Legal Drafting (LAWS90036)

Most legal thinking needs to be communicated in a written form. For legal advice to be useful and effective for clients, it needs to be able to be readily understood by people without a background in the law. It also needs to address the issues which are important to the recipient of the advice. The practice of law also involves the use of technical legal documents such as contracts. For these legal documents to be effective and to achieve the aims of the parties to whom they relate, they should be prepared by someone with expert legal drafting skills.

The focus of this subject is on the development of the specialised skills needed for legal drafting. This crucial aspect of legal practice requires a broad set of skills including the ability to explain complex ideas using clear and simple language, the ability to understand the relative importance of various legal issues, attention to detail and structure, and an ability to properly appreciate the purpose and audience of the document.

Legal Drafting enables students to develop this set of skills in an interactive and practical manner, enabling them to apply relevant legal principles and develop an appreciation for relevant commercial and strategic considerations. Topics covered will include understanding the types of drafting styles, drafting legal advice, persuasive legal drafting, drafting technical legal documents (such as contracts) and legal drafting in a government context. Students will be required to prepare a variety of types of written legal work which would be typically required in a legal workplace.