The importance of legal writing

"Lawyers in practice are generally judged by the final product they produce: the written, negotiated text. Clearly, in my firm, the first thing new lawyers will be judged upon is their writing. The fastest way to get ahead as a new lawyer is to be an able writer. The fastest way to fail is to be a poor writer."

-- Bryn Vaaler, Compositional Practice: A Comment on "A Liberal Education in Law," 1 J.ALWD 148, 149 (2002).