LLAW 2017

LECTURE 2
30 JANUARY 2023

LEGAL RESEARCH
AND WRITING II

Stephanie Biedermann
Senior Lecturer
sbied@hku.hk
WELCOME
BACK

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LAST TIME WE COVERED
• Introduction
• Course timetable and structure
• Overview: purpose of the course
• Approaches to legal writing and research

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COURSE TIMETABLE

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 ¡ No tutorials this week

¡ Tutorials begin the

REMINDERS week of Feb 6th (next

week)

¡ Finalize tutorial group

selection ASAP

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OUTLINE
• Follow-up from the end of Lecture 1
• Oral presentation skills
• Intro to Assignment 1

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 LEGAL WRITING
AND LEGAL
RESEARCH ARE
MAKING CONNECTIONS INTER-DEPENDENT

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 ¡ Term papers / essays / thesis / dissertation

¡ Law exam answers

¡ Supervisor / boss assignments or questions

LEGAL ¡

¡
Law journal articles or other articles

Moot court / oral arguments

RESEARCH ¡ Law coursework assignments

SITUATIONS ¡

¡
Experiential learning classes

Client questions

¡ Letters of advice

¡ Legal agreements

¡ Court submissions / skeleton arguments

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LEGAL RESEARCH
SITUATIONS

Term papers / Law journal Law

Law exam
Academic essays / thesis
/ dissertation
answers
articles or
other articles
coursework
assignments

Experiential Moot court /

Hybrid learning
classes
oral
arguments

Supervisor / Court
boss Client Letters of Legal submissions /
Practical assignments questions advice agreements skeleton
or questions arguments

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TYPES OF PROFESSIONAL LEGAL ROLES

¡ Solicitors ¡ Barristers
¡ Practical legal research ¡ Court written and oral submissions
¡ Letters of advice ¡ Persuasive writing and oral advocacy
¡ Agreement / contract writing ¡ Skeleton arguments

Same fundamental legal skillset required

We will practice elements of both

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OUTLINE
• Follow-up from the end of Lecture 1
• Oral presentation skills
• Intro to Assignment 1

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PLANNING STAGE
¡ Adequate, careful preparation is key

¡ Preparation is as important (if not more important) than delivery

Let that sink in for a minute…

Do we really believe this? If so, why?

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SIMILARITIES TO LEGAL WRITING

Importance of audience Need to know your goal

- Level of legal knowledge - What is the purpose of your presentation?
- Knowledge of subject matter - What are you trying to achieve?
- Familiarity with specialized vocab
- Framing / points for emphasis

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 Explain
• Share knowledge
• Communicate ideas
2 TYPES OF • Demonstrate your
own research /
GOALS competence / Persuade
expertise
• Encourage a particular point
(USUALLY…) of view or interpretation
• Advise on a particular action
or decision
• Recommend that someone
think in a certain way

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 ¡ Key takeaway points

¡ Be clear about your main theme and the major

WHAT IS elements that support the theme

YOUR ¡ Be thoughtful about scope – if you try to cover

too much, your takeaway points have less
MESSAGE? impact (or get lost entirely)

¡ Think about how to come back to your main

points (strategic repetition for emphasis)

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 1. Overview / preview / executive summary / interest grabber

2. Introduction

SIMPLE 3. Main content Addresses classic audience Q:

Why should I care?

STRUCTURE
How does this involve me?
¡ Logical progression Why should I be interested?

¡ Thoughtful sequence

¡ Appropriate level of detail for time /audience (not overloaded)

4. Conclusion / reiteration of key messages or takeaway points

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UNDERSTAND PARAMETERS

¡ Part of your design and planning process, not an

afterthought

¡ Time limit most important

¡ Tailoring to entirety of presentation environment

(audience, format, room set-up)

¡ Will reflect on your planning ability to your listeners

¡ Running over – may lose your audience, be forced to rush

your content (or skip parts entirely)
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¡ Fixed topic vs. topic of your choice
ARE THESE
DIFFERENT
QUESTIONS?

