5th Annual Legal Writing Workshop 2023

MCLE Credits: 7.5
Ethics Credits Included: 1.0

Friday, May 5, 8:30 a.m.–5:15 p.m. ET Live on Site at the Bobzien-Gaither Education Center 4801 Cox Road, Suite 108 (Richmond/Innsbrook - Glen Allen)
MCLE Credit:	7.5 (Ethics: 1.0) Pending
Live-Interactive Credit:	7.5 Pending (all dates, all formats)
Designation Credit:	1.0 Ethics (Designations Information)
Registration Fees:	$329 regular registration $304 discounted registration for members of the VSB Section on Education of Lawyers $349 on-site registration (if space is available)

Information
Schedule
Faculty
Locations, Dates and Fees

Information

Why Attend?

The workshop will focus on the following:

Basic grammar and writing strategies
Understanding and implementing roadmaps and transitions
Tailoring your legal writing to your audience and purpose
Ethical considerations and professionalism in legal writing
Effectively writing a discussion or argument section of a memo
The importance of persuasive characterization and fact emphasis
The differences between oral and written advocacy and advice on to how to effectively engage in each type of advocacy

Cosponsored with the American University Washington College of Law Legal Rhetoric Program and the Virginia State Bar Section on the Education of Lawyers

Are the legal writing classes you took in law school the last writing training you experienced? Would you like an opportunity to study and improve your basic legal writing skills?

This workshop is an intensive legal writing course, facilitated by judges, legal writing professors, and experienced attorneys. While not an advanced writing course, this workshop will serve as a basic refresher and is designed to make you a better and more confident legal writer.

The workshop, which offers 7.5 hours of MCLE credits (including 1.0 hour of Ethics), will provide effective legal writing techniques and interactive class instruction to all participants.

The Bobzien-Gaither Education Center

The Bobzien-Gaither Education Center in Richmond/Innsbrook is our new state-of-the-art facility designed with your safety in mind. It features a Centurion air filtration system, which quickly and effectively eliminates viruses and bacteria. Additionally, the facility is thoroughly cleaned before each seminar, and face masks and hand sanitizer will be available.

COVID-19 POLICY

By attending a live-on-site Virginia CLE^® seminar, you acknowledge the health risks associated with COVID-19 and that you MUST follow all Virginia CLE^®COVID-19 policies. You may NOT attend a live-on-site program if you have tested positive for COVID-19, if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, or if you are under any self-quarantine orders per CDC guidelines.

Click here for details about the Virginia CLE^® COVID-19 policy. Please revisit the webpage routinely for updates as we are monitoring the evolving COVID-19 situation. All updates to this policy will be emailed to registrants.
(Last updated March 2, 2022)

Discounts available for Virginia CLE webcast-telephone-live seminars

Registration Deadlines:
Live on Site:	Online registration ends at 11:59 p.m. the day preceding the seminar Walk-in registration is permitted on a space-available basis

Cancellation Policy: Cancellation/transfer requests will be honored until 5:00 p.m. the day preceding the seminar.

Inclement Weather Policy and Updates.

MCLE Credit Caveat: The MCLE Board measures credits by the time you spend in attendance. If you enter a seminar late or leave it early, or both, you must reflect those adjustments accurately in the credits you report on your credit reporting form. A code will be given at the end of the seminar, which must be written on your MCLE form.

If you have a disability that requires special accommodation, please contact Virginia CLE^® well in advance of the program date.

If you have dietary restrictions, please contact Virginia CLE^® at least 7 days before the seminar date.

Can't Attend?
E-mail distance_ed@vacle.org to be notified when/if this program is made available as an online or USB seminar.
E-mail publications@vacle.org to be notified when/if this program's seminar materials are made available for sale.

Schedule

COURSE SCHEDULE

8:00	Registration
8:30	Effective Writing Strategies David Spratt, Heather Ridenour This interactive opening session will cover basic grammar and writing strategies and act as the foundation for the entire workshop. Topics discussed will include the following: the language of the law; noun-pronoun agreement; avoiding misplaced modifiers; avoiding ambiguity; proper use of commas, colons, and semicolons; and sentence and paragraph construction.
10:15	Break
10:30	Tailoring Your Writing to Your Recipients and Purpose David Spratt, Heather Ridenour This session will discuss the importance and necessity of thinking through a document before beginning to write it. It will cover planning strategies that allow legal writers to write any type of legal document and will help them as they convert one type of legal document to another, e.g., turning an internal office memo into a client letter or a trial court brief. This session will also cover specialized documents like e-mails.
11:15	Lunch (provided at the seminar)
11:30	Panel Discussion: Ethical Considerations and Professionalism in Legal Writing John Bredehoft, L. Steven Emmert This lunch session will address the ethics implications of legal writing content and style. It will first focus on lawyers' possible duty to disclose bad facts and bad law and then cover the ethics rules prohibiting false statements to the court and others. The session will then turn to legal writing style, including the difference between ethics and professionalism and the rules governing lawyers' criticism of judges.
12:30	Break
12:45	Organization and Rule Synthesis (CREAC) David Spratt, Heather Ridenour This session will teach attendees how to effectively write a discussion or argument section of a memo using an organizational strategy called CREAC (Conclusion/Context, Rules of law, rule Explanation, rule Application, and Conclusion), which is a variation on the IRAC (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion) formula most lawyers learned in law school.
1:45	Small World/Lasagna David Spratt, Heather Ridenour This humorous and helpful session will reinforce organizational writing strategies, such as roadmaps and transitions. Concepts covered include the following: context paragraphs, headings and subheadings, roadmaps, umbrella sections, conclusion sections, and thesis sentences.
2:00	Break
2:10	Litigation and Transactional Practice Session Program Faculty In this session, attendees will receive practice tips and pointers and have the opportunity to ask specific questions concerning legal writing topics relevant to litigation and transactional practice.
3:25	Break
3:40	Oral and Written Advocacy Roundtable Program Faculty Program faculty will discuss the differences between oral and written advocacy and offer advice on how to effectively engage in each.
4:20	Break
4:30	Persuasive Writing Exercise (Jack and the Beanstalk) David Spratt, Heather Ridenour
5:00	Closing Remarks: Promoting a Culture of Legal Writing Excellence in Virginia Hon. Mary Grace O’Brien, Hon. David W. Lannetti
5:15	Adjourn

Faculty

COURSE PLANNER

David H. Spratt, American University Washington College of Law / Washington, DC

FACULTY

John M. Bredehoft, Kaufman & Canoles / Norfolk
Andrea L. Bridgeman, Freddie Mac (retired) / McLean
L. Steven Emmert, Sykes, Bourdon, Ahern & Levy, PC / Virginia Beach
Hon. David W. Lannetti, Norfolk Circuit Court / Norfolk
Hon. Mary Grace O'Brien, Court of Appeals of Virginia / Manassas
Heather E. Ridenour, American University Washington College of Law / Washington, DC
David H. Spratt, American University Washington College of Law / Washington, DC