writing skills – Responding to an initial enquiry by a potential client – e-mails and letters

• Formal and information language and structures
• Writing with clarity
• Identifying and connecting with the audience
• Selecting the most appropriate form of communication

Company law – Negotiation for setting up a company a role-play session involving the formation of a company, including:

• Legal persons
• Different structures
• Partnership
• Private and Public Limited Companies
• Share-holdings
• Voting rights
• Directors
• Corporate governance

CASE STUDY: Effective drafting and negotiating techniques (Part 1) Delegates will be split into teams and asked to negotiate the detail of a distribution agreement under the guidance of the expert trainer, including:

• The language of consensus and agreement
• Modals of obligation
• Techniques in legal negotiations
• Trade-offs
• Deal breakers

Best practice drafting techniques

• Reasons for drafting in English and common problems encountered
• Key legal terminology

Basic principles of good drafting

• Structuring the contract
• Using plain English
• Avoiding legalese
• Achieving clarity, precision and avoiding ambiguity

EXERCISE: Good Drafting Techniques Delegates will be asked to redraft a selection of badly drafted clauses from corporate and commercial agreements.

CASE STUDY: Effective drafting and negotiating techniques (Part 2) Delegates will draft clauses to reflect the agreements reached in Day 2’s negotiation. Issues to be focused on, include:

Application of the principles of clear drafting

• Transfer from spoken language (for example, negotiation) to written (for example contract)
• Ensuring absolute clarity
• Operative and boilerplate clauses

Loan finance this session will focus on different types of corporate finance, including:

• Loans and credit facilities
• Share issues

Negotiating a bank loan, including drafting selected clauses this session looks at the language of negotiations, including:

• Using conditionals
• Making suggestions
• Agreeing and disagreeing
• Setting conditions

Negotiating a joint venture and its funding

• Language of meetings
• Introductions
• Presenting and eliciting information
• Expressing opinions
• Canvassing views
• Defining roles and obligations
• Levels and returns on investment

ROLE-PLAY: Negotiating a Joint Venture Agreement this is a role-play session in which delegates will act in teams to represent the parties in a potential joint venture, focusing on the key areas listed above.

Giving advice – Selecting the right language

• Revision of conditionals
• Model verbs
• Persuasive language
• Setting out consequences
• Using comparatives

Delegates will be given briefs on which to provide clients with advice on a range of issues.

CASE STUDY: Using the English Language Effectively Delegates will be split into teams and asked to use the skills and language developed during the course in a role-play centering on an aspect of relevant law.