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Approved for all Texas Legal Specializations
Conference art

2013

Legal Writing: Precision and Persuasion

Austin Nov 15, 2013 AT&T Conference Center
Conference Concluded
Video Replay: Dallas Jan 31, 2014 Belo Mansion
Conference Concluded
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Overview

Effective legal writing is clear, concise, and well-organized. By identifying the causes of poor writing and by introducing the principles of clear and persuasive prose, this course provides a step-by-step approach to great legal writing. The course is practical and hands-on, ideal for new and seasoned practitioners, and provides a robust set of materials.


INSTRUCTORS

Kamela Bridges teaches legal writing at The University of Texas School of Law. A member of the faculty since 2000, she teaches Legal Research and Writing, Brief Writing and Oral Advocacy, and Advanced Legal Writing: Litigation. She is the co-author, with Wayne Schiess, of Writing for Litigation. Prior to joining the faculty, Bridges was a partner at the firm now known as Locke Lord, where she handled civil matters at the trial level and on appeal.

Wayne Schiess teaches legal writing at The University of Texas School of Law and directs the David J. Beck Center for Legal Research, Writing, and Appellate Advocacy. After practicing law at Baker Botts LLP, he joined the faculty at UT Law in 1992. He is the author of four books on legal writing, including Writing for the Legal Audience (2d ed. 2013) and the co-author, with Kamela Bridges, of Writing for Litigation. He writes a monthly column on legal writing for Austin Lawyer magazine.

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Event Schedule

Program is subject to change.
All times are Central Time Zone.

  • Time
    Credit
    Subject
    Speaker
  • Friday Morning, Nov. 15, 2013
  • 8:00 am
    Austin Only
    Registration Opens
    Includes continental breakfast.

  • 8:25 am
    Austin Only
    Welcoming Remarks

  • 8:30 am
    Austin Only
    0.50 hr
    Beyond Commas
    Legal writing is professional writing.  Legal writers should master not only basic writing mechanics but also advanced skills. In this session, learn the fine points of grammar that will add credibility and precision to everything you write. In addition, get to know the most reliable sources to consult when you need to answer a question that goes beyond commas—and when you need advice on commas, too.

    Kamela Bridges, The University of Texas School of Law - Austin, TX
    Wayne Schiess, The University of Texas School of Law - Austin, TX

  • 9:00 am
    Austin Only
    0.50 hr
    Looks Matter

    In this session, learn to:

    • layout a legal document so it welcomes readers—even those who read it on a screen
    • use Word to enhance outlining and document navigation
    • generate a Table of Contents in 5 seconds
    • make Word’s grammar checker useful instead of laughable

  • 9:30 am
    Austin Only
    0.50 hr
    Point/Counterpoint

    Enjoy an enthusiastic and informative debate on three writing topics:

    • Practical: How detailed should your pleading be—general or specific?
    • Persnickety: Can we and should we avoid the default male pronoun (he, him, his) in legal writing? Are we sexist if we don’t? And can we use the singular they?
    • Passionate: Legal citations for practitioner documents—in footnotes or in text?

  • 10:00 am
    Austin Only
    Break

  • 10:15 am
    Austin Only
    0.50 hr
    Too Little, Too Much, or Just Right?
    You found some relevant cases and you plan to rely on them, so shouldn’t you tell the reader about them? On the other hand, no one wants to read a series of lengthy case summaries. In this session, learn techniques for presenting legal authority concisely and efficiently, including selective use and placement of explanatory parentheticals.

  • 10:45 am
    Austin Only
    0.50 hr
    Pleasing the Court
    Judges have opinions about legal writing too.  Hear the best advice collected from a variety of judicial sources about what judges do and don’t like in legal writing.

  • 11:15 am
    Austin Only
    0.50 hr ethics
    Name that Penalty, Part 1
    Guess the consequences for lawyers who misquote, exceed the page limit, attack the judge, and just plain write poorly in this entertaining and informative multiple-choice quiz.

  • 11:45 am
    Austin Only
    Lunch on Your Own

  • Friday Afternoon, Nov. 15, 2013
  • 1:00 pm
    Austin Only
    0.75 hr
    Organization:  Giving the Reader a Roadmap
    Sensibly ordering your writing is important, but not as important as ensuring that your reader knows the order you’ve chosen. Convey that order by using up-front conclusions and summaries, headings (both topical and explanatory), bullets, transitions, and connectors.

  • 1:45 pm
    Austin Only
    0.75 hr
    Persuading with Style
    In legal writing, exaggeration, hyperbole, and sarcasm don’t persuade, and neither do bold italics, ALL-CAPS, or exclamation marks!!! Legal writers have more-effective tools, and this session covers sentence- and word-level writing techniques ranging from punctuation to classical rhetoric that legal writers can easily add to their tools for persuasive writing.

  • 2:30 pm
    Austin Only
    Break

  • 2:45 pm
    Austin Only
    0.50 hr
    You've Got Questions
    Attendees anonymously submit a question related to writing, and the presenters answer them.

  • 3:15 pm
    Austin Only
    0.50 hr
    Lawyers Are Editors
    Bad writing becomes good and good writing becomes great only through editing. In this session, the presenters offer advice for improving your editing techniques, creating and using an effective editing checklist, implementing a thorough editing process, and editing in a time crunch.