¡ What do I need to
explain?

¡ What does my audience

need to know?

¡ What do I want my
audience to know (and is
this up to me?)

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PRESENTATION TIPS

¡ Signpost your key messages

¡ Link back to main theme often

¡ Preparation serves several purposes:

¡ Speak more slowly than conversational pace
¡ We tend to speed up when are nervous /
feel attention directed at us
¡ Breathing room is important – pauses will
allow time for your key messages to sink
in with the audience
¡ Pauses impart emphasis
¡ Opportunity to see actual timing
¡ Gives you practice using visuals + planning what to
say vs. what’s on the slide
¡ Will ease nerves + help you feel ready
¡ Will show you what’s not working / flowing and
where adjustments are needed

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 ¡ Watch for filler words and phrases

¡ Avoid reading from notes

¡ Use bullet points or slides themselves

¡ Notes not full sentences / scripts (why not?)

REHEARSALS ¡ Try to make eye contact with members of the audience periodically –
look around room

¡ Body language – act natural if possible

¡ Gestures ok if these are something that you typically use when

speaking (but no need to adopt if not)

¡ Think about Q&A (anticipate direction of potential follow-up and think

about how you would respond)

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TIPS FOR ONLINE MODE

¡ Your location (privacy / quiet area)

¡ Headphones vs. not Use as a tool even for talks that will be delivered in
person.
¡ Angle / height of computer

¡ Connection reliability
Create a meeting of 1, record yourself, then watch
¡ Good lighting the video to check your delivery and timing.

¡ Background (virtual / blurred / real one that you’re

comfortable showing) Local recording vs. cloud recording

¡ Check and confirm settings

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TIPS FOR PRESENTATION SLIDES
(OR OTHER VISUAL AIDS)

¡ Beware of too much text

¡ Balance between enough info to be understandable vs. overloaded

¡ Should be visual cues / reminders, not sentences to be read

¡ Thoughtful use of colors, graphics, and Smart Art – these should enhance understanding and
retention rather than be distracting

¡ Do include images, charts, tables, etc. if these will help you, but:
¡ If you put it in, refer to it
¡ If you don’t need it, take it out
¡ Cite properly
¡ Data in charts vs. data as text
¡ Think about how audience will most effectively see the point you are making

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23
HK Immigration’s
USM flow chart

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https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/d
ata-hub/charts/us-annual-refugee-
resettlement-ceilings-and-number-refugees-
admitted-united
WE’RE ALL STILL IMPROVING

• “Do as I say and not as I do”

• Public speaking is hard

• These are suggestions for improvement – few people get it right all
the time

• You will become more confident in time and with practice

• Take deep breaths

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OUTLINE
• Follow-up from the end of Lecture 1
• Oral presentation skills
• Intro to Assignment 1

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ASSIGNMENT 1:
NOW POSTED ON
MOODLE

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 ¡ You are applying for trainee contract or similar
legal position

¡ As part of the interview and selection process,

you have been asked to do a short
YOUR ROLE presentation on a legal topic of your choice
that is of personal interest to you

¡ You will be delivering this presentation to the

search committee (a.k.a. your tutor and
classmates during tutorial, as part of either
Tutorial 1 or Tutorial 2)

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PARAMETERS
¡ Free choice of topic (legal-related)

¡ Focus on practical aspects / application

¡ Goal: explain (not to persuade)

¡ Application of law in practice

¡ Audience: some legal background (but not experts on

topic)

¡ Time limit: 15 minutes (~10 min for presentation, up to 5

min of Q&A)

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YOUR TASK
¡ Plan your presentation and prepare PPT slides to accompany it

¡ Refer to suggestions from this lecture

¡ Submit the final version of your slides via Moodle by Friday, 03 February at 6 pm (this Friday)

¡ For fairness, no subsequent edits may be made to the submitted version

¡ You will receive credit on your slides based on completion and whether you submit them on time (you will not
receive a letter grade)

¡ Practice your presentation before tutorial

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QUESTIONS?