Description
Total Credits: 7.0 (Skills 6.0, Ethics 1.0)
The ability to write a well-crafted, persuasive legal motion, trial brief, or appellate brief is the key every litigator needs for a successful practice. William Bernhardt will walk you through the 10-step process to achieving superior legal writing in your litigation practice. Mixing short lectures with hands-on writing workshop sessions, you will learn the skills you need to move to the next level in your legal writing skills.
Topics Included:
Ten Steps to Superior Legal Writing
— Tools for Maximizing Clarity and Precision
— The Power of Simplicity
— Eliminating the Unnecessary and the Unhelpful
Framing the Issue
— Finding the Deep Issue
— Drafting the Issues Presented
— Employing Syllogistic Reasoning
— Workshop: Exercises on Finding the Winning Issue
Writing Persuasive Motions and Briefs (Part 1)
— Drafting the Statement of Facts
— The Importance of the Introduction
— Harnessing the Lightning
— Eliminating Legalese
— Using Quotations Wisely
— Why Every Word Matters
— Making Your Writing Memorable
Writing Persuasive Motions and Briefs (Part 2)
— Workshop: Exercises on Making Your Writing Persuasive
The Art of Persuasion
— The Power of Skillfully Employed Rhetoric
— Essential Elements to a Persuasive Argument
— Audience Identification
— The Five Modes of Persuasion
— Establishing Credibility
— The Role of Emotion
— Avoiding Logical Fallacies
— Employing Rhetorical Devices
— Workshop: Exercises on Persuasive Argument
Ethical Considerations in Legal Writing
— Client Confidentiality
— When Can You Reveal a Confidence?
— Receiving Confidential Documents
— Problems Created by Wireless and Electronic Devices
— Lawyers and Blogging
— Lawyers and Social Media
— What Can You Put in an Email or Cell Phone Conversation?
Materials
| Complete Course Materials (1.8 MB) | Available after Purchase | ||