How to Nurture Legal Drafting Skills?

The pain of drafting legal documents is evident today, as many law interns, associates, and even seasoned lawyers are grappling with it. The case has many edges to flourish in the courtroom, and drafting is indeed one of them. Misconceiving it as a one-time task, many people have overlooked its importance. They are now juggling with legal lingo, courtroom procedures, statutory requirements, formal structuring, logical understanding of the wording, etc. 

Okay, so without delving much into the significance of drafting, it is vital to keep an eye out for the recent court perspectives for making the drafts robust. 

Viewpoints of the Hon’ble Judges- 

Justice Suryakant, in the event of the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCOARA), has underpinned the art of ‘convincing drafting’. This refers to the art of drafting that pulls the readers through its legal framework, language, law analysis, and reasoning.

His words- “Disclose all those facts which are required to be disclosed, but don’t say anything without which your case can stand. So it’s not necessary to repeat anything which needs not to be mentioned. But at the same time, do not conceal something which requires to be disclosed”.

The guidance of Justice Suryakant didn’t cease here. He further stresses the art of framing and structuring the paragraphs in a way that galvanizes the judge to read the next one. Weighing it into the 50% case winning secret ingredient.

Justice J.K Maheshwari, alluded to the impact of good drafting and the corresponding pursuit of the legal case as directly proportional. He stressed that a strong drafting pursues the Judge to proceed with the case firmly and vice versa. 

His words- “We go through briefs every day, and from them, we can gauge how much effort an AOR has put into a case. Sometimes, even if a case lacks substantial merit, a well-drafted petition can persuade the bench to issue a notice and examine it further. Conversely, a strong case can suffer if not properly drafted.”

My Observations-

I have compiled the following tips relevant to good drafting of the soaked-in exposure from my various internships-

• Map out the format first– Refer to the format aka the template of the draft intended to work upon, either through an ideal sample or legal illuminaries’ books like A.K Sharma- ‘Daily-use drafts‘, Kush Karla books, Nayan Joshi- ‘Legal Writing & Drafting’, S.C Tripathi- ‘Legal Drafting & Conveyancing’. 
• Enlist the relevant pointers– Detail out the relevant points depending upon the facts, issues, and the previous or ongoing proceedings of the case to develop the queue of the inevitable points for the intended draft.
• Develop a chronology for the draft–  Date and events are the bloodline of the case, channelizing the route of the case. But haywire stuffing of such dates and events will dismantle its very purpose. Therefore, a careful timeline of the events will prevent the case from drooping. 
• Draw a skeleton of the Draft–  Skeleton of a draft will put the picture of the case in the frame. Walk yourselves through the respective governing act while framing the skeleton of the case, without which it will be lopsided, e.g., For instance, if the dispute relates to recovery of possession of immovable property from an unauthorised occupant, the draft must be structured under the Specific Relief Act, 1963, particularly provisions relating to recovery of possession, rather than treating it as a mere private dispute. The title, possession history, and cause of action must be clearly established to frame a coherent skeleton.  Structuring of paragraphs to interlace one another & driving the draft from a curious beginning to the conclusive end, is the whole journey in itself to win the judge’s stance without leaving him bewildered.
• Insert the details in the skeleton– It is not the endpoint to form a skeleton. The parallel insertion of facts, contentions, and prayers in a clear and crisp language is equally important.
• Formalise the language– Most of us write, but not all of us do legal writing under that. Both are separate arms of the ‘writing’ body, and so the requisites and roadmap for the two are different. Legal writing is characterized by a formal tone and dignified language, unlike the liberty of creativity and informal tonality adopted in other forms of writing. 
• Insert the legal lingo– Legal maxims learnt in the law degrees are not in vain. They need to be employed judiciously here to strengthen the draft and the case simultaneously. Ensure the relevance of the maxim to the facts of your case. 
• Read ‘out’ the draft for yourself– Once you reach the finish line in the legal drafting, turn back to the entirety of the draft. Read out loud cautiously so that the rhyme and rhythm of the blog reach your mind and not just your ears, pretend to be at the judge’s seat, and proceed. Do this exercise at least thrice before the final Ctrl+S.
• Get it past the client– Undeniably, you are an expert in legal drafting than your client, but your client is the green signal you cannot afford to overlook. So circulate your drafts to your client and keep them in the loop for the ultimate ‘Yes’.
• Update it one day before the date of the hearing– Drafts cannot be saved and locked beforehand for the final day of the hearing. Their dynamics necessitate the upgradation of facts till the last day before the hearing to portray the latest picture. 

So, this was the small capsule for you to nurture your legal drafting. Doubts popping up? Suggestions lined up? Feel free to drop a text on the given email address and let us grow together.