What is the prevailing legal writing style in academic legal publications?
The prevailing academic legal writing style is that of US law journals. They have exported their styles and it is considered albeit with some differences- mainstream legal writing style in many parts of the world now. The following are its main characteristics. 1) You must cite every statement of fact. This is because legal tradition is very conservative and you must find authority, i.e., a source, whether a judicial precedent, a law, or another author, for virtually everything you write. Almost everything you say must be supported by a source that said that before you. So, there is very little possibility of introducing new or innovative ideas in a traditional formal legal work. 2) There is a system called preemption check. A preemption check involves searching to see whether someone else has already published on the same topic you would like to write your article on, and which develops the same thesis you would like to develop with the same focus you would like to take. So, if you wa
