Friday, 18 April 2014

Why Lawyers May Need A Legal Writing Coach

By Essie Osborn


Lawyers are always needed to write their presentations in a specialized way. Their writings need to bring out the full expression of their analysis of various problems or issues and be able to convince third parties when representing their clients. The main point is that the documents needs to be concise, clear and following the rules and regulations set by the legal profession. This is where a legal writing coach comes in.

The writings are normally divided into two types. There is that which needs a balanced analysis of the legal problem being handled. It can therefore include letters being sent to the client and inter-office memoranda. In order to do it in the best way possible, the attorney has to take into consideration the level of interest, needs and background of the individuals being sent the document.

When addressing the two parties mentioned above, the lawyer will do so in a different way. For example, with the client he needs to explain technical terms used in the document in order to avoid a state of confusion. This is, however, not the case with the other lawyer being addressed in the office. If he does so, then it will only be amounting to inefficiency and may even annoy him.

There is also the persuasive type of writing which includes documents such as negotiation letters and appellate briefs that are written on behalf of the client. The content of these documents need to be straight forward and not show some form of disrespect to the party being addressed as it would only lead to provocations. The document should also be clear without unnecessary information. Normally, documents presented to the court or administrative agencies are needed to be written according to the right style.

Other legal documents that are normally drafted by lawyers include wills and contracts. If they are drafted in the wrong manner, then the interests of the client may end up being injured. Even though there are guides for lawyers on how to write these documents, there is a unique application of the form in regards to the facts that are required.

The uniqueness of these writings is what has led to the development of coaching lessons for lawyers. The main aim is to ensure that when an experienced reader gets hold of the document, he/she can be able to analyze the authorities sited in it as well as understand the information being presented. The coach will therefore train the lawyer into knowing the right format for citations according to court rules and also how briefs and memoranda need to be presented in court.

The process will first start with the lawyer presenting his/her coach with the legal writings he/she has done before. The coach will then review the document while checking out for the style, structure and substance in it. The legal talent of the client is therefore natured once he/she gets to learn the techniques of self-editing.

Most coaches will ask their lawyer clients to submit their projects for review. They will then focus on the structure and substance of the argument as they edit it. Other will first do complete editing on a line-by-line basis. Thereafter, they review for structure, logic, tone, integrity, persuasiveness and balance. They then give their comments to the lawyers and work it out again with them so that they may learn the technique.




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