Top 10 Legal Writing Perils: A Paralegal's Guide

Agenda / Content Covered

• Not Using Roadmaps Effectively
  2:00 — 2:15, Jack Luellen
• Mistakes in Large-Scale Organization
  2:15 — 2:30, Jack Luellen
• Point Headings and Topic Sentences - Good, Bad, and Ugly
  2:30 — 2:45, Jack Luellen
• Selecting and Conveying Rules of Law - Top Pitfalls
  2:45 — 3:00, Jack Luellen
• Not Writing in Plain English
  3:00 — 3:15, Jack Luellen
• Failing to Signal Readers
  3:15 — 3:30, Jack Luellen
• 25 Words and Stylistic Traps to Deftly Avoid
  3:45 — 4:05, Candy Ryan
• Lackluster Legal Conclusions
  4:05 — 4:25, Candy Ryan
• Proofing and Editing the Wrong Way
  4:25 — 4:45, Candy Ryan
• A-Z Cite-Checking Checklist
  4:45 — 5:00, Candy Ryan
• Bonus! Quick Tips for Formatting Briefs in MS Word
  5:00 — 5:15, Candy Ryan

Accreditation Details:

Jack R Luellen is a principal of Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, PC, and the location chair of the Denver office, where his practice is primarily dedicated to oil and gas law, with a particular emphasis on litigation. Mr. Luellen earned his B.S. degree, with distinction, from Colorado State University; and his J.D. degree, cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School. Mr. Luellen is admitted to practice in California, Colorado, Utah, and North Dakota. He is a member of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation and Energy Mineral Law Foundation.

Candy J Ryan , CRP, BA, is a senior litigation paralegal at The Silvera Firm. She has extensive experience handling such diverse matters as non-subscriber defense and subrogation, commercial litigation, insurance defense, bankruptcy, business and corporate, probate and trust, real estate, trucking and railroad, as well as family law. Ms. Ryan has assisted attorneys with litigation case management, including but not limited to, preparing and responding to discovery requests, records retrieval, review and analysis, as well as preparing for trials, arbitrations, depositions and hearings, and has participated in evidentiary presentations at trial and arbitration. She is experienced in the preparation and filing of pleadings, documents and discovery in both federal and state courts in numerous jurisdictions, including, Texas, California, Washington, Oregon, Arkansas, Oklahoma and others. Ms. Ryan has been an active part of the legal community since 1979, having worked in Seattle, San Diego and Dallas. She is a graduate of the University of San Diego, ABA accredited Paralegal Studies Program (1988) and has specialized in litigation for more than 30 years. In addition, Ms. Ryan is one of the initial 16 paralegals to be certified by the National Federation of Paralegal Association (NFPA) as a CORE registered paralegal in the state of Texas and one of the first 200 CRPs in the United States. She received her B.A. degree in legal studies in 2015.