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Lawyers' Skills 2001-2002 (Legal Practice Course Guides)
Lawyers' Skills 2001-2002 - Legal Practice Course Guides Author:M. Keppel-Palmer, etc., et al The new editions of "Legal Practice Course Guides" mark a shift in focus, from the traditional book-learning of the old course towards an emphasis on legal skills gained through practical exercises. Each guide explains the relevant substantive and procedural law and, where appropriate, contains sample precedents, documents and check lists, as we... more »ll as excerpts from relevant practitioner texts. Sample questions and exercises are included as a stimulus to further reading. The guides form a bridge between the notes and workbooks produced by each teaching institution and the raw material found in the practitioner texts. This guide brings together the five skills that are at the heart of the Legal Practice Course, and which underpin effective performance as a solicitor. The guide advocates the use of a problem-solving framework for legal research and fact analysis, gives a detailed account of source materials, and provides effective methods for organizing the results of research. It identifies the key characteristics of good legal writing and provides a fresh approach to planning, with a particular emphasis on paragraph construction and organization. It draws upon the analysis in the section on drafting, which sets out the main rules, and offers suggestions for good drafting practice, all set in the context of an example drawn from the work of Gilbert & Sullivan. In its consideration of the lawyers' skills of interviewing, negotiation and advocacy, it provides a general introduction to interpersonal skills, and considers questions of strategy and tactics. The section on interviewing emphasizes the importance of preparation and a structured approach, while the section on negotiation introduces the student to the latest findings from theoretical research, and puts these in a practical setting with a wealth of practical examples and illustrations.« less