How to Improve Your Legal English Writing: Three Practical Strategies

Writing is a critical skill for any lawyer, but mastering legal writing in English (especially as a non-native speaker) presents unique challenges. Many lawyers assume that using sophisticated vocabulary and complex sentence structures will make their writing sound more professional. In reality, clarity, precision, and logical structure are far more important.

Whether you're drafting contracts, law memos, or even emails, your goal is to communicate complex ideas in a way that is easily understood by your audience. Improving your legal writing requires regular practice, feedback, and exposure to well-written legal texts. The good news? You don’t need a formal classroom setting to develop these skills. You can improve significantly on your own with the right approach!

Here are three actionable steps you can take to refine your legal English writing and become a more effective communicator.

1. Write daily, even if it’s just a short reflection on a legal topic:

Focus on clarity and precision rather than complex vocabulary. Many non-native English-speaking lawyers fall into the trap of prioritizing complex vocabulary and long-winded sentences, thinking it makes their writing sound more “native like.” However, legal writing is most effective when it is clear, precise, and direct.

Focusing on clarity over complexity helps ensure that your arguments are easily understood, reducing the risk of ambiguity or misinterpretation. Daily writing also helps identify recurring mistakes, making it easier to track improvement over time. It strengthens your ability to structure arguments logically, improves your legal reasoning in English, and builds confidence in your writing skills.

To make this habit stick, set aside 10–15 minutes each day to write about a legal topic of your choice, whether it’s summarizing a recent case, analyzing a legal principle, or drafting a mock argument. The key is consistency rather than length.

2. Get feedback from a trusted reader:

Ask a mentor, colleague, or instructor to review your work and highlight any areas of confusion. One of the biggest challenges in legal writing, especially in a foreign language, is that what seems clear to you may not be clear to your audience. This is why getting feedback is essential.

A mentor, colleague, or instructor can provide an outside perspective and point out areas where your arguments may be unclear, ambiguous, or imprecise. They can help identify common mistakes, highlight awkward phrasing, and suggest ways to improve the flow of your writing.

More importantly, they can help you recognize patterns in your writing that may be weakening your arguments, such as unnecessary wordiness, improper use of legal terminology, or lack of logical structure. Without feedback, it’s easy to develop bad habits that go unnoticed. Regularly reviewing and revising your work based on constructive criticism will accelerate your learning and make your writing more persuasive, professional, and effective.

To make the most of this practice:

👉 Choose someone with strong English writing skills and legal knowledge.

👉 Ask them specific questions about your work (e.g., Is my argument clear? Are my sentences too complex?).

👉 Review their suggestions carefully and apply them to your future writing. Over time, this process will refine your ability to self-edit and anticipate reader expectations, making you a stronger legal writer.

3. Analyze and model clear legal writing:

Study well-written legal documents in English and pay attention to how arguments are structured and supported. Unlike casual writing, legal writing follows a specific structure and style that prioritizes precision, clarity, and logical flow.

Observing how experienced legal writers craft contracts, opinions, pleadings, or judicial decisions can help you internalize the conventions of strong legal writing in English. When you read these documents, pay close attention to:

✅ Sentence structure and clarity: How do they balance conciseness with detail?

✅ Argument organization: How are key points introduced, developed, and concluded?

✅ Word choice and legal terminology: Are they using complex words unnecessarily, or are they opting for clear and precise language?

✅ Use of transitions and signposting: How do they guide the reader smoothly through complex ideas?

Modeling your own writing after these examples helps you develop an instinct for what works and what doesn’t in legal English. Over time, this will also help you write more effectively, ensuring that your arguments are persuasive and easily understood.

To get started:

👉 Read well-regarded legal opinions, contracts, or legal briefs in English.

👉 Take notes on sentence structure, argument flow, and phrasing.

👉Try rewriting a paragraph from a legal text in your own words while maintaining clarity and precision.