Per participant
- 26 - 30 Apr, 2026
- English
- Dubai
- Venue to be assigned
Legal Writing and Drafting Skills
Why Attend
There is a misconception that legal writing and legal drafting is the same but there is a substantial difference between the two. While legal writing typically deals with persuasive documents such as court briefs and legal letters, legal drafting involves creating documents such as contracts. They are both equally important in legal practice.
Legal writing is an important skill needed in every practice area of law. Words are used to advocate, inform, persuade and instruct. Are you giving the right impression? Are your clients receiving the right message?
This course focuses on clear legal writing for a global audience. Effective communication with English speaking lawyers is about more than simply words. It entails understanding the unique way these speakers think and approach the legal, political, and business world.
Did you know that most international commercial agreements are drafted in English, irrespective of the nationality of the contracting parties? Drafting contract skills is ideal for lawyers working in English as a foreign language who need to draft, explain or interpret contract clauses written in English. During the course, delegates will look at a wide variety of commercial agreements through to practical drafting sessions. This course will help participants to draft confidently and effectively in English regardless of the governing law.
This is a practical course with many exercises and examples in order to achieve an interactive and stimulating outcome. The course’s activities involve the production of typical work-place legal documents.
This course is also offered in Virtual Learning, click on the course below.
Overview
Course Methodology
The 5 day course uses a highly interactive, practice-focused approach. Participants will engage in group discussions, individual tasks, and team-based drafting exercises designed to reinforce each learning outcome. Throughout the five days, the facilitator will work closely with participants, guiding them through real examples, practical scenarios, and continuous hands-on activities. Class discussions are encouraged throughout, ensuring an open, collaborative learning environment where participants can test ideas, ask questions, and apply new skills immediately.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Draft clearly and precisely by applying Plain English style
- Correct common mistakes in legal writing
- Strengthen legal documents by resolving ambiguity and vagueness
- Recognize the importance of boilerplate clauses in commercial contracts
- Draft and negotiate warranties, indemnities, and risks
- Apply cross-border drafting techniques
- Summarize a contract into a one-page brief for senior management
Target Audience
This course is for lawyers, legal secretaries, commercial managers, contract managers and anyone who must draft, amend or update contracts, legal letters and legal opinion. The course is suitable for non-native English speakers looking for a better understanding of English legal terms.
Target Competencies
- Writing and drafting
- Proof reading
- Contract analysis
- Negotiating
- Understanding legal terms
Note
The Dubai Government Legal Affairs Department has introduced a Continuing Legal Professional Development (CLPD) programme to legal consultants authorised to practice through a licensed firm in the Emirate of Dubai. We are proud to announce that the Dubai Government Legal Affairs Department has accredited EMG Associates as a CLPD provider. In addition, all our legal programmes have been approved.
Course Outline
- Legal Drafting
- Signs of a well drafted contract: The simple rules!
- The language of drafting: Will vs Shall vs Must
- Identifying the legal formalities for a binding contract
- Structure and formation of a commercial contract: follow the formula and you won’t go wrong
- The importance of Boilerplate clauses:
- No waiver
- Notices
- Assignment vs Novation
- Governing vs Jurisdiction
- Force majeure - common law vs civil law
- Dispute resolution clause: Litigation vs Arbitration vs Mediation
- Vague words and expressions in commercial contracts - know the pitfalls!
- Best endeavors vs All reasonable endeavors vs reasonable endeavors
- Spot and eliminate homophones that create ambiguity and risk in commercial documents
- Warranties and indemnities:
- Allocating risks and liabilities between the buyer and seller
- Negotiating warranties from a Share Purchase Agreement
- Plain English in Legal Correspondence
- Good legal writing practice
- Moving from legalese to Plain English
- Unnecessary archaic and meaningless phrases
- Collocations
- Importance of collocations in legal writing
- Pitfalls and issues relating to the use of legal jargon in legal writing
- Writing A Legal Letter
- Layout of a letter
- Body of a letter
- The register of letter writing
- Typical sentences in legal letters
- The letter writing clinic: looking at the ten most common problems
- Rewriting informal sentences to modern alternatives
- Correcting common mistakes in letter writing
- Legal Writing Troubleshooting
- The problem of English idioms
- Easily confused words
- Cutting unnecessary words
- Use of consistent terminology
- Ambiguity: how to avoid it
- Vagueness: how to avoid it
- Misuse of preposition in dates
- Constantly litigated words
- Rewriting sentences to remove gender specific language
- Cross Border Drafting Techniques
- Differences between common law and civil law drafting styles
- Identifying jurisdictional risks
- Using internationally recognised terminology
- Choice of law and dispute resolution mechanism
- Avoid translation ambiguity
- Draft with cultural awareness
- Harmonise conflicting legal concepts
- Summarise A Contract In One Page For A Client Or Senior Management
- Clients and senior management; what do they need?
- Essential terms v background information
- Risks, obligations and commercial impact
- Identify red flags
- Converting clauses into clear summarises
- Logical, reader friendly formatting
- Summarize a real commercial contract in one page
Schedule & Fees
Virtual Learning
This course is also offered in Virtual Learning, click on the course below.
Course Contact
Contact me if you have any questions.
I speak English & Arabic!
Related Courses
© 2026 Meirc Training & Consulting. All rights reserved.