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The Public Speaks: An Empirical Study Of Legal Communication, Christopher R. Trudeau
The Public Speaks: An Empirical Study Of Legal Communication, Christopher R. Trudeau
Christopher R Trudeau
Most attorneys agree that writers need to tailor their writing to a particular audience. This just makes sense. So it is not a stretch to argue that to convey a clear message to a client, attorneys should use plain language. But there is little empirical data supporting the public’s preference for plain language. Rather, most sources largely rely on anecdotal evidence to prove this point. Therefore, in 2011, I conducted a study to help measure many of the following unanswered questions: to what degree does the public prefer plain language over traditional legal language? How do people react when they …
Mind The Gaps: Teaching Students To Address Flaws In Their Analysis, Christopher R. Trudeau
Mind The Gaps: Teaching Students To Address Flaws In Their Analysis, Christopher R. Trudeau
Christopher R Trudeau
A main problem for law students is that they make too many logical assumptions – or logical leaps, as I call them – in their analysis. Generally, students tend to do two things. First, students leave gaps in their law; that is, students fail to fully develop the law, define key terms, and use analogy to past cases to help bolster their arguments. Second, some students leave gaps in their application – they assume the reader knows the facts, so they don’t explain things to the reader.This presentation explores various techniques used to teach students to find and fill gaps …