Curriculum Vitae: Cheryl Stephens

Academic and Professional Training

  • The Coaches Training Institute, 2000-2001
  • Vancouver Community College, Business Studies, Leadership Coaching Program
  • Lawyer Assistance Program Peer Coaching Training, 1999, 2000
  • Post-baccalaureate diploma studies in the SFU School of Communications 1995-1998
  • Bachelor of Laws, 1977 - University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law
  • BA with Honors in International Relations, 1970 University of Pacific, California

Professional Employment

  • Mentor/Muse, Professional and Personal Development Services for Lawyers, since 2000
  • The Precedent Group, Consultants, 1989 to 2000
    • Specialising in legal education, research, communication, and Internet projects
    Projects
    Legal education clients have included:
    Continuing Legal Education Society of BC, Vancouver Community College Court Interpretors and Legal Assistant prgorams, Camosun College Legal Assistant Program, WestCoast Seminars and Canadian Bar Association, B.C. Branch Lawyers for Literacy Project, Law Courts Center, ASAP Training

    Legal communications clients have included:
    law firms, professional associations and government, Department of Justice Canada, B.C. Ministry of Multiculturalism, federal and provincial Dial-a-Law projects, BC. Branch Canadian Bar Association, Law Courts Center

    Training topics include:
    Legal communications, legal writing, legal drafting, legal marketing,
    Plain language writing, plain language process, plain language editing,
    Listening skills, client relations, interviewing, presentation skills, teamwork, coping with difficult people, and humor in the law office

Professional Activities (in past decade)

Bar-related

  • National and Provincial Executive member and officer, CBA Law Practice Management Section
  • Member, American Bar Association and Canadian Bar Association
  • Co-chair, ABA LPM Section I-group on Work/Life Balance
  • Board of Directors, Renaissance Lawyer Society
  • 1995-97 Executive, National CBA Public Legal Education Conference
  • 1996-99 Chair, B.C. Branch, CBA, Public Legal Education Committee
  • Co-Chair, CBA, B.C. Branch Communications Committee 1996-97
  • Chair of the CBA, BC Plain Language Section, 1994-1998, LPM Section Plain Language Committee since 1999
  • Organized the CBA's Literacy Interest Group and Lawyers for Literacy Project
  • Chair, Scholarship Committee, Legal Assistant Certificate Program, VCC

Communication-related
  • Member, SCRIBES, Association of Legal Writers
  • Co-founder International Plain Language Consultants Network and Chair of international conferences in 1995 and 1997
  • Communications Advisory Board, Vancouver City Savings Credit Union
  • Editor, Rapport: News about plain language
  • Canadian Association of Teachers of Technical Writing
  • Board Member, Association of Professional Communications Consultants
  • Association for Business Communications

