Legal Secretary Training: Essential Duties and Skills

Introduction:

There is a common misconception that legal writing and legal drafting are the same. However, they are distinct. Legal writing involves persuasive documents such as briefs and letters, while legal drafting focuses on creating formal documents like contracts. Both are crucial in the legal field.

Legal writing is integral across all legal practice areas, involving the use of language for advocacy, communication, and persuasion. Are you conveying the right message? Is your communication clear to clients?

This Legal Secretary Duties and Skills course is designed to improve legal writing for a global audience. Effective communication with English-speaking lawyers goes beyond words; it requires an understanding of their perspectives on the legal, political, and business environments.

Objectives:

By the end of this Legal Secretary Duties and Skills training, participants will be able to:

• Write all types of legal documents in plain English.
• Identify the need for legal clarity in various documents such as letters, emails, memorandums, and opinions.
• Apply good legal writing practices.
• Use the appropriate register and tone in legal writing.
• Correct common errors in legal documents.
• Address issues related to legal jargon.
• Proofread effectively.

Training Methodology:

• Interactive lectures
• Case study analysis
• Group discussions
• Role-playing scenarios
• Document creation exercises
• Peer review
• Expert Q&A sessions

Course Outline:

Unit 1: Legal Drafting

• Understanding indications of a properly written contract
• Differences between "must," "shall," and "will"
• Legal aspects of contract formation and enforceability
• Components of commercial documents
• Importance of 'Boilerplate' clauses
• Using term sheets effectively
• Identifying and correcting mistakes in contracts
• International contracts: distribution, joint ventures, agency contracts
• Shares Purchase Agreements: risk allocation

Unit 2: Plain English in Legal Correspondence

• Adopting good legal writing practices
• Simplifying complex legal language
• Common legal expressions and their usage
• Writing concise and detailed emails
• Composing formal client letters

Unit 3: Writing of a Legal Letter

• Letter design and content
• Completing and language of letter writing
• Common legal phrases and their usage
• Editing and modernizing informal messages
• Addressing persuasive errors

Unit 4: Problems of Legal Writing

• Issues with English idioms and word confusion
• Removing unnecessary language
• Consistency in terms and specificity
• Misplaced prepositions and problematic wording
• Usage of personal pronouns
• Restating sentences for clarity

Unit 5: Negotiation and Drafting

• Contract development and negotiation
• Pricing and risk considerations
• Negotiation processes

Conclusion:

Upon completing the legal secretary certificate course, individuals will be well-equipped to perform legal secretary functions and stand out in the job market. Certification validates their competence and dedication in providing legal support, enhancing their career prospects.