Uploaded April 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
BOOK REVIEW
THE ART AND CRAFT OF JUDGMENT WRITING
A Primer for Common Law Judges
By Max Barrett
ISBN 978 1 78742 857 7
GLOBE LAW AND BUSINESS
globelawandbusiness.com
WE ALL KNOW WHICH JUDGES SHOULD READ THIS BOOK!
An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor MA of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers, Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”, and Mediator
The title of this excellent book from Globe is “The Art and Craft of Judgment Writing”, with the subtitle “A Primer for Common Law Judges”- and it is just that! The author is a Irish judge called Max Barrett. All the usual judicial suspects are present in the book including my favourites, Lords Denning, and Reid. If you have ever wondered how judgments materialize, then this is the book for you.
As the author says, judges are increasingly aware that the best way of enhancing public confidence in court systems is not only by providing a quality service but doing so compassionately and respectfully. And the Lord Chief Justice has just reminded the judiciary of this approach!
For the twenty-first century, the art and craft of judgment-writing is a critical element of this process. This title from Globe Law reviews the judgments of historically great judgment-writers from across the world: the USA, UK and the wider common law world covering Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, Israel, and New Zealand. The book is written not from the perspective of what the Judge Barrett can teach but with the aim of “identifying essential elements of good judgment-writing in great judgments and insightful commentary”. And he does it brilliantly.
The author is Dr Max Barrett, who is a judge of the High Court of Ireland. The work contains individual chapters which focus on subjects such as judgment purpose, length, style, and structure, concurring and dissenting judgments, judgment-writing for children and vulnerable parties, as well as more general lessons in good writing offered by great authors from George Orwell (UK) to Mark Twain (USA).
Among the primers gleaned from great common law judges are these: a good judgment possesses an ability to rise above immediate facts and to see a problem in its wider perspective; a sense of empathy/sympathy for those faring badly is always important, and that there is nothing wrong with language that is occasionally flowery and ornate. Although we are rightly advised that the best judgments are “crisp and persuasive”, and generally they are.
Celebrated authors such Twain suggest these tips: every element of a judgment should be necessary to that judgment and any unnecessary element excised; any person or event included in a judgment should be included for a reason, and that a judge should always use the right word for what she wants to state, ‘not its second cousin’.
Globe Law and Business notes that the book is “intended for novice superior court judges, their more seasoned colleagues and all with an interest in legal writing (including legal practitioners, law teachers and law students)”.
In the lower courts where cases start, the judiciary are required to write judgments which are not necessarily in the law reports but the judges should find the book of great value. And, as our colleagues agree, judges at all court levels should find the additional chapter on ex tempore judgments of help.
The new hardback edition was published by Globe Law and Business on 15th May 2022.
BOOK REVIEW
THE ART AND CRAFT OF JUDGMENT WRITING
A Primer for Common Law Judges
By Max Barrett
ISBN 978 1 78742 857 7
GLOBE LAW AND BUSINESS
globelawandbusiness.com
WE ALL KNOW WHICH JUDGES SHOULD READ THIS BOOK!
An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor MA of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers, Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”, and Mediator
The title of this excellent book from Globe is “The Art and Craft of Judgment Writing”, with the subtitle “A Primer for Common Law Judges”- and it is just that! The author is a Irish judge called Max Barrett. All the usual judicial suspects are present in the book including my favourites, Lords Denning, and Reid. If you have ever wondered how judgments materialize, then this is the book for you.
As the author says, judges are increasingly aware that the best way of enhancing public confidence in court systems is not only by providing a quality service but doing so compassionately and respectfully. And the Lord Chief Justice has just reminded the judiciary of this approach!
For the twenty-first century, the art and craft of judgment-writing is a critical element of this process. This title from Globe Law reviews the judgments of historically great judgment-writers from across the world: the USA, UK and the wider common law world covering Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, Israel, and New Zealand. The book is written not from the perspective of what the Judge Barrett can teach but with the aim of “identifying essential elements of good judgment-writing in great judgments and insightful commentary”. And he does it brilliantly.
The author is Dr Max Barrett, who is a judge of the High Court of Ireland. The work contains individual chapters which focus on subjects such as judgment purpose, length, style, and structure, concurring and dissenting judgments, judgment-writing for children and vulnerable parties, as well as more general lessons in good writing offered by great authors from George Orwell (UK) to Mark Twain (USA).
Among the primers gleaned from great common law judges are these: a good judgment possesses an ability to rise above immediate facts and to see a problem in its wider perspective; a sense of empathy/sympathy for those faring badly is always important, and that there is nothing wrong with language that is occasionally flowery and ornate. Although we are rightly advised that the best judgments are “crisp and persuasive”, and generally they are.
Celebrated authors such Twain suggest these tips: every element of a judgment should be necessary to that judgment and any unnecessary element excised; any person or event included in a judgment should be included for a reason, and that a judge should always use the right word for what she wants to state, ‘not its second cousin’.
Globe Law and Business notes that the book is “intended for novice superior court judges, their more seasoned colleagues and all with an interest in legal writing (including legal practitioners, law teachers and law students)”.
In the lower courts where cases start, the judiciary are required to write judgments which are not necessarily in the law reports but the judges should find the book of great value. And, as our colleagues agree, judges at all court levels should find the additional chapter on ex tempore judgments of help.
The new hardback edition was published by Globe Law and Business on 15th May 2022.
