SEMINARS ON LEGAL WRITING AND REASONING

Presented By
JAMES C. RAYMOND, PH.D.

"People are accustomed . . . to looking at language and sentence structure but the concept of 'architecture' in writing is big news."

Narelle Bell
Administrative Appeals Tribunal
Sydney, Australia

What makes these seminars different?

Content. Most legal writing courses are about tidying up legal documents after they are written. Professor Raymond's seminars involve writing documents from scratch, using a precise set of techniques for organizing complex material, for analyzing issues, and for arguing persuasively. The results are dramatic. See Before & After.

Format. Learning to write - like learning to dance or to play golf or violin - cannot be accomplished by reading a book or listening to lectures. It requires practice under the supervision of an experienced coach. Professor Raymond's seminars always include writing and revision exercises tailored to the sort of writing participants are required to do in their courts or firms.

Seminars for judges typically last from two to four days. For law firms and individuals, shorter programs (one-day or half-day) are available. Individual tutorials and group workshops can be scheduled at the convenience of the participants.

International Faculty. For working with large groups, Professor Raymond has assembled an international team of judges, lawyers, novelists, journalists, and English professors who provide individual attention in tutorial sessions and small group workshops.

Expertise. Professor Raymond's lectures combine a scholarly knowledge of rhetoric and linguistics with more than twenty-five years of practical experience working with judges and lawyers in more than twenty-five countries. They examine traditions that make it difficult not only for lay readers, but even for lawyers to understand legal documents. They replace these practices with a fundamentally new approach that has been described as "radical common sense."

Results. Participants in these seminars typically experience a conversion of sorts. They gain a new appreciation of their profession, a new way of viewing and producing their work, and a new enthusiasm. The anonymous Testimonials and Before & After examples speak for themselves.