Written Legal Drafting and Argumentation
Structure of legal writing
A good legal memorandum or judgment-style text has: a heading identifying the parties and the question, a statement of facts, a procedural history, the claims and arguments of each party, the legal analysis, and a dispositif or conclusion. Use clear headings and short paragraphs.
Style
Write in the register of legal French or Dutch as required: precise, sober, and impersonal. Avoid rhetorical excess. Use defined terms consistently. Cite legal bases accurately (law, article, date). Prefer active constructions where clarity demands it, but respect the conventional formulas.
Argumentation
Build arguments as syllogisms: major premise (rule), minor premise (facts), conclusion. Anticipate counter-arguments and answer them. Distinguish principal from subsidiary arguments. Use the a fortiori, a contrario, and analogy reasoning explicitly.
Traps
Do not mix the roles of facts and law. Do not cite a provision without verifying its current numbering. Watch the difference between a conclusion and a dispositif. Avoid unsupported assertions.
Worked rule
When drafting a conclusion, formulate the request in operative terms: what the court should order, against whom, and on what basis. A vague request may be declared inadmissible.
Rule of thumb
Read your draft as the opposing party would, and check that every factual assertion has a source in the file.