Legal Writing for Associates: Strategies for Clear, Concise, and Persuasive Advocacy

Flavia Santos Lloyd, Esq., Managing Attorney | Santos Lloyd Law Firm, P.C.

Flavia Santos Lloyd has been in the immigration field for over 22 years – first as a paralegal and then as an attorney. She is a Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law by the State Bar of California. Flavia is the Founder and Managing Attorney at Santos Lloyd Law Firm, PC, a firm she started in 2016. Today she leads a team of 14 attorneys and over 40 support staff.

Her practice focuses on a broad spectrum of immigration matters such as familybased, employment-based, extraordinary ability cases, naturalization, adjustment of status, consular processing, asylum, removal, and complex family matters such as waivers. Her primary focus and expertise is extraordinary ability cases. As she is also passionate about teaching, she teaches subjects tested in the California Bar Exam and Immigration Law at different law schools. She also devotes her time to scholarly work by writing research papers and presenting them at national and international conferences.

Andrea M. Canona | Partner, Andrade Canona PLLC

Andrea M. Canona, born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, earned her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Florida International University College of Law, where she graduated number six in her class. While in law school, Andrea worked as a student attorney at the Immigration Law Clinic, representing detained immigrants in removal proceedings. Andrea also served as a research assistant to Professor Thomas E. Baker, a renowned constitutional scholar, and worked as a law clerk intern to Judge Frank A. Shepherd at the Third District Court of Appeals in Florida.

After graduation, Andrea was selected through the prestigious U.S. Department of Justice’s Attorney General’s Honors Program to work as an Attorney Advisor at the Executive Office for Immigration Review, Miami Immigration Court. Her responsibilities included preparation of written decisions involving complex immigration issues for 14 judges. Andrea provided presentations and summaries to judges regarding novel areas of the law, as well as analysis of criminal convictions in the immigration context. Andrea also worked at a prominent immigration law firm in South Florida, where she focused her practice on employment-based visas, investor visas and extraordinary ability petitions, as well as on asylum, waivers, motions to reopen and reconsider, and appeals. In 2017 she joined immigration attorney Elora Andrade and founded Andrade Canona PLLC, a boutique immigration law firm focused on business and family immigration.

Andrea is a sought-after lecturer and is often invited to speak about immigration law to audiences in the United States and Brazil. Andrea is passionate about finding creative legal solutions for her clients, and she enjoys researching complex issues in the law. Andrea also dedicates her time to educating people about immigration law through videos, radio shows, lectures and articles. Andrea is actively involved with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

I. The Fundamentals of Strong Legal Writing | 12:00pm – 12:10pm

II. Drafting Effective Legal Documents | 12:10pm – 12:20pm

III. Writing for the Court: Persuasion and Precision | 12:20pm – 12:30pm

IV. Practical Tips for Everyday Legal Writing | 12:30pm – 12:40pm

V. Common Writing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them | 12:40pm – 12:50pm

VI. Ethical Considerations in Legal Writing | 12:50pm – 1:00pm