News - Cathy Wilcox Training

Variety makes for happy trainers!

May 13, 2016 by Cathy Wilcox

Cathy’s had a lovely week, with a real mix of training delivery:

Three courses for lawyers at different global firms – one on “white-water drafting” (the scary bits of legal drafting), one on getting the right approach (risk allocation etc) and one on client-friendly drafting.

Three business services training sessions for law firms in London and in Newcastle, two on good business writing and one for senior managers on writing to influence.

Add in some one-to-one coaching slots for business services staff at yet another law firm and you have the perfect week as far as Cathy’s concerned!

Thank you to all our clients, and enjoy the weekend.

“They” as a singular pronoun – what do you think?

May 7, 2016 by Cathy Wilcox

People often use “they” as a way of avoiding saying “he/she”. I tend to duck the issue by using the plural:

If a lawyer wants to take annual leave, he/she must complete a form. [cumbersome]
If a lawyer wants to take annual leave, they must complete a form. [simpler]
Lawyers wanting to take annual leave must complete a form. [I prefer this.]

Lorraine Berry argues that using “they” will help counter sexism:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2016/may/05/they-the-singular-pronoun-that-could-solve-sexism-in-english?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Is your grammar as good as an eight-year-old’s?

May 6, 2016 by Cathy Wilcox

I’m relieved to have managed full marks on a sample test on the new Key Stage 2 English grammar, punctuation and spelling curriculum. Having spent hours training well educated, intelligent lawyers in the basics of apostrophes, hyphens and commas, I’m all in favour of teaching G&P at school. But I wonder whether primary school children really need to know the difference between a subordinating conjunction and a co-ordinating conjunction… Here’s the sample test: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/439299/Sample_ks2_EnglishGPS_paper1_questions.pdf
And here’s the mark scheme:

Click to access Sample_ks2_EnglishGPS_markscheme.pdf

Thoughts on one-to-one writing and drafting coaching

December 12, 2015 by Cathy Wilcox

A lovely surprise just now! A hamper of goodies arrived from someone I worked with earlier in the year to develop her skills at writing client alerts on legal topics. I was tough on her but she took it all on board in good spirit and has worked at it since then. The success of the one-to-one sessions depends so much on the individual committing to developing even after we finish the coaching. I’m always thrilled when the firm sees a clear improvement. I don’t need any thanks other than that, but it’s great when someone appreciates the support!

Off to Moscow next week to train Russian lawyers on legal writing and drafting in English. It’s so impressive to see people handling complex legal English when it’s their second language.

Drafting around the country

November 27, 2015 by Cathy Wilcox

This was a busy week’s training starting north in Newcastle, heading west to Bristol and then east to London. Lawyers all around the country are keen to improve their legal and business writing and legal drafting. Firms and companies are very different in style and approach, but the principles of a good communication style remain the same. And to prove it, I’m off to Moscow in a couple of weeks to train Russian lawyers in how to advise their English-speaking clients most effectively!

How to write a compelling article on a legal topic

November 13, 2015 by Cathy Wilcox

Since last week’s Supreme Court decisions in the ParkingEye and El Makdessi cases (see my last post), I’ve been reviewing the myriad of law firm alerts on the topic. There’s a massive difference between the best and the also-rans. Any article on a legal topic needs to consider the reader’s needs and interests first. The legal developments are interesting, but so what? In-house lawyers (the main readers) will ask “Why does this matter to me? What should I do differently when drafting agreements?” The alerts that try to answer those questions up front are the most likely to impress potential clients.

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