Drafting & Writing Legal Documents

Introduction

The objective of this live session is for delegates to be critical of their writing styles so that they can detect bad drafting habits and develop a clear, unambiguous communication style.

Delegates will also be provided with an overview of the way that the courts in the UK interpret legal documents and to test their understanding.

This course is presented by expert speaker John Trimbos.

What You Will Learn

This interactive live broadcast course will cover the following:

Part 1

• Starter exercises - eliminating unnecessary words
• Superfluous word clusters
• Active versus passive voice
• Redundant expressions and legalese
• Tabulation - when to use it
• Sentence construction and word order - how to avoid ambiguity
• Gender neutral drafting in business correspondence and legal documents
• Wrap-up - miscellaneous drafting exercises

Part 2

• The rules of contractual interpretation
• Drafting errors - lessons from solicitors’ negligence cases
• Avoiding ambiguity
• Using precedents
• Freeform drafting - constructing a contract from blank sheet beginnings
• The longest sentence in the world
• Letter writing including closing letters - what a good closing letter should include

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.