Some Presentations and Publications

º Papers and Presentations

  • "Marketing for the Reserved Personality", West Coast Self-employment Programs for Alumni Entrepreneurs, November 2001
  • "Stepping Up to Leadership: A Program for Women Lawyers", ACT Training Workshop, September & November, 2001, New Westminster and Vancouver, Canada
  • "The Lawyer as Coach: using coaching skills in law practice" Faculty Panel, Law.Com Online Seminar, September, 2001
  • "The Bashful Marketer: Networking Skills for the Introvert"; "Painless Public Presentations: Public Conversation for the Shy and Retiring Person"; "Cross-gender Communications Skills: The Continuum and Variation of Styles" Renaissance Lawyer Salon Series, July - August, 2001
  • "Options: What to do before you explore your options", Lawyers Assistance Program, September, 2001
  • "Plain Language in Public Legal Education", Public Legal Education Society of BC, June 2001
  • "Launching Your Consulting Practice", Western Regional Conference, Association for Business Communications, Vancouver BC June 2001
  • "Getting Started in Consulting: Marketing Professional Services", International Conference, Assoc. for Business Communications, Atlanta Georgia, October 2000
  • "Meeting Client Needs for Clear and Simple Information", Annual Symposium, Canadian Pensions and Benefits Assoc., Victoria, October 2000
  • "Serving Your Client Audience", Wild Rose Foundation, Edmonton, Alberta
  • "Transforming Practices: Lawyers are People Too!", Lawyers Assistance Program, Continuing Series, Spring 2001
  • "How to position yourself for career success", Canadian Association of Legal Assistants, September, 2000
  • "Options: Preparing for a Successful Career Transition" Lawyers Assistance Program of BC, June 7, 2000
  • "Cross-Gender Communication Pitfalls" Canadian Bar Assoc., BC Gender Issues Section Meeting - Tuesday, June 27, 2000
  • "Positioning Your for the Next Millenium" Canadian Bar. Assoc. BC Women Rainmakers Section, March 23, 2000
  • "Plain Language is the Language of the World Wide Web", Plain Language Consultants Network International Conference, Houston, Texas, February 2000
  • "Legal Editing for Paralegals". BCALA Professional Skills Program, February 2000
  • "A Crash Course in Client Relations", Kamloops Family Bar Association, June 1998
  • "A Crash Course in Plain Language Legal Drafting", March 25, 1998, Canadian Bar Association, B.C. Branch
  • "Communicating Clearly: Client Literacy and the Law" 1997-98, numerous presentation throughout the province of BC on behalf of the CBA Lawyers for Literacy Project.
  • "The Real Goods - Drafting in Plain Language", February 1, 1996, Joint Mid-Winter Meeting, Canadian Bar Association, BC and Alberta Branches, Banff
  • "What's New in Plain Language", October 2, 1996, Plain Language Partnership (Senior members of the Canadian federal government staff), Ottawa, Canada
  • "An Introduction to The Plain Language Process", May 1996 27th International Symposium, Business Forms Management Association
  • "A few myths about plain language", LegalFocus, Longwoods Publishing Company, Toronto, Ontario (insurance industry magazine) October 1996
  • "Test Driving the Information Highway" Panel Discussion, Government and Public Sector Lawyers' Conference, CBA Annual Meeting August 1995, Winnipeg
  • "Legal Profession: Why use plain language?", and "Oral/aural plain language", and "Technology serves plain language: ACJNet" August 1995, Plain Language in Progress Conference, International Plain Language Consultants Network
  • CBC Manitoba Radio Talk Show: Questionnaire, Host: Jim Ray, August 22, 1995
  • CTV Southern Ontario Radio Talk Show, Host: Hugh Segal, August 25, 1995
  • "Plain Language Document Process", and "The Role of Forms Management Professionals in Plain Language Audit or Implementation", May 1994 25th International Symposium, Business Forms Management Association
  • "Marketing Plain Language", Joint Meeting of Young Lawyers, Law Office Management, and Plain Language Sections, Canadian Bar Association, Dec. 11, 1995
  • "How Plain Language is Good for Client Relations", Legal Support Staff Symposium & Expo, Continuing Legal Education Society of BC, October 1994
  • "On-line Technology and Plain Language" CBA, BC Plain Language Section, September 1994
  • "Institutional Analysis:--Plain Language at City Hall: A Design for a Plain Language Audit", Just Language Conference, Vancouver, August 1992

º Publications
Books and Periodicals:

  • Continuing column on work/life balance in BRIEFLY! published by Law Courts Center
  • Editor, Renaissance Connexion, quarterly publication of Renaissance Lawyer Society
  • Editor, National E-News, CBA Law Practice Management & Technology Section
  • Editor, Marketing Brief (aka LMI Brief), Legal Marketing Institute, 1999-2000, Vancouver, Canada
  • "Client Relations", Chapter 15, Managing Your Law Firm, Continuing Legal Education Society, Vancouver, B.C, 1996
  • Plain Language Legal Writing, a training manual, The Precedent Group, 1992, ASAP Legal Publishing, Vancouver, Canada
  • Rapport: News about plain language, 1991- 1997, Editor, for The Precedent Group
  • "How a Lawyer Can Help You", CBA, BC brochure, 1994
  • "Marketing legal services on-line: Projecting a positive professional image" Law Tech Expo, Rapport Communications, June 1995
  • "The Real Goods on Plain Language", January 1997,Canadian Bar Association, BC and Alberta Branches, Proceedings of Conference

Some of My Articles:
  • What is Coaching?, Consulting Success, Association of Professional Communications Consultants, Spring 2001
  • "A Few Myths about Plain Language" LegalFocus (Vol.1 No.15) publication of the insurance industry, http://longwoods.com
  • "Taking the Plunge", The Western Editor, April 1995, Editors Association of Canada
  • "Plain language Saves Money, Hassles", Infocus, October, 1995, Business Forms Management Association
  • "Is the form still blank? Maybe your client has difficulty reading", BarTalk, July/August 1993 Vol. 5, No. 5
  • "Literacy and Legal Literacy: Did you realize they could be practice issues?", BarTalk, April 1996, Vo. 8. No. 2
  • "Books, Books,Books: A shopping list for the legal writer", Legal Support Staff Newsletter, December 1993, Moore Publishing
 
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Cheryl Stephens, B.A. L.LB.

Cheryl Stephens, B.A., LL.B.
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