Book Review

• Publication year: 2014
• Pages: 20
• Citation: Vol. 27 No. 6 Pg. 20

Book Review Vol. 27 No. 6 Pg. 20 Utah Bar Journal December, 2014

November, 2014

Beyond the First Draft

Nicholas C. Mills, J.

Beyond the First Draft is a gem. That's not to say it's a diamond, but it is a small and valuable find. It fills an important and underserved niche. The book is designed to help a legal writer take his or her paper from the first draft to a finished product. The book's thesis is that the editing process is vitally important to making and winning legal arguments. The author makes an interesting point: lawyers have been taught to think like lawyers, but we are not necessarily taught to write like writers. The author, Megan McAlpin says, "Knowing the ins and outs of the rule against perpetuities won't do you much good if you can't then write about that rule in a coherent, vigorous, clear, and polished way." Megan McAlpin, Beyond the First Draft, 4 (2014).

The book is designed for both law students and practicing lawyers. But the book's textbook form indicates its focus is more likely on students. With that said, the book was a worthwhile read, and I will add it to my library The book is only 140 pages. It has a solid index, two interesting appendices, and a glossary of grammatical terms. But the best part of the book is undoubtedly the editing checklist. If followed, the checklist will improve any pleading substantially.

The Good

This is a really useful book. It is written in a simple, practical manner, and it was helpful in several ways.

First, the book gives really good definitions of grammatical terms and explanations for their use. A significant percentage of lawyers are not English majors, so sometimes books that are filled with grammatical terms can be difficult to wade through. The suggestions in Beyond the First Draft start at a very basic level and build to complex theories. This progression is natural and makes some complex writing issues very approachable. Because of the breadth of topics covered, the book would be useful to any writer, regardless of his or her skill and familiarity with usage rules.

Second, as I mentioned earlier, the book is written in a very practical manner. This is particularly useful when so many legal books are written with a heavy theoretical emphasis. Several times throughout the book McAlpin acknowledged that the rules conflicted. For example, while discussing nominalizations -verbs functioning as nouns - McAlpin wrote, "You just need to be sure that you can identify the...