Crossword Genius

Wrote of poetry and briefly about legal document (5,2,8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

power of attorney

'legal document' is the definition.
(power of attorney is a kind of legal document)

'wrote of poetry and briefly about' is the wordplay.
'briefly' means to remove the last letter.
'about' indicates anagramming the letters.
'wrote'+'of'+'poetry'+'and'='wroteofpoetryand'
'wroteofpoetryand' with its final letter taken away is 'wroteofpoetryan'.
'wroteofpoetryan' is an anagram of 'POWER OF ATTORNEY'.

(Other definitions for power of attorney that I've seen before include "legal authority" , "Agent's authority" , "sufficient for deed" , "American lawyer's energy" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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