Legal Opinion Drafting:
Key Terms, Structure, Tips, Sources

Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Dimitry Alexander Kaplun had been involved with many industries and professions, and helped manage, create, and advise a wide range of businesses around the world. While at Drexel University as a computer science major, he became an NASD licensed representative and was employed by Fortune 100 insurance companies, including Prudential, AIG, and NY Life, first specializing in financial investments for life and annuity products, and then expanding his expertise to mutual finds, stocks, environmental insurance, and real property. Due to his technical expertise and a clear understanding of business rules, he was soon brought on board to help assist those companies with coding their interface for the Y2K switch. Soon after switching his major to business, Mr. Kaplun worked for a telecommunication service company first in quality assurance and then as a database programmer and developer, with sole and exclusive responsibilities for a multitude of warehouses located around the continental United States. Working on-site and from the company headquarters, he was responsible for streamlining processes for internal departments while fulfilling the quickly changing needs to the company clients, most notably Verizon Wireless. Mr. Kaplun opened his practice in 2008. Prior to starting his practice, he worked as a paralegal instructor for Prism Career Institute, creating the lesson plans for the whole program and focusing his instruction on substantive and procedural laws for general practitioners. Mr. Kaplun also worked as an associate for The Law Office of Keith Owen Campbell PC, focusing on Family and Matrimonial Law, and assisted the law firm of Jeffrey Neu and Associates in securities research as well as various contact and sales agreements, mainly online reseller agreements. He currently focuses his energy on representing individuals and companies in liability insulation, contracts and business agreements, and other legal concerns that crop up in the regular operation of doing business.

I am Muhammad Yar Lak, a New York-licensed technology attorney with extensive experience advising startups, founders, growing businesses, established companies (including Fortune 100 clients), and individuals on the legal matters that shape how they operate, grow, and protect what they have built. My practice covers business relationships, operational and contractual risk, and corporate structure, including the formation and structuring of LLCs and corporations. I hold a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and am admitted to practice in New York. I am also CIPP/US certified, reflecting my commitment to privacy and data as core concerns in modern business and technology law. I practice as a Senior Associate with Gogo & Moore, a technology-focused law firm with offices in Aspen, Atlanta, and New York. I have built my practice around the industries defining the next decade, including technology, fintech, artificial intelligence, blockchain and digital assets, and e-commerce, while also serving clients in healthcare, manufacturing, real estate, and entertainment. Wherever my clients are building, I am there. My approach is simple: good legal counsel should empower people, not slow them down. I work hard to understand what my clients are actually trying to accomplish and help them get there. If that sounds like the kind of lawyer you are looking for, I would be glad to connect.

The Castro Law Firm, located in Royal Palm Beach, Florida, provides a range of legal services to clients that focus on probate, estate plannnig and guardianship matters. Our staff is fluent in Spanish. We offer free consultations and virtual appointments.

Attorney licensed in New York and Texas, with experience in real estate, corporate and finance transactions, contracts, intellectual property, and privacy matters. Artem provides practical, business-focused legal support to startups and small to mid-sized companies, delivering solutions across corporate, commercial, and general business needs.

Kenneth E. Gray, Jr. is a business and tax attorney who advises entrepreneurs, investors, and closely held companies on transactions, tax planning, disputes, and long-term wealth structuring. He focuses on helping clients make legally sound decisions that also make business sense. Ken’s practice includes business formation and restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, private investments and fundraising transactions, contract drafting and negotiation, and cross-border matters. He also maintains a significant tax practice, advising on federal and state structuring, specialty filings (including partnership, corporate, and non-resident matters), and representing clients in disputes before the U.S. Tax Court and other federal and state tribunals. In addition to his transactional work, Ken handles commercial and business litigation, including tax controversies, financial disputes, and partnership matters. His litigation experience informs how he structures deals and governance documents, with an eye toward preventing disputes before they arise. Ken also advises individuals and families on estate planning, trust formation, tax-efficient wealth transfer strategies, and probate administration, including planning involving closely held businesses and foreign assets. Before practicing law, Ken worked in banking and private equity, including managing a $5 billion emerging markets fund-of-funds portfolio at the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and serving in equity research at ABN AMRO. That financial background allows him to understand transactions from both the legal and capital perspective. He holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and an MBA from Yale University. He practices before the U.S. Tax Court, various state courts, and other federal courts.

