Language, Power and Gender in Legal Settings

The Robinson Bradshaw Women's Initiative hosted its eighth annual Early Bird/Slacker CLE. Slackers could use the hours for 2022, and early birds got a head start for 2023 or 2024.

John M. Conley of Robinson Bradshaw and Robin Conley Riner of Marshall University discussed gender and other biases that are embedded in communication in many legal settings, including the courtroom and the negotiating table. The speakers, both experienced law-and-language researchers and authors, presented evidence of how these biases work and offered strategies for dealing with them. Topics discussed included powerful versus powerless language, effective narrative construction, prevalent jury biases, and, more generally, the tactical impact of language choices.

Robinson Bradshaw's Laurie Smith Helms moderated the second portion of the CLE, with panelists Kelly Luongo Loving and Angelique R. Vincent-Hamacher of Robinson Bradshaw, and Deanna Lindquist of Bluewater Dispute Resolution Group. Attendees gained practical tips and advice on how to find and effectively use their personal negotiating style, and the panel discussed negotiations in the corporate arena, the courtroom and mediations. 

2.5 hours of North Carolina CLE credit approved. We provided a certificate of attendance for those seeking out-of-state CLE credit or paralegal credit.