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Kathleen Dillon Narko
Kathleen Dillon Narko Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
The Power of Plain Language Say Less, Win More (Part 1)
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Premieres December 11, 12:00 PM ET/9:00 AM PT
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The Power of Plain Language: Say Less, Win More (Part 1)

Learn to communicate and advocate more effectively at this advanced legal writing program. You will learn principles of plain language writing and document design to prepare persuasive, concise, and well-supported legal briefs and memoranda.

Join us so you can acquire the tools to:

  • Make your writing clear, concise, and persuasive
  • Strengthen your legal briefs and memoranda
  • Improve your advocacy

Topics covered include:
Agenda:
  • Introduction & Overview
    • Introduction of speaker, expertise in legal writing and plain language
    • Overview of six legal writing topics covered in Part 1 and Part 2

  • Plain Language Background
    • What is plain language?
    • History of plain language adoption
      • Plain Language Act of 2010
      • ISO Standard 24495-2
    • Why should lawyers use plain language?
      • Benefits for lawyers, clients, and general public
    • How do we write in plain language?

  • Writing Concisely — a Core Component of Plain Language
    • Concision overview — why is it important for lawyers?
    • Tools to write concisely
      • Eliminate empty phrases
      • Avoid nominalizations
      • Simplify words

  • Writing Clearly — Another Core Component of Plain Language
    • Clarity overview — why is it important for lawyers?
    • Tools to write concisely
      • Favor subject-verb-object construction
      • Avoid passive voice

  • Questions & Answers (as time permits)
Duration of this webinar: 60 minutes
When: Premieres in 33 days | December 11, 2025 9:00 AM PT
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Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Credits

* CLE credit for this webinar is available for lawyers who have claimed their Justia Lawyer Directory profile and are Justia Connect Practice members attending live. On-demand CLE credit is only available to Justia Connect Pros.

California CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 General

New Jersey CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.20 General

North Carolina CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 General

South Carolina CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 General

Difficulty: All Levels

Texas CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 General


This presentation is approved for one hour of General CLE credit in California, North Carolina, and South Carolina (all levels). This program has been approved by the Board on Continuing Legal Education of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for 1.20 hours of total CLE credit. This course has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of Texas Committee on MCLE in the amount of 1.00 credit hours.

Justia only reports attendance in jurisdictions in which a particular Justia CLE Webinar is officially accredited. Lawyers may need to self-submit their certificates for CLE credit in jurisdictions not listed above.

Note that CLE credit, including partial credit, cannot be earned outside of the relevant accreditation period. To earn credit for a course, a lawyer must watch the entire course within the relevant accreditation period. Lawyers who have viewed a presentation multiple times may not be able to claim credit in their jurisdiction more than once. Justia reserves the right, at its discretion, to grant an attendee partial or no credit, in accordance with viewing duration and other methods of verifying course completion.

At this time, Justia only offers CLE courses officially accredited in certain states. Lawyers may generate a generic attendance certificate to self-submit credit in their own jurisdiction, but Justia does not guarantee that lawyers will receive their desired CLE credit through the self-submission or reciprocity process.

Looking for CLE credit? Visit CLE Dashboard CLE Accreditation
Speaker
Kathleen Dillon Narko
Kathleen Dillon Narko Clinical Professor
Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law

Professor Kathleen Dillon Narko is a Clinical Professor of Law at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. She has taught legal writing since 1999, and her legal writing columns appear in the Chicago Bar Association’s flagship publication, the CBA Record. Professor Narko has over 25 years’ experience teaching a variety of legal writing courses, including Communication and Legal Reasoning (for first-year JD students), Common Law Reasoning (for international LLM students), and Advanced Legal Writing (for upper-class law students). Read More ›

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