Communication Skills for Paralegals Key Terms

Law Society of Ontario

a self-governing body that is authorized to educate, license, and regulate paralegals and lawyers in Ontario in accordance with the Law Society Act, RSO 1990, c L.8; its regulations; its by-laws; and its rules of conduct

Law Society Tribunal

an independent adjudicative tribunal within the LSO that processes, hears, and decides regulatory cases about Ontario lawyers and paralegals

Pleadings

formal written statements by each party in a legal proceeding that contain the alleged facts each party relies on to support their claim or defence

Plaintiff

a person (or legal entity) who starts a legal proceeding against another person (or legal entity) in a court

Cause of Action

a set of facts that support one party's legal right to sue another party

Strike Out

when a judge orders the removal of all or part of a party's pleading in a legal proceeding and, as a result, the party cannot rely on or refer to the pleading that was struck out

Client

a person (or legal entity) who retains a paralegal or lawyer to provide legal services

Opposing Advocate

the lawyer or paralegal representing the other part in a court proceeding

Brainstorming

a process for solving a problem or answering a question that involves gathering a list of all possible ideas spontaneously

Legal Jargon

specialized legal language that those who are not trained legal professionals find difficult to understand

Acronym

a word formed from the initial letters of other words

Abbreviation

a shortened version of a longer word or phrase

Voice

a type of sentence structure

Point-First Writing

an approach to writing where the writer states the conclusion or point first, followed by an explanation or discussion of that point

Subject

in a sentence, the subject is the word or group of words that the sentence is about or that the sentence concerns

Verb

the action word in a sentence

Simple Sentence

in a sentence, a simple subject is a subject that is a noun, a pronoun, or a word ending in -ing

Complete Subject

a subject that consists of more than one word

Tense

indicates when the action (verb) took place (past), is taking place (present), or will take place (future)

Regular Verbs

verbs that can be changed from the present to past tense by adding -ed to the present form of the verb

Irregular Verbs

verbs that cannot be changed from present to past tense by adding -ed to the present form of the verb

Linking Verbs

verbs that do not appear to be 'action' verbs but link subjects to other parts of the sentence

Infinitive

the basic verb form, without inflections to show person, number, or tense

Sentence Fragment

a group of words without a subject, verb, or complete thought

Clause

any group of words that contains a subject and a verb

Independent Clause

a clause that contains a subject, a verb, and only one complete thought

Dependent Clause

a clause that contains a subject and a verb but does not express a complete thought

Run-On Sentence

two complete sentences or independent clauses that have been incorrectly joined together, it expresses more than one thought with no division between the thoughts

Comma Splice

occurs when two independent clauses are incorrectly connected by a comma

Misplaced Modifiers; modifiers that are places within a sentence in such a way that is unclear what word they apply to

Dangling Modifiers

modifiers that do not logically modify anything in its sentence

Slang

words or phrases usually used in informal speech

Contractions

words that are formed by replacing a letter or group of letters with an apostrophe

Redundant Synonyms

two or more words sued together that mean the same thing

Tone

the attitude conveyed by the writer in a document

Retain

to hire or engage a lawyer or paralegal

Prospective Client

a potential client

Reporting Letter

a letter sent to a client that describes the steps the lawyer or paralegal has taken on behalf of the client, the results obtained, and any next steps

Blog

an online webpage or web journal maintained by an individual, a business, or a group that presents a record of regularly updated information

Summary

a concisely written overview of an original text in your own words without changing the meaning of the original

Paraphrase

restating another person's communication in your own words to demonstrate an understanding of that person's meaning

Point Form

using a few words or incomplete sentences to summarize a main idea

Case Brief

a concise summary of a court decision

Title of Proceeding

the formal name of a court case that identifies the parties, the court level, and the year of the decision

Appellate Decision

a decision of a court or tribunal having the jurisdiction to review and reverse the decision of an inferior court, tribunal, or other administrative decision-making authority

Majority Decision

the judicial opinion of more than half of the judges or decision-makers deciding a case

Concurring Decision

a judicial opinion by one or more judges or decision-makers deciding a case in which they agree with the majority decision but for different reasons

Dissenting Opinion

a judicial opinion by one or more judges or decision-makers deciding a case in which they disagree with the majority decision

Judicial Review

a process that allows courts to review the decisions of administrative tribunals and administrative agencies

Disposition of the Case

a court's (or tribunal's) final decision in a case

Ratio Decidendi

the principle of law for which the judicial decision stands

IRAC

an acronym that represents the elements of a framework for structuring a legal argument

FIRAC

an acronym that represents the elements of a framework for structuring a legal argument most commonly used for writing case briefs and legal memoranda

Process Servers

individuals who give legal notice to parties in a legal proceeding regarding commencement of a claim, response to a claim, etc. by presenting legal documents to the party; process servers are also used by lawyers and paralegals to file legal documents with various court and tribunal officers

Prescribed

to set down as a law, rule, or direction that must be followed

Neutral Citation

a case identifier assigned by the courts upon releasing of a judgement; it does not include references to a printed reporter

Defendant

a person against whom relief is sought in action

Applicant

a party who files an application with a tribunal

Respondent

a party against whom an applicant files an application with a tribunal

Application

a document filed by an applicant that starts a proceeding at a tribunal

Administrative Tribunals

independent quasi-judicial bodies established by legislation to implement legislative policy; they are specialized bodies that settle disputes involving government rules and regulations

Offence Notice

a document that starts some types of provincial offence processes

Notice of Intention to Appear

a form to be filed by the defendant with the provincial offences office notifying the court of the defendant's intention to dispute the charge

Notarial Certificate

a document that certifies a copy of a document to be a true copy of the original document

Notarial Seal

the imprint of a notary public's stamp

Statutory Declaration

a written document that contains statements of fact that the deponent declares (rather than swearing or affirming) to be true before a notary public of commissioner of oaths

Affidavit

a written document that contains statements of fact that a deponent swears or affirms are true by taking an oath before a notary public or commissioner of oaths

Deponent

a person who makes a statement under oath, by affirmation, or by declaration

Authorization and Direction

a document that authorizes a named individual (or legal entity) to release certain documents and information about the authorizing person to another person

Active Listening

a communication technique that allows a person to engage with a speaker more effectively through careful listening, observation of non-verbal cues, and paraphrasing or re-stating the substance of what they hear back to the speaker

Open-Ended Questions

a type of question that requires a long response and cannot be answered with a yes or no; this type of question usually starts with verbs such as explain or describe, and allows the responding person to choose the information they think is relevant to the answer

Narrow/Closed Questions

a type of question that is narrow in focus and demands a narrow, limited answer

Yes/No Questions

a type of question that expects only a yes or no answer

Leading Questions

a type of question that suggests the desired answer

Retainer Letter

a letter from a lawyer or paralegal to a prospective client that confirms the terms of a client's engagement with that lawyer or paralegal

Retainer Agreement

a contract between a client and their paralegal/lawyer/law firm that outlines the terms of a client's engagement with their paralegal/lawyer/firm, including the scope of services, fees, disbursements, termination of paralegal-client relationship, disclosure obligations, etc.

Legal Fees

charges for the paralegal/lawyer's work

Disbursements

expenses that the paralegal incurs on the client's behalf

Financial Retainer

a sum of money paid up-front by a client to the paralegal/lawyer for future legal services and expenses; also referred to as "retainer fee," "retainer," or "deposit"