Overview - 3. Legal Drafting Flashcards
How long is the legal drafting assessment?
45 minutes
What is the most basic description of the task in the legal drafting assessment?
Draft or amend a document so that it is legally effective
What is the assessment objective for the legal drafting assessment?
Demonstrate you are able to draft a legal document or parts of a legal document for a client
What are the assessment criteria for the legal drafting assessment?
- Clear, precise, concise, and acceptable language
- Structure document appropriately and logically
- Ensure content is legally correct and comprehensive, and identify ethical/professional conduct issues
Clear, precise, concise, and acceptable language - clear
Who are the three classes of party you could be drafting for?
- Client
- Other parties to the document
- Judge
Clear, precise, concise, and acceptable language - clear
If the party you are drafting for is the client, what three things should you ensure?
They can:
* Understand the document
* Be satisfied it accords with their instructions
* Refer to it if needed
Clear, precise, concise, and acceptable language - clear
If the party you are drafting for is another party to the document, what situation is of particular importance?
If the document is intended to regulate the relationship between your commercial client and consumers, language that would otherwise be suitable for commercial parties will need to be adjusted so that it is suitable for consumers
Clear, precise, concise, and acceptable language - precise
How should you use defined terms?
If you describe something which is referred to more than once, define it and use the defined term consistently
Clear, precise, concise, and acceptable language - acceptable
How should you use terms like must, shall, will, may, or can?
Which is best to convey an obligation?
- Must and shall convey obligations, with must being preferable
- Will, may, and can convey intention, permission, and possibility respectively
Use must to convey obligations
Structure document appropriately and logically
Of the 45 minutes, how long should you leave at the end to check work?
5 minutes
Structure document appropriately and logically
How should complex clauses, if they are to be redrafted, be dealt with?
How should an exception in the clause be referenced?
The clause should be split up and tabulated
Exception should have its own numbered sub-clause (e.g. clause 3.3) and it should lead the main part of the clause (e.g. Clause 3.1: Subject to clause 3.3…)
Legal content
Why will you need to apply knowledge of substantive and procedural law?
To determine what the document needs to say in order to be legally effective
Legal content
For example, if drafting a defence in a tort claim in a Disputes assessment, what will knowledge of the substantive and procedural law help with?
- Substantive will help setting out the nature of the defence, e.g. that no duty existed, or that client did not fall below the expected standard of care
- Procedural will help to understand the steps to take, e.g. responding to each allegation with whether it is admitted, not admitted, or denied, and if denied, what the client’s alternative argument is
Professional conduct
What should you do if you are using a precedent and you find that it is one-sided in favour of the other side?
Amend it to suit the client’s best interests
Professional conduct
What is the balance you must strike in negotiation, so as to not injure your client’s best interests?
You must not advance a position so unfavourable to the other side that they simply walk away, as this would not be in your client’s best interests