The LawProse Editing Method for Motions and Contracts
Every skill—whether it’s playing a musical instrument or scoring points in a sports competition—can be improved by isolating the component subskills and mastering each one of them. Editing is no different. It is, after all, a complex series of mini-skills by which you react to a draft, spotting problems and fixing them.
How do you spot the right problems and fix them in the right way? That’s as difficult as meeting Jonathan Swift’s definition of “style”: putting proper words in proper places. A good editor approaches a text with the strong suspicion that the writer hasn’t put the right words in the right places—and seeks to remedy all the defects.
At LawProse, we developed a step-by-step editing method that will prompt editors or self-editors to carry out edits that they might otherwise miss. These “new” types of edits then become part of your editorial repertoire. With a little practice using the LawProse Editing Method, you’ll find yourself executing previously unused techniques almost automatically. It’s a matter of conditioning yourself.
The techniques to be used differ depending on the document. If you’re editing someone else’s draft, you’re sure to need to make level-one edits during your first read-through. But if you’re engaged in self-editing and are therefore intimately familiar with the subject-matter, you may well start with level-three edits and then work through the first two levels. That’s a matter of how familiar you are with the writing when you begin editing.
And then there’s the question what type of document you’re editing. There’s one approach for analytical and persuasive writing (memos and briefs) and another for transactional and legislative writing (contracts and statutes). We’ll work through a motion and a contract to demonstrate the two approaches.
Seminar Specifications
Seminar Length
60 minutes (total video length)
License Window
30 days from date of license purchase.
Production Date
January 19, 2011; Full review: November 30, 2020
Live, interactive function
Seminar Format
Print out Course Material (PDF)
Begin the seminar video.
Seminar Content Tree
(seminar module)
- Directions
- Course Material (PDF)
- PowerPoint Presentation (PDF)
- LawProse Editing Method Part 1 (video)
- Quiz Break
- LawProse Editing Method Part 2 (video)
- Final Quiz
- Code Word Entry
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
Discounts are available as additional-viewer licenses. These are for groups simultaneously viewing a self-paced online seminar using one computer connection. When one participant pays the full list price, each additional viewer pays for an additional-viewer license—again, if all registrants view on one screen together. You can register your group by calling LawProse at 214-691-8588 or emailing info@lawprose.org or directly on our e-learning site.
Please note that the list price is for the purchase of a primary-viewer license (an individual license for a single viewing by a single viewer). You may purchase additional additional-viewer licenses that are priced at a discounted tuition rate on our e-learning site or contacting us at 214-691-8588. We ask for your cooperation in protecting our intellectual-property rights. We’re happy to help direct you to any particular course topic you’re looking for, to discuss group pricing, and to answer any other questions you may have.
Please see our FAQs on Self-Paced Online Seminars.
