Reddit reviews Plain English for Lawyers

You're going to kick yourself.

I also recommend Plain English for Lawyers.

I am sorry I cannot help you more. But, just as a heads up the idea of "legal speak" is being pushed out of the legal industry. The book Plain English for Lawyers could help your writing potentially if that is something you are wanting to improve. Legal writing is less about using terms such as "henceforth, therefore, notwithstanding, etc." and more focused on being concise and clear in your writing. Best of luck to you.

Experience doesn't necessarily make him a great writer. Still, don't let him bring you down or demoralize you. Especially since you're trying to improve your writing. It sounds like a normal control thing; in my experience, lawyers rewrite things for no reason except that it's what they learned in law school or it's just what's worked for them in the past. And lawyers hate changing their writing style—since Bryan Garner's tips from TWB are the "new" style that most practicing lawyers don't really care for, he may disagree with some of it. Ask him for recommended reading and see what he says. (I had a similar experience and I can understand how it's incredibly frustrating.)

But in the short term:

1. Keep in mind that random briefs (on random topics) for one attorney during one summer don't reflect your entire writing ability. Nor is his judgment of your writing necessarily accurate. If you can, ask someone else (friend/atty not at the office) to look at a copy of an early draft that you think is good and see what they say.
   
   
2. Figure out however he wants you to write, in whatever format, and stick to it. Don't bother trying to change his mind. (Sounds obvious, I know, but the point is that you can write how he wants you to at work, and develop your own style on your own.)
   
   Long term, I recommend these for improving brief-writing skills:
   
   
3. The best book on brief writing is Winning on Appeal by Ruggero Aldisert--a fed app judge
   
   
4. For some of the best examples, read the Solicitor General's briefs that are all available online
   
   
5. I found the no-longer-secret Supreme Court Style Guide to be helpful and interesting
   
   
6. Also, not super helpful, but interesting is the OSG Citation Manual
   
   
7. Another good resource is The Art of Advocacy
   
   
8. And Plain English for Lawyers
   
   Good luck!

Plain English for Lawyers is a great book and pushes us in the right direction. Not for simplicity's sake, but because being understood and persuasive require clear meaning.

Two books I can suggest:

1. Wydick, Plain English for Lawyers
   
2. Kuney & Looper, Mastering Legal Analysis and Drafting

THIS helped me tremendously. It's super short and super useful. I recommend it.

> I'm not trolling, I'm genuinely curious, but aren't we supposed to be a little pretentious as lawyers? Isn't that just assumed with the territory?

No, use plain english as much as possible, unless a term of art is unavoidable. Didn't they cover this in your legal writing class?

Check out Plain English for Lawyers by Richard C. Wydick.

Although the book is aimed at lawyers, it should help accountants as well. It helps the writer to stop using wordy phrases that professionals tend to use.

http://www.amazon.com/Plain-English-Lawyers-Richard-Wydick/dp/1594601518

Haha the way you write is how they specifically train us not to write in law school because it's not plain enough. This might be a useful book even for non-lawyers to make their writing simpler and more sophisticated: http://www.amazon.com/Plain-English-Lawyers-5th-Edition/dp/1594601518