic and unavoidable. The act of writing itself consists of a thousand choices. As lawyers select words, construct sentences, and decide how to arrange ideas, style is constantly emerging—whether intentionally crafted or not.
Even the most fact-focused legal writing is shaped by stylistic decisions. The lawyer who aspires to write with absolute objectivity must still choose between technical jargon and plain English, brevity and thoroughness, or active and passive voice. These choices determine whether the prose is clear, precise, and persuasive or difficult, muddled, and unconvincing. Style cannot be avoided—it’s ever-present, for good or ill, in every document a lawyer produces.
So the question is never whether a lawyer has a style, but whether the style is effective. Legal writing achieves its purpose when it’s clear, concise, and engaging—qualities achieved only through thoughtful stylistic choices. Like all other writers, lawyers constantly inhabit the realm of style. It’s their responsibility to make that realm a place of strength rather than weakness. Good legal writing is always—without exception—good legal style.