Legal Writing eCourse: Become a Better Legal Writer

Most lawyers live by their writing and most of us can become better writers. The goal of this course is to move you along that process.

Please note that the course is open to writers of all levels. The first part of the course will be done independently. There are only fifteen spots available.

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What You Will Learn

First, a refresher on the basics. We will provide a refresher on the basics of persuasion: organization, effective paragraphs, effective use of explanatory parentheticals, proofreading techniques, and editing tips.

The objective for the eCourse is to learn how to write more effectively.

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What the eCourse Includes

• • The opportunity to submit a brief that may be critiqued in the online, interactive sessions.
  • Three online and interactive sessions on June 14, 20 and 27: in these sessions, the course instructors will critique selections from the attendees’ writing submissions and will lead a group discussion on how to make the writing more concise, readable, and persuasive. Each session will focus on a different theme based on the briefs submitted. Please note that the author’s identity will remain anonymous during these sessions.
  • Curated sets of resources, including checklists, webinars, and narrated PowerPoint presentations.

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Important Dates:
May 15, 2023 Submission deadline for briefs
June 14, 20 and 27 2023 Interactive Online Critique Sessions

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Course Instructors
Carolyn E. Coffey is the Director of Litigation for Economic Justice at Mobilization for Justice, Inc. (MFJ) and the supervisor of MFJ’s Consumer Rights and Low-Income Bankruptcy projects, which provide advice, counsel, and representation to low-income New Yorkers. She also engages in policy advocacy, helping to enact pro-consumer laws and regulations at the City, State, and Federal levels, drafts amicus curiae briefs, has co-authored reports concerning the debt collection industry, and conducts trainings on consumer law. Ms. Coffey regularly serves as a consumer law expert at the CLARO clinic (Civil Legal Advice and Resource Office); she is actively involved with the state-wide coalition, New Yorkers for Responsible Lending; she is the co-chair of the New York City Consumer Advocates Taskforce; she is a member of the New York State Department of Financial Services Consumer Protection Taskforce; and she is co-chair of the NACA board.

Susan L. DeJarnatt is a Professor of Law at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law. She joined the Temple faculty in 1996 after a decade long career at Community Legal Services, Inc. in Philadelphia, handling foreclosure defense, consumer bankruptcy, and fair debt collection litigation. She has taught the foundational first year legal research and writing course since joining Temple. She has also taught advanced writing seminars and seminars in consumer bankruptcy practice, public interest law, appellate advocacy, and education law. Her academic scholarship has included articles on teaching practice writing through consumer bankruptcy, the interplay between oral skills and writing skills, and the teaching of legal research and writing. She is a 1980 magna cum laude graduate of Temple and was a law clerk to the Honorable Joseph S. Lord, Chief Judge of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania after her graduation.

John Roddy represents consumers in class actions challenging unfair and deceptive business practices and serves as relator’s counsel in qui tam “whistleblower” actions. In the last two decades, the settlements in cases he has litigated have returned more than $1 billion to consumers harmed by marketplace misconduct. John regularly writes and speaks on class action practice and consumer financial services law, and he has published dozens of articles on these topics. He has co-chaired Practicing Law Institute (PLI)’s Annual Consumer Financial Services Institute for the past twenty-five years. John is also a Fellow of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers, an organization limited to those lawyers who have achieved preeminence in the field of consumer financial services law and who have made repeated and substantial contributions to the promotion of learning and scholarship in consumer financial services law through teaching, lecturing, and published writings.