Rating: 
Summary: Essential!
Review: As a great admirer of Prof. Garner's other works, I was very disappointed by this volume. It provides little advice that cannot be found, in equally brief form, in any number of "general" writing guides already on the market. I believe lawyers and law students would be better served by buying, first, Garner's *Modern Legal Usage* (a true masterpiece) and reading the essays on general stylistic topics in that excellent volume. If one has additional money and time, Garner's "Winning Brief" would be a wise second purchase. [Note: This review, originally written several years ago, was of the first edition of Prof. Garner's *Elements.* The second edition appears to be much improved over the first.]
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to Prof. Garner's high standard.
Review: As a great admirer of Prof. Garner's other works, I was very disappointed by this volume. It provides little advice that cannot be found, in equally brief form, in any number of "general" writing guides already on the market. I believe lawyers and law students would be better served by buying, first, Garner's *Modern Legal Usage* (a true masterpiece) and reading the essays on general stylistic topics in that excellent volume. If one has additional money and time, Garner's "Winning Brief" would be a wise second purchase. [Note: This review, originally written several years ago, was of the first edition of Prof. Garner's *Elements.* The second edition appears to be much improved over the first.]
Rating:
Summary: Essential!
Review: Being a huge fan of Mr. Garners other guides this guide in question was a given choice for examination. In this refernce tool, i.e., The Elements of Legal Style by Bryan A. Garner, Mr. Garner presents everything from basic grammatical rules to how one should enhance clarity, use correct verbage and simply how to become a better writer. Garner presents these and many more facets of legal style in a very user friendly way and the font chosen in this volume is very easy on the eye and a joy to read and use. Highly Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: A "Must Have" for Anyone Engaged in Legal Writing
Review: Despite the fact that many attorneys spend much of their time writing motions, briefs, memos and such with the intent of writing clearly and persuasively, most attorneys fail miserably at doing so. Many judges, the very people the attorneys are attempting to persuade complain of how terribly most attorneys write.Now we have Bryan Garner to the rescue. If you don't know about Bryan, he is one of the preeminent legal scholars on the subject of writing clearly and persuasively. Bryan helps attorneys cut through the clutter of legalese, organize their arguments, and, ultimately, draft documents that often will win their argument solely on the basis of the fact that the Judge can at least read and understand the message. Law students can also benefit from the information found in this book. I would even recommend it for the average layperson who wishes to represent their self in court or who simply wants to write more clearly and directly. Every lawyer should have this book on their shelf and follow its advice religiously. This book may very well be the "bible" of legal writing.
Rating:
Summary: The best single investment in legal writing.
Review: I bought this book in 1994 or so, and try to read it every year as a refresher course. You can read the entire book (skimming the examples) in a long weekend. Doing that will immessurably improve the coherence and power of your writing. This book has helped me. The examples are clear and relevant and relatively easy to use in your own writing. Garner has a real gift and this early book was just the first sign of his abilities. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The best single investment in legal writing.
Review: I bought this book in 1994 or so, and try to read it every year as a refresher course. You can read the entire book (skimming the examples) in a long weekend. Doing that will immessurably improve the coherence and power of your writing. This book has helped me. The examples are clear and relevant and relatively easy to use in your own writing. Garner has a real gift and this early book was just the first sign of his abilities. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A well-designed and highly useful guidebook
Review: My first Garner book was "The Winning Brief," purchased as I was preparing for an ultimately successful fight against a speeding ticket, and I was instantly taken by his clear and informative style. This book continues that trend. Garner is an exceptional writer, and even the best of writers, legal or otherwise, can learn a great deal from this book.
Rating:
Summary: A well-designed and highly useful guidebook
Review: My first Garner book was "The Winning Brief," purchased as I was preparing for an ultimately successful fight against a speeding ticket, and I was instantly taken by his clear and informative style. This book continues that trend. Garner is an exceptional writer, and even the best of writers, legal or otherwise, can learn a great deal from this book.
Rating:
Summary: Every lawyer and judge should have a copy.
Review: Perhaps because Garner's major work, "A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage," has received so much attention, this little book is often overlooked. This is unfortunate because "The Elements of Legal Style" is an outstanding resource and it is probably more accessible and more useful to the working lawyer than "A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage." As Professor Wright indicates in his incisive Forward, "anyone, no matter how good a writer, will find much that is useful in the book." This book should be in the library of every lawyer and judge. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic resource for legal writers
Review: There is a dirty little secret in the world of the law. Not many people outside the legal world know about it. I will share it with you:
Few judges, lawyers and law students know how to write effectively. Even fewer would readily admit to being poor writers.
But fear not! This book gives valuable advice and suggestions on how any legal writer can improve their writings. It helps the reader understand exactly what it is that makes a piece of writing "good." It gives many examples of bad writing and suggestions on how to make it better. It also tries to convince legal writers to keep their prose short and simple: a writer is not going to make up for a poorly-written argument by using lots of Latin words/phrases and legal mumbojumbo.
If you are a legal practitioner, this book is an absolute requirement for your bookshelf. Since buying it, I have consulted it regularly. I have yet to be disappointed by the guidance it has given me.
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