The Law To Know

Free living map

Legal Drafting: A Living Map

A legal document is written once and read many times by people who were not in the room, so it must work without its writer. Drafting starts from the reader and the purpose, builds a structure the reader can search, writes each duty as a sentence with a named actor, a clear modal word, a time and a condition, finds and removes ambiguity, keeps every defined term used the same way, adapts the style to the kind of document, and ends with review in separate passes. Press Play to watch the map build, click an idea for its definition and the usual trap, or trace a short case. A simplified teaching map.

one word for one thingpurpose shapes form

Hover over an idea to light up what it connects to, click it for its definition, minimum requirements, an example and the usual trap, press Play to watch the map build step by step, or trace a short case through it.

Simplified teaching map, in general terms. Check the law where you work. On a small screen, scroll the map sideways.

Learn it properly

The full lecture, exercises and quiz behind this map are in Legal Drafting: Module 1, and that module is free to read.

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