This CLE is offered in conjunction with the Art of Advocacy Symposium being held the afternoon of Friday, March 9 and morning of Saturday, March 10.
General Information
Date:
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Location:
Bradbury Thompson Center
Parking: south and west of Bradbury.
Get Directions and Maps
Sponsored by:
Center for Excellence in Advocacy
Registration Fee: $120
CLE Credit:
Four hours of Kansas and Missouri CLE credit pending approval, including 1 hour of ethics.
Cancellations:
If you cannot attend the seminar, you may send a substitute. If you cancel your registration at least two (2) business days prior to the seminar, your registration fee will be refunded. After that date, non-attending registrants will receive the course materials. Please allow two weeks for delivery. The sponsors reserve the right to cancel this seminar and return all fees.
Assistance for Special Needs:
If you require any special services or auxiliary aids to assist you while attending the symposium, please contact Margann Bennett or Donna Vilander at (785) 670-1105.
The Art of Advocacy
Not-So-Secret Tips for Writing Effective, Persuasive, and Ethical Legal Briefs
About the Seminar
More often than not, legal disputes are resolved on the written pleadings. The judiciary depends upon effective written advocacy to meet the demands of increasingly daunting caseloads. In this seminar, Washburn’s legal writing faculty members address the most important characteristics of effective and ethical written advocacy, including specific tips for maximizing the persuasive impact of trial and appellate briefs.
Schedule
12:30 p.m. — Registration
1:00 p.m.
Just the Facts: Writing a Persuasive Fact Statement
The Statement of Facts is one of the first sections read in a legal document. However, it is often underutilized as a tool for persuasive writing. Professor Jackson will discuss the importance of bringing persuasive writing tools to bear on the Statement of Facts in a legal motion or brief. Topics covered include the importance of establishing a theme for the document, using persuasive techniques to highlight favorable facts, preemptively minimizing unfavorable facts, and preparing the reader for the legal analysis that follows.
Presenter: Professor Jeffrey D. Jackson, Washburn University School of Law
1:50 p.m. — Break
2:00 p.m.
Better Advocacy Through Persuasive Issues and Point Headers
The Issue Statement is among the persuasive writer’s first and most powerful opportunities to define the parameters for the parties' dialogue with the court. Professor Kowalski will demonstrate how to use your client’s story to zero in on the precise legal and equitable principles at stake. She will also show respondents how to recast their own issues instead of merely adopting their opponents’ Issue Statements. Finally, Professor Kowalski will show how to use persuasive point headers to continue mastering the issues throughout the brief.
Presenter: Professor Tonya Kowalski, Washburn University School of Law
2:50 p.m. — Break
3:00 p.m.
Writing with Clarity and Strength: Maximizing Advocacy with Best Writing Practices
Members of the bench frequently say that cases are won on the briefs. Yet all too often, written advocacy is weakened by poorly edited language or by the hyperbole attorneys rely on to advance their positions. In this session, Professor Alaka will discuss ways in which attorneys can clarify their analysis and maximize their advocacy through careful organization, editing, and word choice.
Presenter: Professor Aïda Alaka, Washburn University School of Law
3:50 p.m. — Break
4:00 p.m.
Winning Fair and Square: Ethics and Advocacy Writing
Every lawyer has an ethical obligation to advocate zealously on behalf of the client, as well as the overriding duty of candor as an officer of the court. An advocate’s most challenging responsibility is to appropriately balance these often conflicting duties. Professor Goering will address ethical dilemmas in written advocacy, including citation of legal authority adverse to the client’s interest, ghostwriting, portrayal of bad facts, the proper use of unpublished opinions, compliance with court rules, and sanctions available to the court for ethical violations.
Presenter: Professor J. Lyn Entrikin Goering, Director, Legal Analysis,
Research, and Writing Program, Washburn University School of Law
4:50 p.m.
Concluding Remarks
» Professor Michael Kaye, Director, Center for Excellence in Advocacy at Washburn University School of Law
» Professor J. Lyn Entrikin Goering
5 p.m. — Adjourn
Presenters
Professor Aïda Alaka, Washburn University School of Law
B.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1981; J.D., Loyola University Chicago, 1993
Professor J. Lyn Entrikin Goering, Director, Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing Program, Washburn University School of Law
B.G.S., University of Kansas, 1976; M.P.A., University of Kansas, 1982; J.D., Washburn University School of Law, 1987
Professor Jeffrey D. Jackson, Washburn University School of Law
B.A., Washburn University, 1989; J.D., Washburn University School of Law, 1992; LL.M., Georgetown University Law Center, 2003
Professor Tonya Kowalski, Washburn University School of Law
B.A., University of Florida, 1992; J.D., Duke University School of Law, 1995
Washburn University School of Law
Professional Development Office/CLE
1700 SW College
Topeka, KS 66621
785-670-1105
cle [at] washburnlaw.edu
