This interactive course is designed to teach young lawyers the essential skills of writing clear and precise business communication and drafting effective contracts. Attendees will learn powerful techniques for making legal writing clear and more persuasive, to communicate efficiently and get a good outcome for their companies or firms.

This course will cover the function and operation of documents, stages in preparing contract documents and structuring of contract documents. The differing requirements of letters and legal documents are dealt with, stressing the common rule of being easily understood to lawyers and non-lawyers alike.

This course is also designed to identify common drafting errors, improve their writing and drafting skills, and learn advanced negotiation skills.

• Improve legal writing and contract drafting skills.
• Learn how to avoid common drafting pitfalls.
• Develop an effective communication style.
• Understand the structure and terms that are common to contracts.
• Learn advanced negotiation skills (for commercial matters and dispute resolution)
• Strengthen your knowledge of complex contractual terms including indemnities, warranties and exclusion clauses.
• Refresh your knowledge of the law surrounding breach, termination, and liquidated damages, enabling you to draft tighter provisions and ensure greater protection for your stakeholders.
• Review the latest developments in e-contract law.

Who should attend?

The course will be of benefit to young litigation lawyers.

Learning Outcomes

• Attendees will learn about:
• Writing letters, fax and email, legal opinions, and internal memos.
• Writing when a dispute arises.
• Drafting pre-contract documents
• Drafting contracts – the preliminary stages and first draft.
• Boilerplate provisions.
• Drafting contracts: reading, interpreting, reviewing and amending the received draft.
• Drafting pitfalls.

Persuasive writing.

Summary of Course Content

• Writing legal opinions, correspondence memoranda, and email
• Drafting pre-contractual documentation
• Drafting general contractual terms and specific clauses
• Negotiation skills for lawyers
• Tactics, techniques, and personalities
• Negotiating key clauses
• Warranties, representations, and entire agreement clauses
• Liability risk protection including indemnities, exclusion, and limitation of liability clauses.
• Remedial clauses and damages
• Force majeure
• E-contracts
• Termination

Methodology
You will participate in class discussions and drafting exercises to reinforce your lecture and workshop experience. You will leave with the updated knowledge, confidence and familiarity with contracts required to tackle the most important aspects of commercial contract law.