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Why Attend
There is a misconception that legal writing and legal drafting is the same but there is a substantial difference between the two. While legal writing typically deals with persuasive documents such as court briefs and legal letters, legal drafting involves creating documents such as contracts. They are both equally important in legal practice.
Legal writing is an important skill needed in every practice area of law. Words are used to advocate, inform, persuade and instruct. Are you giving the right impression? Are your clients receiving the right message?
This course focuses on clear legal writing for a global audience. Effective communication with English speaking lawyers is about more than simply words. It entails understanding the unique way these speakers think and approach the legal, political, and business world.
Did you know that most international commercial agreements are drafted in English, irrespective of the nationality of the contracting parties. Drafting contract skills is ideal for lawyers working in English as a foreign language who need to draft, explain or interpret contract clauses written in English. During the course, delegates will look at a wide variety of commercial agreements through to practical drafting sessions. This course will help participants to draft confidently and effectively in English regardless of the governing law.
This is a practical course with many exercises and examples in order to achieve an interactive and stimulating outcome. The course’s activities involve the production of typical work-place legal documents.
Course Methodology
The course consists of group discussions as well as individual and team tasks. There will be writing practice throughout the exercises.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
Apply plain English style of writing to all legal documents
Recognize the need for legal clarity in different types of legal documents: legal letters, emails, memorandum and opinions
Apply good legal writing practice
Demonstrate the register of legal writing
Correct common mistakes in legal writing
Dispense and deal with pitfalls and issues relating to the use of legal jargon
Proofread effectively
Target Audience
This course is for lawyers, legal secretaries, commercial managers, contract managers and anyone who must draft, amend or update contracts, legal letters and legal opinion. The course is suitable for non-native English speakers looking for a better understanding of English legal terms.
Target Competencies
Drafting letters
Proofreading
Writing in plain English
Understanding legal terms
Legal writing practice
Course Outline
Legal Drafting
Signs of a well drafted contract: The simple rules!
The language of drafting: Will v Shall v Must
Identifying the legal formalities for a binding contract
Structure and formation of a commercial contract: follow the formula and you won’t go wrong
The importance of Boilerplate clauses: overlooking them can cost the business billions of pounds.
The preliminary documents- using Heads of Terms effectively
Vague words and expressions in commercial contracts- know the pitfalls!
Overview of cross border contracts: Distribution v Joint venture v Agency agreements
Share Purchase Agreements: allocating risks between the buyer and seller
Troubleshooting: trace and correct errors in your contract
Plain English in Legal Correspondence
Good legal writing practice
Moving from legalese to Plain English
Unnecessary archaic and meaningless phrases
Collocations
Pitfalls and issues relating to the use of legal jargon in legal writing
Writing short emails
Writing long emails
Writing formal emails
Writing A Legal Letter
Layout of a letter
Body of a letter
Putting a letter together
The register of letter writing
Typical sentences in legal letters
The letter writing clinic: looking at the ten most common problems
Rewriting letters
Rewriting informal sentences to modern alternatives
Correcting common mistakes in letter writing
Legal Writing Troubleshooting
The problem of English idioms
Rephrasing English idioms
Easily confused words
Cutting unnecessary words
Use of consistent terminology
Ambiguity: how to avoid it
Vagueness: how to avoid it
Misuse of preposition in dates
Problem words
Constantly litigated words
Personal pronouns
Choosing the right words
Rewriting sentences to remove gender specific language
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