Description:
In collaboration with the Diego Portales University Law School and Chilean Bar Association, ESE:O developed a course to coach lawyers working in English to improve their legal writing skills.
Prof. Mary Ray, author and legal writing expert from the University of Wisconsin at Madison Law School, coached the course online, aided in Chile by Patricia Julianelle, a US lawyer specializing in education and the rights of the homeless.
Methodology:
Coaching is a process of intensive, personalized work in which participants prepare and write, under direct supervision, legal texts in English.
During the coaching process, participants develop a well-structured, clear and direct legal text in English, capable of impacting the reader. The support and supervision provided by the coach focuses on the style, strengths and weaknesses of each participant.
Using theory, exercises and examples, participants are introduced to the art of structuring paragraphs and sentences in English. Formulation of a thesis statement and its development are emphasized. As the students develop a text on a topic of his or her own choosing, skills are developed through a process of revision and individual critiques by the coach. The process helps participants deepen their understanding of the culture, thinking and terminology of legal English.