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?
Do you meet with attorneys who work outside the Boston area?
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? 
How long are One-on-One Meetings?
Can you hold meetings long distance?

What written materials will our lawyers receive?
Will participants get written comments on their writing?
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. Participating lawyers may also choose to redact client information from their papers.

Are one-to-one meetings confidential?

Meetings are completely confidential and we do not discuss the substance of our meetings with any person outside your firm ever. To encourage a candid exchange of ideas, we recommend that the substance of one-to-one workshop meetings remain confidential between participating lawyers, our editors and, if you choose, your professional development team. If you would like us to report back to your professional development team on the substance of meetings, we always let participating attorneys know that we will be doing so.

How are conflicts resolved?

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.

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Do you meet with attorneys who work outside the Boston area?

We are glad to coach lawyers outside the Boston area. We can travel to your office, or we can "meet" with your lawyers by phone. For phone meetings, we send written comments and then review the comments in depth by phone.

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.

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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.

How long are One-to-One Meetings?

Meetings generally last an hour.

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Can you hold meetings long distance?

Yes. After editing papers, we send 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?

We encourage you to purchase our book for participating lawyers, since it explains our approach to writing in detail, with many examples to illustrate each point. All participating lawyers will receive a copy of the booklet, The Lawyer's Guide to Writing in a Nutshell, which summarizes the major rules for effective writing and explains standard brief and memorandum structure.   

Table of Contents from Lawyer's Guide to Writing
Sample page from Lawyer's Guide to Writing

Table of Contents from Usage, Grammar and Punctuation Guide
Sample page from Usage, Grammar and Punctuation Guide

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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.

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 tongue, our approach to writing should reinforce the good principles that you already encourage your lawyers to follow.

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