Legal english & professional development

The Legal Drafting and Professional Development Training Program - Future in Business®.

Módulo 1. Introduction.

• Introduction to professional development for lawyers.

• Fishing vs standing at the side of the river.

• Firm lawyers vs. in-house lawyers.

• Required skills in professional development.

Módulo 2. The drafting process – Legal drafting.

• Introducción to legal Drafting.

• Instructions, Methodology and Structure.

Módulo 3. Instructions.

• Importance of instructions (legal practice).

• Structure of instructions – Base for legal drafting.

• ¿Can you follow instructions?

• Giving instructions (methodology and drafting).

• Requesting instructions (relevant information).

• Instruction Cycle.

• Communication cycle in legal drafting.

• Understanding the Audience.

• Relative clauses.

Módulo 4. Methodology of drafting instructions.

• Purpose – Effect.

• Beneficiaries.

• Qualifiers.

• Time element in the instruction.

• Objective vs. Subjective Drafting.

Módulo 5. Methodology of understanding.

• Perceptions in the understanding process.

• Methodology 1 – Understanding Cycle.

• Methodology 2 – From client´s query to final deliverable.

• Client requests vs client needs (relevant information).

• Legal Reasoning – Purpose.

• Research - relevant information.

• Alternatives (possibilities vs probabilities).

• Priorities (intention vs alternatives).

• Perceptions when Drafting.

• Client satisfaction - trust building.

• Objective and Subjective understanding.

• Listening chart.

• Over explaining work.

• Using client´s work and understanding in the drafting process.

• Anticipation of business scenarios (landing on relevant information).

• Not always the legal answer is the answer (business understanding and business strategy).

• Deliver what you preach.

Módulo 6. Principles of drafting.

• Uniformity.

• Clarity.

• Simplicity.

• Economy.

• Precision.

• Style.

Módulo 7. Contracts and legal documents.

• What is a Contract? Set of Instructions.

• Offer and Acceptance.

• Enforceability and intention language.

• Stock Purchase Agreement (Basics).

• Shareholder´s agreement – indemnity (basics).

• Legal opinión.

• Legal Memorandum.

Módulo 8. Drafting contracts, legal & business documents.

• Principles of Drafting.

• Proofreading.

• Use of Definitions.

• Common errors when Drafting.

• Drafting an absurd / redundant expression.

• Exercises in Drafting.

• Legal opinión, legal memorándum, mail.

• Draft means FINAL.

• Editing.

Módulo 9. Translation English – Spanish.

• Legal, business and ordinary terms.

• Spanish and English (starting point of drafting).

• Instruction Cycle.

• Common issues when translating.

• Intention vs Enforceability structure (Spanish vs English).

• Passive – Translation.

• Tips on translation – tips on punctuation.

Módulo 10. Introduction to basic structures of legal & business English.

• The “Basics” – do vs. Be.

• Overview: To be – Imperative.

• Conditionals (Could, Would, Might).

• Connectors (relative clauses).

• Methodology. Differences in Spanish drafting and English drafting (starting point).

• Structure - the main verb (adjectives, nouns, adverbs).

• Herein, herewith, thereto, thereof, etc.

• Tenses (simple/progressive/perfect) & time (present/past/future) - time references.

• Use of Questions & Answers tag questions.

• Conditionals: 3 levels in legal English.

• Modals: could, would, should, can, may, must, have to, might, ought, shall.

• Associated structures: conditionals, hypothetical.