TAMIL NADU NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL, TIRUCHIRAPPALLI

B.A., LL.B (HONS)/ B.COM., LL.B DEGREE COURSES

II SEMESTER

PAPER III ENGLISH II CODE:

(PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR LAWYERS)

1. Writing in Legal Contexts

Drafting contracts in English. This unit will begin with a presentation on how law,
language and business factors interact in drafting. The students then shall be asked to
look at the structure of an agreement (the principal types of clause and their function,
critical linguistic criteria for drafting, methods of interpretation). By means of a case
study we will explore the basic concepts of drafting in a business situation from the
practical viewpoint. We will also analyze a distribution agreement from the drafting
perspective.

2. Working with and Designing short case studies

Case studies are especially good for teaching legal English as they expose learners to
a variety of authentic texts with which they must work to produce an end result
(successful meeting or negotiation, follow-up letter, memorandum of law etc.). Using
authentic materials, participants will have the opportunity to plan their own short case
studies for classroom use. We will also discuss how students can be encouraged to
design and present such materials as an interesting alternative to student presentations.

3. Oral Presentation Skills for International Lawyers

In this unit students have a variety of opportunities to develop their oral presentation
skills to communicate in English in a professional context. The design of the unit
covers a range of oral communication skills, from impromptu discussions to well-
prepared presentations on law- related topics. Students develop their speaking and
active listening skills by discussing key presentation principles, preparing and
delivering presentations, and analyzing their and other speakers' presentations to learn
techniques they can use. Based on feedback and input, students develop and refine
their own speaking style throughout the semester.

4. Working with film clips

This unit will start with brainstorming both the reasons for using film clips in Legal
English and the different types of authentic video that can be exploited. Participants
will then watch and work with extracts from various commercial films and TV shows,
law lectures and interviews. Participants will be provided with a wide number of
useful activities that exploit the many options and extras available when using DVDs,
online clips and streaming media. The session will finish with a model lesson plan
demonstrating how a popular legal drama can be used as the basis of a rewarding and
memorable lesson.

5. Reading and Analysis of Writings

1
This unit will be dealing with reading and analyses of the writings by Eminent Jurists
(Cases, Petitions and Judgments)

PSDA (Professional Skill Development Activities) & Works to do:

Assignments:

Writing assignments give students the opportunity to develop written analysis using
the approaches, forms, and conventions common in Indian and International laws.
Thus it is proposed that students shall submit two assignments during this semester.

Works to do:

1. Regular collection of columns of newspapers and some portions of famous

judgments

2. Act over different portions of play Justice, to enhance verbal and nonverbal
communication skills/ Analysis of legal perspective of the play

3. Screening of the Films and video bytes and the discussion on the legal
dimensions of the film

4. Group discussions, debates, extempore, impromptu, mock interviews

References:

N.R. Madhava Menon, Clinical Legal Education, Eastern Book Company, 2011
(Reprint)

nd
Jenny Chapman, Interviewing and Counselling, Routledge Cavendish, 2000 (2
Edn)

th
Stephens P. Robbins, Organizational Behaviour, Pearson Education India, 2013 (15
Edn)

Varinder Kumar, Raj Bodh, et.al., Business Communication, Oscar Publication, 2010

Legal Reasoning & Legal Writing by Richard K. Newman

Just Writing by Walters Klumar

High School English Grammar and Composition by Wren and Martin

Legislative Drafting by G.C. Thronton

Plain Language for Lawyers- by Michele M. Asprey

Due Process of Law- by Lord Denning