Our most popular interactive workshops
Legal Writing Basics: Three Key Skills (3 hours): This foundational workshop addresses the three skills partners would most like to see improved in associates’ legal writing in English. Participants begin by learning a technique for striking the right tone in legal correspondence. They then take part in a usage competition, with sentences from practice that test their ability to spot the most common legal vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation errors – followed by practical tips on how to avoid/correct them. Finally, participants learn how to cut their way to better style.
The Four Step Edit: Memos & Reports (3 hours): Systematic editing brings objectivity and can make good writing great. It can also reduce frustration and time spent redrafting. Yet few lawyers have a system for editing. In this workshop, participants will learn a four-step approach for editing longer non-transactional documents (memos, reports, prospectuses, etc.), each step bringing greater refinement. Participants will learn how to transform their work by systematically editing for structure, two aspects of style, and usage (grammar, punctuation, legal vocabulary). Participants also receive a handy four-step editing checklist.
Contract Drafting (3-8 hours): Clearly drafted contracts facilitate the transaction. They are easier to understand and negotiate, less likely to have mistakes, and less open to competing interpretations. In this interactive workshop, participants learn (1) a reasoning technique to logically map out contract provisions that achieve the intended result; (2) strategies for drafting clear, concise provisions; and (3) common drafting errors and litigated terms. Throughout the workshop, participants review and edit excerpts from transactional documents from practice.
Emailing (3 hours): Poor communication is the no. 1 client complaint about lawyers. Emails are easily the most common type of lawyer-client communication. This interactive workshop begins with 10 client-friendly email strategies, including how to structure using “ICRA“; close with clear next steps; edit for clarity and concision; and strike an appropriate, positive tone. Participants then break into groups and apply the 10 strategies to emails from practice. The workshop concludes with email “do’s and don’ts,“ including a handy checklist for each participant.
Intensive Legal Usage (3-8 hours): This interactive workshop offers an intensive treatment of legal usage (grammar, punctuation, vocabulary). Participants take part in three tests of their ability to spot and correct the most common legal usage errors – from non-parallel constructions to mismatched prepositions to incorrect legal terminology. Included short tests use examples from participants’ own work product when possible. Participants also receive a list of 25 common legal usage errors.
Persuasive Pitching: Partner level (3 hours): Law firms pitch the same value to the same clients, often making it difficult for clients to choose the best fit for their needs. This results in lost opportunities and wasted time on proposals. In this tailor-made interactive workshop, participants receive eight “weapons” for winning in any persuasive context (both speaking and writing), including a punchy, dynamic style; show, don’t tell; and a reader-focused presentation. Finally, participants learn to use your firm’s pitching template to quickly construct narratives that win clients.
Telephoning and Emailing: Advanced Customer Service for Legal Assistants and Secretaries (3 hours): The difference between a good law firm and a great international law firm is more than cases won or money earned – it is the relationship with clients. Secretaries and legal assistants need to have exceptional customer service skills in English and use phrases that create positive feelings in clients and colleagues. This workshop teaches language through a ‘customer-service mindset’, reviews key phrases, and leads participants to create unique email and telephoning templates for their firm. By the end of this session, staff are consistent in speech and text whether it is a simple out-of-the-office message or dealing with complex discussions with clients and colleagues.
Contact us now for pricing and to set up a tailor-made course!
Advanced Language Institute
Dr. Josh Lange and Dr.iur Angelika Zotter
Email: josh(at)legalwriting.eu
Tel: +43 664 185 4525
Client List
Law Firms
Baker & McKenzie (Frankfurt)
Bär & Karrer (Zurich)
Beiten Burkhardt (Munich)
CHSH (Vienna)
CMS DeBacker (Brussels)
CMS Hasche Sigle (Berlin)
CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz (Vienna)
Deacons (Hong Kong)
DLA Piper (Munich)
Dorda (Vienna)
Dvorak Hager & Partners (Prague)
Eisenberger and Herzog (Vienna)
Fangda Partners (Hong Kong)
Fellner Wratzfeld (Vienna)
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Brussels)
Gleiss Lutz (Stuttgart)
Graf & Pitkowitz (Vienna)
Greenberg Traurig (Berlin)
Hengeler Mueller (Berlin)
Herbert Smith (Hong Kong)
Hogan Lovells (Moscow)
Jankovic, Popovic & Mitic (Belgrade)
Keller and Heckman (Shanghai)
Kinstellar (Bucharest)
Kirkland & Ellis (Munich)
Luther (Cologne)
Menold Bezler (Stuttgart)
Minter Ellison (Hong Kong)
Morrison & Foerster (Hong Kong)
Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu (Tokyo)
Norton Rose Fulbright (London)
Oh-Ebashi (Tokyo)
Paul Hastings (Hong Kong)
Pavlov and Partners/CMS (Sofia)
P+P Pöllath (Berlin)
Raue (Berlin)
RPC/Smyth (Hong Kong)
Schoenherr (Prague)
Skadden (Hong Kong)
Slaughter & May (Hong Kong)
Trilegal (Delhi)
Turkoglu & Celepci (Istanbul)
Weber (Vienna)
Companies
UBS (Germany)
LexisNexis (China)
Uniqa (Vienna)
OMV (Vienna)
Petrom (Bucharest)
Organizations
Austrian Academy of Continuing Legal Education (Anwaltsakademie, Vienna)
Hong Kong Court Interpreters and Translators
Law Society of Hong Kong
Open Society Justice Initiative (Budapest)
TDK (Tokyo)
USAID (Europe-wide)
Universities
Central European University (Budapest)
City University of Hong Kong
London School of Economics
Korea University (Seoul)
Nazarbayev University
Reading University
University of Bucharest
University College London
University of Hong Kong
University of Vienna
Vienna University of Economics and Business