ADVLW UNIT 8

Preparing the final project

formats

Types of Legal Memos

• Internal office memorandum

• Audience is usually attorneys within the law firm, usually your boss or the client

• It should involve impartial analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the clients case

External legal memorandum – the pretrial brief

• This is a misnomer, and in practice is generally called a pretrial brief, or brief in support of a motion

• Filed in support of a motion to dismiss, motion for change of venue, motion in limine, etc.

• Audience is judge or other quasi-judicial decision maker.

• It is advocacy document designed to persuade reader to support the motion.

Internal office memorandum – focus

• Focus on the Reader – client v attorney

• Before you begin drafting any document, you need to identify the people you expect to be reading it and analyze their needs.

• The format, the nature of the language used, and the depth of the analysis all depend on the nature of the audience for which the document is being written.

Format for Office Memo

•HEADING - suggested

• Drafting the Heading• To:

From:Date:Re:

• client namefile #Area of law involved

INTRODUCTION OF QUESTIONS PRESENTED

• Questions Presented Section• States the specific questions being answered by the

research.• Three alternative formats• Can format: Statement of legal question and concise

statement of major relevant facts beginning with "Can" and ending with question mark.

• Whether format: Statement of legal question and concise statement of major relevant facts beginning with "Whether" and ending with a period.

• "Under/does/when" format: Includes statement of the rule as well as the issue and the relevant facts.

BRIEF ANSWER TO QUESTIONS PRESENTED

• The "Brief Answer" Section

• Answer to any type of questions presented should begin with "yes," "probably yes," "no," or "probably not."

FACTS The Fact Statement Section

• Should cover:• Facts relevant to the question presented. e.g.

those that help decide the the rule of law will apply to the client’s situation.

• Background facts necessary to provide context for these legally significant facts.

• Include facts that have emotional impact.• Relevant and potentially important facts that are

not known at the time the memo is being written..

• MORE ON FACTS

• Definition of a Fact

• Fact is defined as "a piece of information that is known with certainty." It can be an event or an observation.

• Need to distinguish between facts and legal conclusions.

• a legal conclusion is an opinion about the legal significance of a fact and should not be included in the fact section.

• EXAMPLE: Statement that identifies an act as being "malicious" or "intentional" represents a legal conclusion rather than a statement of fact.

APPLICABLE STATUTES

• All statues and rules cited should be listed here

DISCUSSION

• Format of Discussion Section

• Use standard paragraphs rather than outline format.

• Limit each paragraph to a single topic or thesis.

• Break apart paragraphs that run more than half of a double-spaced page.

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CONCLUSION

• The Conclusion Section

• Not required in short relatively clear cut memos, but important in longer more complex memos.

• It should be a brief and concise summary that highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the client’s position. It should contain more detail than the "Brief Answer" section.