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Frequently Asked Questions about our One-to-One Workshops
Will firm and client information remain confidential?
Are one-to-one meetings confidential?
How are conflicts resolved?
How are meetings scheduled?
Do you schedule meetings outside Boston?
Do you work with lawyers at various levels of experience?
Can you work with an entire starting class?
Do you work with summer associates?
What types of documents should lawyers submit?
What are the mechanics for submitting papers?
How long are One-on-One Meetings?
Where do you hold meetings?
Can you hold meetings long distance?
What written materials will our lawyers receive?
Will participants get written comments on their writing?
Will the comments be provided by Track Changes?
Do you research the topics covered by papers?
How can we be certain that your comments will gel with the suggestions we give our associates?
Will firm and client information remain confidential?
We are extremely careful to guard firm and client confidentiality. We provide each firm with a letter promising confidentiality and will sign your firm’s confidentiality agreement, if requested. We return submitted papers to each lawyer and do not keep copies of those papers. Participating lawyers may also choose to redact client information from their papers.
Are one-to-one meetings confidential?
To encourage a candid exchange of ideas, we recommend that the substance of one-to-one workshop meetings remain confidential between participating lawyers and our editors. However, the choice of whether to keep meetings confidential is up to each firm. Firms occasionally ask that we keep them informed about a lawyer's progress. We are happy to report back about individual meetings if the lawyer was informed, before the meeting, that the meeting would not be confidential or if we obtain that lawyer's permission to report on the substance of the meeting.
Our editors keep a list of clients whose documents they have reviewed and must decline to review any work as to which they have an actual or apparent conflict.
For Boston meetings, we schedule meetings on a weekly “as-needed” basis. We ask to receive papers early in the week and almost always turn them around in the week we receive them. We generally hold Boston meetings on Thursdays.
Do you schedule meetings outside Boston?
Yes but we try to limit our travel to the Eastern seaboard. For meetings in other cities, we can meet with 6 to 8 of your associates in a one-day visit. Again, we will need to receive papers at least a week in advance. We do not review transactional documents during visits outside Boston.
Do you work with lawyers at various levels of experience?
Yes. We work with lawyers at all levels of experience, from newly minted summer associates to junior partners.
Can you work with an entire starting class?
Yes. We have several classes of starting associates and work with members of these classes on an as-needed basis throughout the year.
Do you work with summer associates?
Yes. Our summer associate programs are among our most popular. We offer both one-to-one coaching sessions and group workshops for summer associates.
What types of documents should lawyers submit?
Your lawyers should submit a paper from their actual practice. Papers may be final or still “in progress” and should be long enough to give a snapshot of each lawyer’s skills.
What are the mechanics for submitting papers?
With large groups, we ask clients to designate one administrative assistant as the contact for collecting and transmitting papers. Each participant fills out a Submittal Sheet, stating client information, so that we can run a conflict check. Your assistant then transmits the document and submittal sheet to us. We prefer to receive papers by fax, rather than by e-mail, so that we do not have copies of your documents on our computers.
How long are One-to-One Meetings?
Meetings generally last an hour, although meetings to review long papers may take an hour and a half.
We will come to your office. We ask that you arrange a conference room.
Can you hold meetings long distance?
Yes. After editing papers, we fax our comments to participating attorneys then "meet" by phone to review the line-by-line edits and the Take-Away comments.
What written materials will our lawyers receive?
Each lawyer will receive a large binder that includes: (1) Effective Advocacy: A Guide to Winning Writing Technique (the 50-page text for the program); (2) Those Little Things: A Summary of Common Usage Questions; and (3) samples of effective legal writing in a variety of styles. We also provide a one-page booklet summarizing 17 essential rules for effective writing, titled Effective Advocacy in a Nutshell.
Table of Contents from Effective Advocacy
Sample page from Effective Advocacy
Table of Contents from Those Little Things
Sample page from Those Little Things
Will participants receive written comments on their writing?
Yes. Your lawyers will receive both the line-by-line edit and more general Take-Away comments.
Will the comments be provided by Track Changes?
No. We feel strongly about never changing papers ourselves. Learning requires doing so we expect each writer to read or process each edit. Because our goal is to teach the person, rather than simply fix a paper, we do not work in track changes, partly because track changes creates the far-too-easy option of “accepting all” changes. Similarly, our Take-away comments are often geared towards the writer, rather than the paper, so it is up to each writer to process our suggestions.
Do you research the topics covered by papers?
No. Although we bring our many years of experience as lawyers to the table, we do not do independent research. We work within the four corners of the document—and the deep knowledge that your lawyers have about their topic. The questions we ask during meetings are designed to tap into and organize that knowledge.
How can we be certain that your comments will gel with the suggestions we give our associates?
We promote plain English and modern usage. Unless your senior lawyers are writing in an ancient script, our approach to writing should reinforce the good principles that you already encourage your lawyers to follow.