Mrs. Rivera graduated from Palmetto High School in 2009 and went on to attend Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL. After graduating from Florida State University with a B.S. degree in Criminology and a minor in Philosophy in April 2012, she went on to attend the University of Central Florida where she earned a M.S. Degree in Criminal Justice in August 2013. That same month, She started law school at Stetson University College of Law. ​ While in Law school, Mrs. Rivera participated on Stetsons #1 Trial team. In May 2016, Mrs. Rivera graduated with her law degree and in December 2016, Mrs. Rivera obtained her Masters in Law from Stetson University through its Joint J.D./LL.M degree in Advocacy program. Mrs. Rivera was a part of the first graduating class for this joint program at Stetson University. ​ As a Law student, Mrs. Rivera was a law clerk at a well-known plaintiffs employment law firm in Tampa, FL and also interned for the Honorable Judge Edward Larose of the Second District Court of Appeal where she was able to draft PCA opinions draft legal opinions that were ultimately published. Mrs. Rivera also went on to participate as a Certified Legal Intern (CLI) with the 6th Judicial Circuit Office of the Public Defender in Pinellas County, FL and an Intern for LegalAid of Manasota in Sarasota, FL. ​ After Law School, Mrs. Rivera began her legal career working as a Public Defender with the Ninth Judicial Circuit Office of the Public Defender in Orlando, FL. During her time as a Public Defender, Mrs. Rivera litigated more than 20 trials, representing both adults and juveniles accused of Misdemeanor and Felony offenses. After engaging in extensive civil, criminal and family law litigation, Mrs. Rivera decided it was time to finally open Allstarr Legal, P.A. in order to provide both affordable and quality legal representation to the people of the State of Florida. Mrs. Rivera practices throughout the entire state of Florida.

I am a multi-degreed attorney with more than 17 years of criminal trial experience and more than 15 as a general legal consultant. I'm licensed to practice in New York State.

I am a Silicon Valley tech lawyer with over 13 years of in-house experience and additional years in BigLaw. I provide tech licensing, data privacy, employment, international expansion, go to market, and other corporate and commercial legal services to clients in software, SaaS, bio-tech, cryptocurrency, financing, and construction business. I currently run my own practice concentrating on transactional, commercial, corporate or employment matters. Prior to starting my own practice, I joined as the first in-house counsel to lead the global legal strategy to bring tech products to market, increase revenue, decrease exposure to risk, and raise venture funding for HashiCorp Inc., currently an unicorn technology company with evaluation over $5 billion and venture funding over $350 million; Sysdig Inc., a technology company with venture funding of $195 million; and Anaplan Inc., currently a publicly traded company on the US Stock Market. Furthermore, I acted as in-house counsel advising leading technology enterprise companies such as HP, VMware, and Genentech and currently act as member of strategic advisory boards to several technology companies located globally

I'm a tenants rights attorney based (and licensed) in New York. My expertise includes filing complaints and responsive pleadings as well as reviewing leases and contracts and motion practice.

Tayane M. Oliveira is a founding partner at Vannucci Oliveira. With a concentration in family law, Tayane is renowned for her commitment to providing compassionate yet powerful representation to her clients. Her experience as an associate attorney at Brodzki Jacobs & Brook, coupled with her unwavering dedication to her clients' welfare, prepared her for her current role at Vannucci Oliveira. Tayane's academic achievements are a testament to her rigorous intellectual curiosity and dedication to her profession. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice, supplemented by a minor in Psychology, from Florida Atlantic University in 2013. The culmination of her academic pursuit came in 2017, when she earned her Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from the esteemed Nova Southeastern University's Shepard Broad College of Law. Before co-founding Vannucci Oliveira, Tayane honed her skills in the heat of the courtroom, representing clients in an array of general civil litigation matters. This diversified exposure instilled in her an ability to tackle complex legal challenges, a skill she employs to benefit her clients in family law. Originally from Brazil, Tayane brings an international perspective to her practice. When not delving into legal briefs or advocating for her clients, she indulges in travelling, reading, spoiling her puppies, and exercising, activities that not only rejuvenate her but also provide her with a broader perspective on the world and her practice. *Supreme Court Certified Portuguese Speaking Mediator

P. McCoy Smith is the Founding Attorney at Lex Pan Law LLC, a full-service technology and intellectual property law firm based in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A and Opsequio LLC, an open source compliance consultancy. Prior to his current position, he spent 20 years in the legal department of a Fortune 50 multinational technology company as a business unit intellectual property specialist; among his duties was setting up the free & open source legal function and policies for that company. He preceded his in-house experience with 8 years in private practice in a large New York City-based boutique intellectual property law firm, working simultaneously as a U.S. patent litigator and U.S. patent prosecutor. He was also a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office prior to attending law school. He is licensed to practice law in Oregon, California & New York and to prosecute patent applications in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office; he is also a registered Trademark and Patent Agent with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. He has degrees from Colorado State University (Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, with honors), Johns Hopkins University (Masters of Liberal Arts) and the University of Virginia (Juris Doctor). While in private practice, and continuing into his in-house career, he taught portions of the U.S. patent bar exam for a long-standing and well-known patent bar exam preparation course, and from 2014-2020 was on the editorial board of the Journal of Open Law, Technology & Society (JOLTS), and starting in 2023 will be on the editorial board of the American Intellectual Property Law Quarterly Journal (AIPLAQJ). He is the author or co-author of chapters on open source and copyright and patents in “Open Source Law, Policy & Practice” (2022, Oxford University Press). He lectures frequently around the world on free and open source issues as well as other intellectual property topics.