1-Hour Program

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Overview

Writing well takes commitment, practice, hard work, and a solid writing process. For many lawyers, writing well does not come easy. Lawyers also write for sophisticated and discerning readers: judges and clients.  

This session covers the six “P's" of professional legal writing: Professional, Practice, Process, Preference, Placement and Punctuation. Lawyers must realize and embrace they are Professional writers. As professional writers, lawyers must constantly work on and develop their writing skills and their craft of writing—meaning lawyers must Practice writing. As professional writers, lawyers must have an effective writing Process. Professional writers should have a Preference for the arrangement of words that are visually appealing and impactful to the reader. The Placement of those words should be located within sentences to achieve a particular purpose. Finally, proper use of Punctuation will compliment and finish a writing. 

This presentation covers these six “P’s” of professional legal writing by addressing:

  • The importance of embracing that lawyers are professional writers and why doing so will improve a lawyer’s writing.
  • Practice techniques to improve professional legal writing skills. 
  • The “ICE-T Process” (an acronym for immerse, compose, edit and total quality control), which can apply to any form of legal writing, e.g., briefs, client memos, important letters and other submissions.
  • How principles on Preference, Placement and Punctuation can be applied to improve a lawyer’s writing. 

About the speaker: 

David Henry Dolkas is a partner with McDermott Will & Emery LLP in its Silicon Valley Office specializing in complex IP litigation. Dave is the author of numerous legal articles and the author of Managing Complex Litigation: A guide to MAP (manage, analyze and present) a complex case.

Credit Details