One could believe that the primary objective in legal writing is to bore the opposition to death or send them running, but practitioner Fontham and his co-authors (both law, McGeorge School of Law) hold out hope that lawyers and related professionals can actually communicate persuasively. This edition, which includes expanded material on new technologies and oral argument via video conferencing, gives detailed coverage of both trial motion and appellate practice and also offers a number of exercises and examples. They cover the basics, from getting started to writing for clarity, and proceed to the finer points of editing and applying the law. They describe preparing and presenting oral arguments, preparing memoranda and research memoranda, taking and appeal, applying the standards of review, preparing appellate briefs and working through writ applications, petitions for rehearing and appellate motions. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
