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The Art and Craft of Judgment Writing: A Primer for Common Law Judges, 2nd Edition

The Art and Craft of Judgment Writing: A Primer for Common Law Judges, 2nd Edition

Author: Max Barrett
Publisher: Globe Law and Business
ISBN: 9781837230709

Previous Edition ISBN: 9781787428577
Published In: June 2025
Format: Hardback , 700 pages
Jurisdiction: International ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

List Price: AU$429.00

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Description
Contents
Reviews

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In this second edition of The Art and Craft of Judgment Writing, Max Barrett, an experienced and practising judge working in Ireland, will not only enhance your judgment writing skills but elevate them to a new level of clarity, precision and style. With the first edition already used by judges around the globe, this new edition goes beyond the fundamentals to dive into cutting-edge areas of interest that today’s judges need to navigate.

Subjects new to the second edition:

The use (and misuse) of artificial intelligence in judgment writing. Stay ahead of the curve as AI begins to influence legal writing.
Visual aids in judgments. Learn how diagrams, graphs and infographics can make judgments more comprehensible and memorable.
Effective use of Precedent. Read about the challenging balance between being thorough and overwhelming your readers.
The power of storytelling. Discover how narrative techniques can make your judgments clearer and more powerful.
Structured writing and editing. Develop a process that ensures your judgments are well-organised and polished.
Proper use of footnotes and gender-inclusive language. Enhance the professionalism and inclusivity of your work.
Collaborative judgment-writing. Understand better the dynamics of working on a judgment-writing team.

With more real-world examples from case law, a 'key learnings and question' section with each chapter to help judges turn theory into practice and an entirely new exploration of what great fiction writers have taught about writing, The Art and Craft of Judgment Writing is not just a book: it's a roadmap to becoming a better writer and a more effective judge.

Preface

Foreword

Part 1: General

1. On judgments

2. Judgments: purpose and audience

3. Judgment length

4. Judgment style

5. Judgment structure

6. Dissenting and concurring judgments

7. Children, families, and immigrants

8. Ex tempore judgments

9. The judgment as the art of truth

Part 2: Some specific aspects of judgment writing

10. Writing a judgment using AI

11. The ethics of using AI

12. AI and legal research

13. Visual aids

14. Storytelling

15. Structured writing

16. Using precedents

17. Sensitive information

18. Writing long judgments

19. Judgment summaries

20. Editing

21. Footnotes

22. Collaborative judgment writing

23. Media sensitivity

24. Gender-inclusive language

25. The future of judgment writing

Part 3: Some great judges and their writing

26. Three great women judges

27. Three great American judges

28. Three great British judges

29. Some great judges from the wider world

Part 4: Some lessons from great writers

30. Barbauld

31. Besant

32. Conrad

33. Crawford

34. De Maupassant

35. De Quincey

36. Forster

37. Hardy

38. The Hawthornes

39. Hazlitt

40. Howells

41. James

42. Johnson

43. Lawrence

44. Lewes

45. Lewis

46. Matthews

47. Maugham

48. Orwell

49. Pater

50. Poe

51. Raleigh

52. Saintsbury

53. Schopenhauer

54. Spencer

55. Stevenson

56. Thompson

57. Trollope

58. Twain

59. Wharton

60. Woolf

Part 5: A judgment writing code

61. A proposed code on judgment writing

Appendix A: A Handbook on Judgment Writing

Review from previous edition: "This is a marvellous book, full of wisdom and literary references. It is written by a leading Irish judge and brings with it an international flavour, featuring judgments from common law jurisdictions across the world."

- David Pickup, Law Society Gazette

Review from previous edition: "This is an enjoyable and instructive book for all who are interested in how law is made."

- Joshua Rozenberg

Review from previous edition: "I very much enjoyed the opportunity this book gave me for dipping in and out of a wide range of judgments across a wide span of geography and time, absorbing their literary qualities and individual styles…I found myself turning down the corners of pages so I could better find again some little quote from a judgment that I rather liked, and which had current potency or particular relevance to my field of work or areas of interest…I thought this was an excellent book and recommend it to other legal professionals, not just judges."

- Lucy Reed KC