  • 3:45 pm
    Austin Only
    0.50 hr ethics
    Name that Penalty, Part 2

    More consequences for lawyers who fail to cite, omit binding law, blather on for pages, and just plain write poorly in this entertaining and informative multiple-choice quiz.

  • 4:15 pm
    Austin Only
    Adjourn

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Conference Faculty

Kamela Bridges

The University of Texas School of Law
Austin, TX

Wayne Schiess

The University of Texas School of Law
Austin, TX

Credit Info

  • Austin
  • Dallas
MCLE Credit
Toggle view Texas – 6.00 hrs  |  1.00 hrs Ethics
You may claim your credit online in Your Briefcase, and UT Law CLE will report credit on your behalf to the State Bar of Texas. A Certificate of Attendance will be provided in Your Briefcase for your records. The system reports Texas CLE credit every Tuesday. If you are claiming credit in the last week of your birth month, self-report your CLE credit directly to the State Bar of Texas at texasbar.com, using the course number  provided on your certificate of attendance.
Toggle view California – 6.00 hrs  |  1.00 hrs Ethics
You must claim your credit online in Your Briefcase, and will then be provided a Certificate of Attendance for your records. UT Law CLE is required to provide the State Bar with electronic attendance records for any MCLE participatory activity within 60 days of completion of the activity. The California licensee is responsible for reporting their compliance/credit hours earned to the State Bar at the end of their reporting period directly to the State Bar of California at calbar.ca.gov.  UT Law CLE will maintain Attendance Records for four years.  
Other Credit
Toggle view TX Accounting CPE – 7.00 hrs
The University of Texas School of Law (Provider #250) live conferences are presumptively approved by The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy for Texas Accounting CPE credit based on a 50-minute credit hour. Approved for general CPE credit only.

At the conference, you are welcome to sign in on the Accounting CPE Record of Attendance form at the registration desk, but we are now reporting all credit online. You will receive a Texas Accounting Certificate of Completion in Your Briefcase. Self-report your CPE credit directly to TSBPA. UT Law CLE will maintain Attendance Records for four years.  

Contact us at accreditation@utcle.org if you have additional questions.
MCLE Credit
Toggle view Texas – 6.00 hrs  |  1.00 hrs Ethics
You may claim your credit online in Your Briefcase, and UT Law CLE will report credit on your behalf to the State Bar of Texas. A Certificate of Attendance will be provided in Your Briefcase for your records. The system reports Texas CLE credit every Tuesday. If you are claiming credit in the last week of your birth month, self-report your CLE credit directly to the State Bar of Texas at texasbar.com, using the course number  provided on your certificate of attendance.
Toggle view California – 6.00 hrs  |  1.00 hrs Ethics
You must claim your credit online in Your Briefcase, and will then be provided a Certificate of Attendance for your records. UT Law CLE is required to provide the State Bar with electronic attendance records for any MCLE participatory activity within 60 days of completion of the activity. The California licensee is responsible for reporting their compliance/credit hours earned to the State Bar at the end of their reporting period directly to the State Bar of California at calbar.ca.gov.  UT Law CLE will maintain Attendance Records for four years.  
Other Credit
Toggle view TX Accounting CPE – 7.00 hrs
The University of Texas School of Law (Provider #250) live conferences are presumptively approved by The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy for Texas Accounting CPE credit based on a 50-minute credit hour. Approved for general CPE credit only.

At the conference, you are welcome to sign in on the Accounting CPE Record of Attendance form at the registration desk, but we are now reporting all credit online. You will receive a Texas Accounting Certificate of Completion in Your Briefcase. Self-report your CPE credit directly to TSBPA. UT Law CLE will maintain Attendance Records for four years.  

Contact us at accreditation@utcle.org if you have additional questions.

Key Dates

Austin – Nov 15, 2013 – AT&T Conference Center
Conference Concluded
Video Replay: Dallas – Jan 31, 2014 – Belo Mansion
Conference Concluded
Buy
  • Austin
  • Dallas
Individual
Last day for $250.00 Regular pricing: Nov 6, 2013

$300.00 for registrations received after this time

Group 10% (5-9) (5 registrants minimum)
Last day for $225.00 Regular pricing: Nov 6, 2013

$275.00 for registrations received after this time

Group 20% (10+) (10 registrants minimum)
Last day for $200.00 Regular pricing: Nov 6, 2013

$250.00 for registrations received after this time

Last day for cancellation (full refund): Nov 8, 2013

$50 processing fee applied after this date

Last day for cancellation: Nov 11, 2013
Individual
Last day for $200.00 Regular pricing: Feb 5, 2014

$250.00 for registrations received after this time

Group 10% (5-9) (5 registrants minimum)
Last day for $180.00 Regular pricing: Feb 5, 2014

$230.00 for registrations received after this time

Group 20% (10+) (10 registrants minimum)
Last day for $160.00 Regular pricing: Feb 5, 2014

$210.00 for registrations received after this time

Last day for cancellation (full refund): Feb 7, 2014

$50 processing fee applied after this date

Last day for cancellation: Feb 10, 2014

Venue

speaker

AT&T Conference Center

The University of Texas at Austin
1900 University Avenue
Austin, TX
877.744.8822 (reservations)
Map

Parking Information

Free daily self-parking at UT garages. Separate fees apply for valet and overnight parking.

speaker

Belo Mansion

2101 Ross Avenue
Dallas, TX
214.220.0239
Map

Parking Information

$4 per day for Dallas Bar Members; $10 per day for non-Dallas Bar members

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