Responsive Pleadings – Best Practices

CLE Hours: 1

CLE Credit: Substantive

Course Level: Basic

For the paralegal who is actively involved in preparing, drafting, editing, and filing written pleadings, this session explores the most persuasive methods to structure and format a written response, and how all legal argumentation can be boiled down into simple logical statements. This session includes a segment on proper legal research citations. Further, the session explains why it is important to respond to every motion or filing from the other side with a written response - no matter how frivolous, trivial, or obvious the response may seem - and why creating a “bank” of responses will make it easier to quickly respond to motions and filings. Finally, the session discusses why simply filing the brief with the clerk’s office may not be sufficient, as well as the best methods to ensure that it is actually read by a judge prior to a hearing. The session draws on the speaker’s experience as a former law clerk to a state trial court judge, and discusses what judges actually prefer and dislike when it comes to written filings.  

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