About this Course

This course is about legally protective writing strategies. Nobody gets it right first time. Writing in a strategic way is as important as oral statements. Strategic legal writing is critical for solving commercial and business or engineering disputes and winning legal battles. This course gives a wide range of topics that arise in everyday tasks in a business and commercial setting. It gives to the non-expert matters relating to drafting contracts and writing letters.

When in doubt and before you write your final draft in your office, check the dictionary and then the legal dictionary. Some letters are not easily readable. Lay readers cannot understand certain documents. It all boils down to "clarity" – using plain simple English in writing letters, office memos or documents.

What to avoid when writing documents and letters? How to draft documents? Learn the modern style to write clearly, properly and effectively in this 1-day course, which will take you through the effective strategies for a better writing of your letters and documents. Choosing the right word to write is ever so important, but also watch out for problem words with multiple meanings. Learn what works and what doesn't.

Learning Outcomes:

• Write in a strategic and winning way
  
• Write in a practical, tactical and focused manner
  
• Rely on boilerplate precedents
  
• Write Plain English for maximum effectiveness
  
• General Principles of Legal Writing and Drafting Letters, Memoranda and Reports
  

Course Outline: 

Writing Commercial Contracts

• legalese vs. simple english
  
• know your reader
  
• decide on what to say; keep your ideas in check
  
• grammar, style, correctness, meaning, spelling and organisation
  
• use present tense and shorter words
  
• use definitions
  
• write in paragraphs
  
• be consistent
  
• avoid repetition
  
• be careful of muddled sentences
  
• sentence structure
  

          - avoid sentence fragments

          - avoid run-on sentences

          - eliminate redundancies

          - avoid incorrect deletions

          - use sentence structure for emphasis

• watch out for problem words with multiple meanings or special legal meanings, vague words or confusing pairs
  
• avoid negatives – why prefer the active to the passive voice?
  
• how to make passive verbs active?
  
• the power of punctuation
  
• how to write effective letters and formal documents
  
• factual instructional or informative
  
• persuasive, influencing and advising
  
• form, style and layout conventions
  
• heading and numbering
  
• tone, politeness and humanity
  
• retain composure on paper
  
• prompt response
  
• voice of assurance
  
• without prejudice letters
  
• subject to contract
  
• internal notes and memo
  
• preparing memos, briefs and minutes
  
• avoid legalese, archaic language
  
• choose the right word
  
• use of dictionary and legal dictionary
  
• reasoning – writing a case analysis
  
• preparing and organising an office memo
  

Practical Clauses

• definitions and interpretation
  
• commencement and termination
  
• confidentiality and disclosures
  
• intellectual property rights
  
• standard warranties, guarantees and indemnities
  
• exclusions of liability
  
• liquidated damages clause
  
• severability clause
  
• retention of title
  
• service of notices
  
• whole agreement and variation clauses
  
• novation
  
• dispute
  

Structure of Standard Commercial Agreement

• commencement
  
• recitals
  
• operative part
  
• definitions
  
• conditions precedent
  
• boiler-plates
  
• schedules
  
• appendix
  
• execution
  

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