The Art and Craft of Judgment Writing

In this second edition of The Art and Craft of Judgment Writing, Max Barrett, an experienced and practising judge working in Ireland, will not only enhance your judgment writing skills but elevate them to a new level of clarity, precision and style. With the first edition already used by judges around the globe, this new edition goes beyond the fundamentals to dive into cutting-edge areas of interest that today’s judges need to navigate.



Subjects new to the second edition:

The use (and misuse) of artificial intelligence in judgment writing. Stay ahead of the curve as AI begins to influence legal writing.
Visual aids in judgments. Learn how diagrams, graphs and infographics can make judgments more comprehensible and memorable.
Effective use of Precedent. Read about the challenging balance between being thorough and overwhelming your readers.
The power of storytelling. Discover how narrative techniques can make your judgments clearer and more powerful.
Structured writing and editing. Develop a process that ensures your judgments are well-organised and polished.
Proper use of footnotes and gender-inclusive language. Enhance the professionalism and inclusivity of your work.
Collaborative judgment-writing. Understand better the dynamics of working on a judgment-writing team.


With more real-world examples from case law, a 'key learnings and question' section with each chapter to help judges turn theory into practice and an entirely new exploration of what great fiction writers have taught about writing, The Art and Craft of Judgment Writing is not just a book: it's a roadmap to becoming a better writer and a more effective judge.