Modern Legal Drafting: A Guide to Using Clearer Language, 3rd Edition

Modern Legal Drafting provides a comprehensive, authoritative guide to drafting legal documents in effective, plain English. Peter Butt, a leading expert in the field, has fully revised and updated the text for this new edition. It combines a practical focus with the legal principles that underpin the use of plain language in law. This dual practical and academic approach distinguishes it from other books in the field. It includes expanded material on the techniques for achieving a style that is both clear and legally sound. It also includes new material on the challenges and merits of drafting in plain language, and provides many before-and-after examples to help both practising lawyers and students develop their skills. It takes an international approach, drawing upon case law and statutes from England, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Ireland, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

• takes a dual practical and academic approach and goes beyond mere drafting techniques to delve into the theory and case law

• provides many before-and-after examples to bring legal drafting to life

• draws upon international case law and statutes, making it relevant in all countries where English is the language of the law