Legal Writing in Plain English
Professor Bryan A. Garner teaches all 50 sections of his classic text over 10 hour long sessions. In each session, you’ll work through exercises designed to sharpen your analytical and writing skills. You’ll learn the primary tools and techniques to make the most of your abilities. With Professor Garner’s tips and your dedication, you’ll find yourself succeeding at challenging writing projects and enjoying your work as never before.
Framing Your Thoughts (Part 1)
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Divide and conquer: compose in an orderly, planned way. Learn to think efficiently and prepare yourself properly.
Phrasing Your Sentences (Part 2)
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Improve your mastery of styling sentences. Engage your readers’ attention with shorter and more powerful statements.
Choosing Your Words (Part 3)
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Enhance your command of English vocabulary, particularly legal vocabulary. Discover how “impressive” words and phrases can bog down your writing—and learn the expressions you should use.
Structuring Your Analytical and Persuasive Writing (Part 4)
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Use the elements of rhetorical discourse to your advantage. Learn how to take advantage of the most important part of any presentation: the opener.
Some Keys to Good Expository Prose (Part 5)
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Perfect the techniques of persuasive exposition. Consider how you sound; learn why a relaxed, conversational tone works in your professional writing. Guide your readers deftly through narrative and argument.
Legal Drafting (part A) (Part 6)
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Adopt the optimal approach to contractual and statutory drafting. Understand your audience, your purposes, and the common pitfalls of archaic conventions.
Legal Drafting (part B) (Part 7)
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Refine your contractual and statutory drafting. Make the language plain and the meaning clear. Avoid introducing words and phrases that could create litigation.
Document Design (Part 8)
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Acquire enough knowledge about typography to produce readable documents. Learn the elements that make a document approachable and attractive—or the opposite.
Editing Yourself and Others (Part 9)
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Become proficient in large-scale revisions and copyediting. Learn to critique others’ writing constructively and to gain objectivity in reviewing your own.
The Finer Points of Style (Part 10)
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Maintain a clear-headed approach to writing and editing. Learn how and why effective communication takes practice and attention.
Seminar Specifications
Seminar Length
Ten separate seminar parts:
- Part 1: 60 minutes
- Part 2: 60 minutes
- Part 3: 60 minutes
- Part 4: 60 minutes
- Part 5: 60 minutes
- Part 6: 60 minutes
- Part 7: 60 minutes
- Part 8: 60 minutes
- Part 9: 60 minutes
- Part 10: 60 minutes
Total ten-part series length: 600 minutes (10 hours)
Production Date
August 30, 2017; Full review: November 30, 2020
Live, interactive function
Seminar Format
Print out course materials PDF.
Begin the seminar video.
Seminar Content Tree
(seminar module)
Each part is a separate seminar module.
Legal Writing in Plain English: Part 1 Framing Your Thoughts
- Course Materials (Student’s Manual PDF)
- Video
- Teacher’s Manual (PDF)
Legal Writing in Plain English: Part 2 Phrasing Your Sentences
- Course Materials (Student’s Manual PDF)
- Video
- Teacher’s Manual (PDF)
Legal Writing in Plain English: Part 3 Choosing Your Words
- Course Materials (Student’s Manual PDF)
- Video
- Teacher’s Manual (PDF)
Legal Writing in Plain English: Part 4 Structuring Your Analytical and Persuasive Writing
- Course Materials (Student’s Manual PDF)
- Video
- Teacher’s Manual (PDF)
Legal Writing in Plain English: Part 5 Some Keys to Good Expository Prose
- Course Materials (Student’s Manual PDF)
- Video
- Teacher’s Manual (PDF)
Legal Writing in Plain English: Part 6 Legal Drafting (part A)
- Course Materials (Student’s Manual PDF)
- Video
- Teacher’s Manual (PDF)
Legal Writing in Plain English: Part 7 Legal Drafting (part B)
- Course Materials (Student’s Manual PDF)
- Video
- Teacher’s Manual (PDF)
Legal Writing in Plain English: Part 8 Document Design
- Course Materials (Student’s Manual PDF)
- Video
- Teacher’s Manual (PDF)
Legal Writing in Plain English: Part 9 Editing Yourself and Others
- Course Materials (Student’s Manual PDF)
- Video
- Teacher’s Manual (PDF)
Legal Writing in Plain English: Part 10 The Finer Points of Style
- Course Materials (Student’s Manual PDF)
- Video
- Teacher’s Manual (PDF)
CLE State Approvals
California:
Please send your California Bar number, seminar-completion date, seminar name, and code word to info@lawprose.org to receive a California CLE Certificate from LawProse.
Texas:
Please send your Texas Bar number, seminar-completion date, seminar name, and code word to info@lawprose.org. LawProse will report your CLE credit directly to the Texas Bar.
LawProse Policy on CLE Credit
Please check with your state bar to see whether web seminars qualify.
We are accredited CLE providers for online training in California and Texas.
Texas credit: Email your name, Texas Bar number, seminar name, and the date of completion to info@lawprose.org. We’ll report your credit within the next five days.
California certificate: Email your name, California Bar number, seminar name, and the date of completion to info@lawprose.org. We’ll send you a California CLE Certificate for your self-reporting records within the next five days.
If you’re seeking credit elsewhere, please take the certificate of attendance from the program to use as part of your application for credit to your state bar. Please check with your state bar to see whether web seminars qualify.
Want more focused training on specific legal-writing skills? Professor Bryan A. Garner has created over 40 hours here for you. Learn the skills of legal writing and take the mystery out of the art.
Discounts & Watching as a Group
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