• Professional Development
  • Medicine & Nursing
  • Arts & Crafts
  • Health & Wellbeing
  • Personal Development

Course Images

Legal Writing and Drafting Skills

Legal Writing and Drafting Skills

  • 30 Day Money Back Guarantee
  • Completion Certificate
  • 24/7 Technical Support

Highlights

  • Delivered Online

  • All levels

Description

Legal Writing and Drafting Skills

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

Note

The Dubai Government Legal Affairs Department has introduced a Continuing Legal Professional Development (CLPD) programme to legal consultants authorised to practice through a licensed firm in the Emirate of Dubai. We are proud to announce that the Dubai Government Legal Affairs Department has accredited EMG Associates as a CLPD provider. In addition, all our legal programmes have been approved.

  • 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:

    No waiver
    Notices
    Assignment v Novation
    Governing v Jurisdiction
    Force majeure - are we covered for viruses (covid19)?
    Dispute resolution clause: Litigation v Arbitration v Mediation


    The preliminary documents in international transaction - using Heads of Terms effectively
    Vague words and expressions in commercial contracts- know the pitfalls!

    Best endeavors v All reasonable endeavors v reasonable endeavors


    Overview of cross border contracts: Distribution v Joint venture v Agency agreements
    Share Purchase Agreements
    Warranties and indemnities

    Allocating risks and liabilities between the buyer and seller
    Negotiating warranties from a Share Purchase Agreement

  • Plain English in Legal Correspondence

    Good legal writing practice
    Moving from legalese to Plain English
    Unnecessary archaic and meaningless phrases
    Collocations

    Importance of collocations in legal writing


    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
    Rewriting sentences to remove gender specific language

About The Provider

Tags

Reviews